Rapid environmental changes areprofoundly altering the relationships between humansand the ecosystems in which they live.These changesinclude overpopulation, loss of biological resources,ecosystem destruction associated with industrial andcommercial development, climatic change, urbaniza-tion, modern agriculture employing pesticides and otherinputs, and erosion of food crop diversity from years ofgenetic engineering focused on a few crops.

Such disruptions in environmental integrity can affectpatterns of human health, disease, and nutritional status.In its preamble the Convention on Biodiversity recog-nizes that conservation and sustainable use ofbiological diversity is of critical importance for meetingthe food, health and other needs of the growing worldpopulation, for which purpose access to and sharing ofboth genetic resources and technologies are essential.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change specifically discusses nutritional status as an outcome ofclimatic change in Africa.

An understanding of these links offers guidance onnutrition-relevant actions that provide sustainablesolutions to environmental changes. At a time ofunprecedented climatic and environmental change,

nutrition knowledge becomes vital in enabling individu-als and populations to adapt in the most positive mannerpossible.The nutritional status of populations,as a recog-nizable and measurable outcome,should help directother scientific disciplines and intervention programs inidentifying sustainable solutions to the environmentaland economic problems facing global communities.

The Environment-Nutrition ConnectionAs community development priorities merge with thoseof environmental conservation, it becomes increasinglyclear that unless human populations meet their basicsurvival needs they cannot afford to conserve. At thesame time unless local communities protect the environments around them they have limited hope tothrive beyond the short term. As nutrition represents themost fundamental of human needs, it provides a usefulperspective from which to address this paradox.

Nutrition research provides essential information onhow environmental degradation can lead to majornutrition-related health problems such as malnutrition,infectious disease, and contamination.When peoplehave reduced access to and intake of crucial bioresources, they may suffer from protein-energy

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malnutrition and micronutrient deficien-cies. Diabetes and coronary heartdisease that reflect reduced intake ofnutrients and non-nutrients protectinghealth underscore the cost of increasedreliance on processed foods or a narrowspecies base by industrial societies andurban populations. Major public healthproblems of global importance such astuberculosis, gastrointestinal diseases,measles, and respiratory disease allreflect the interaction of nutritional andenvironmental factors.

Environmental contamination fromindustrial and agricultural chemicalssuch as heavy metals, organochlorines,and radionucleotides may compromisepeoples nutritional status and healtheither directly or through changes in diet.Herbicides and pesticides eliminateuncultivated food sources from agroe-cosystems; other chemicals may makethem unfit for consumption. Persistentorganic pollutants (POPS) transported inthe atmosphere can have adverse effectson traditional food systems far removedfrom major sites of pesticide use.

Seeking Sustainable SolutionsFood-based strategies are key to address-ing global hunger and malnutrition aswell as enabling vulnerable populationsto adapt to environmental and socio-economic changes.

While modern technology-based farmingis essential for producing food for thegrowing world population, concernsabout crop quality and productionseldom include nutrition, or if they do,tend to focus on protein. Similarly,

acknowledgments that loss of biodiversity and otherenvironmental changes affect diet and health areusually limited to general considerations of foodsecurity without attention to the complexity of nutrition-health relationships.

Some research and intervention programs have focusedon providing micronutrients such as vitamin A orminerals through genetic improvement, crop diversifica-tion, and soil management. More attention needs to beapplied, however, to identifying crop varieties and minorcrops with selective nutritional assets such as micronu-trients, soluble fiber, or antioxidants and to analyzing thenutritional content of indigenous fruits and vegetablesand wild edible species. Programs should give greaterimportance to maintaining the genetic diversity of plantspecies within home gardens and local agroecosystems.Where they can be exploited sustainably, uncultivatedresources can also improve nutrition indirectly bycontributing to economic livelihood.

Genetic modification and other strategies that targetsingle nutrients promise selective improvement of plantnutrient composition. Although genetically modifiedorganisms are subject to considerable scrutiny for theirpotential adverse effects on human health, this technol-ogy also has potential ecological and social effects thatrequire careful evaluation.

While institutional approaches are essential to addressproblems of a global magnitude, national efforts,particularly those involving local communities, are alsoimportant. Local multidisciplinary activities thatcombine nutrition research, ethnobotany, and ecosystemand resource management with health care activities,and that embrace participatory models of empower-ment and initiative, offer real hope for addressingproblems at the levels where people are directlyaffected.

Researchers have documented ways in which popula-tions with traditional life-styles (often populationsidentified as indigenous) satisfy their nutritional needs

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through unique human-environment relationships.For example, rice, pulses, and milk products provide abalance of amino acids for subsistence farmers in India.In situations where animal protein and fat are theprimary energy sources, such as among Arctic huntersand dryland pastoralists, populations have adaptedspecialized preparation techniques and used wildplants to ensure that essential vitamins and minerals areconsumed. Nutritional sciences can help determinewhether these traditional systems can be adapted foruse elsewhere. Coupled with knowledge about the roleof nutrition in contemporary health problems,traditional knowledge and resources can guide environmental efforts to identify sustainable solutions.

In turn, adequate nutrition increases options for conservation, or at least reduces pressure on people touse resources unsustainably in the effort to meet theirbasic needs.

Traditional values of conservation, encompassing relationships to land, spiritual dimensions, andconcepts of health, are fragile and vulnerable tomodern forces of change. Nonetheless, cultural valuescan be important components in programs of publichealth education and ecological recovery. Integratingthe biological, social, and cultural dimensions ofhuman-environmental relations is as essential to thepresent and future sustainability of human health as ithas been throughout history.

Conclusion Major health problems of the 21st century include nutri-tional deficiencies and dietary changes in both ruraland urban settings. Nutritional analyses, combined withan understanding of traditional systems and resources,can help identify the biological and socioculturalcomponents of solutions to dietary and health problemsassociated with dietary change and adaptive strategiesfor the future.Addressing nutritional needs offers aprimary rationale for the preservation of traditionalknowledge and life-styles, the conservation of wild and

cultivated resources, and the sustainableuse of the environments in which they arelocated.

Suggested ReadingConvention on Biodiversity. 1992..

Eyzaguirre, P. B., S. Padulosi, and T.Hodgkin. 1999. IPGRIs strategy forneglected and underutilized species andthe human dimension of agrobiodiversity.In Priority-setting for underutilized andneglected plant species of theMediterranean region, ed. S. Padulosi.Rome: International Plant GeneticResources Institute.

FAO (Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations). 1996. Global Planof Action for the Conservation andSustainable Utilization of Plant GeneticResources for Food and Agriculture. Rome.

FAO/WHO (Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations/WorldHealth Organization). 1994. InternationalConference on Nutrition: Plan of Action

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To order additional copies contact UN ACC/SCN. To download: http://acc.unsystem.org/scn/ or www.ifpri.org

Suggested citation: Timothy Johns and Pablo B. Eyzaguirre, "Nutrition and The Environment. In Nutrition: A Foundation forDevelopment, Geneva: ACC/SCN, 2002.

Copyright January 2002 UN ACC/SCN. This document may be reproduced without prior permission, but with attribution toauthor(s) and UN ACC/SCN.

Photo credits: Page 1, World Bank/Tomas Sennett; Page 3, World Bank/Curt Carnemark.

Timothy Johns is director and associate professor at the Centre for Indigenous Peoples,Nutrition and Environment (CINE) of McGill University, Quebec, Canada. Pablo B. Eyzaguirreis senior scientist, anthropology and socioeconomics, at the International Plant GeneticResources Institute, Rome. For further information please contact the authors att.johns@cgiar.org (or johns@macdonald.mcgill.ca) or p.eyzaguirre@cgiar.org.

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Johns,T. 1999.The chemical ecology ofhuman ingestive behaviors. AnnualReview of Anthropology 28: 2750.

Johns,T., and P. B. Eyzaguirre. 2001.Nutrition for sustainable environments.SCN News 21: 2429.

Kuhnlein, H.V., and H. M. Chan. 2000.Environment and contaminants in tradi-tional food systems of northernindigenous peoples. Annual Review ofNutrition 20: 595626.

Kuhnlein, H.V., and O. Receveur. 1996.Dietary change and traditional foodsystems of indigenous peoples. AnnualReview of Nutrition 16: 417442.

Pellett, P. L. 1993.The World Declaration on Nutrition fromthe International Conference on Nutrition. Ecology ofFood and Nutrition 30: 1-7.

Platt,A. E. 1996. Infecting ourselves: How environmentaland social disruptions trigger disease.Washington, D.C.:Worldwatch Institute.

Tomkins,A. 2000. Malnutrition, morbidity, and mortality inchildren and their mothers. Proceedings of the NutritionSociety 59 (1): 135146.

Watson, R.T., M. C. Zinyowera, and R. H. Moss, eds. 1997.The regional impacts of climate change: An assessment ofvulnerability. Special Report of IPCC Working Group II.Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.

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