The Links between Farming Systems and Human Nutrition:

Valuation of externalitiesWorkshop Session I, Theme 3: Public Health

Jess Fanzo, PhDColumbia University, New York

Center on Globalization and Sustainable Development

South Atlantic Ocean South Pacific Ocean

Indian Ocean

Arctic Ocean

Arctic Ocean

North Pacific Ocean

<10% 10-20%

21-30% 31-40% 41-50% >51%

POPKIN The World is Fat (Penguin, Dec 2008)

Overweight and Obesity Patterns

Chronic Undernutrition: StuntingUnrealized Issue

UNICEF 2013

Known Known:Food Security and Human Development

Africa HDR 2012

Food prices

Food consumption

Food expenditure

Non-food expenditure

Nutrient intake Child nutrition outcomes

Hou

seho

ld a

sset

s an

d liv

elih

oods

Health status

Mother’s nutrition outcomes

Health care expenditure

Female employment /

resources

National nutrition outcomes

Income (agricultural and non-agricultural)

Caring capacity & practices

Female energy expenditure

Food production

Nutrition knowledge

National economic

growth

Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture: The Known Unknowns

Impact of Agriculture-Led Growth on Underweight is Modest at Best

World Bank 2013

Solutions to Support the Integration of Public Health and Food Systems

1. Bundling interventions2. Building capacity at the community level3. Using technology as a delivery channel4. Utilizing social networks for dissemination5. Rethinking the consumer

How can we harness current innovations, knowledge and evidence to improve nutrition security?

Rethinking the Consumer• Equity, equity, equity: political commitment• Women as key consumers• Consumer demand is changing• Flipping value chains• Cost of diets and re-thinking luxury foods

The Cost of a Nutritious Diet

De Pee and Bloem 2010

Additional Research

• Understanding Impact of Agriculture on Nutrition: Many unknowns on how to address nutrition that is equitable and affordable

• Quantifying Costs and Benefits: Need to cost interventions and understand the benefits and tradeoffs of nutrition sensitive value chains

• Identify ways of maximising benefits while minimising costs: Not well understood. Less cost to provide a pill?

Additional Research Needed: Affordability or

knowledge and behavior?

- 11

-

In need of transfer & possibly

more

Mainly act on education & behaviours, marketing & regulation

Not applicable

No need for food support

Do NOT have

adequate diet

Have adequate

diet

Have economic access to nutritious diet

Do NOT have economic access to nutritious diet

Food consumption dimension

Aff

ord

ab

ility

dim

en

sio

n

Need more on Policy: Better Equitable, Access to Diversity

Very, very poor

Less poor

Not poor

Moderate poor

Very poor

Staple

Staple Vegetables

Staple

Staple

Vegetables Eggs

Vegetables Eggs Meat

Staple Vegetables Eggs Meat Milk

Snack foods – high fat & sugar ‘empty

calories’

Where Can Policy Intervene?