Thomson Reuters Foundation: Opinion: Linking the dots to end hunger and malnutrition
José Graziano da Silva, former director general of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and Maximo Torero Cullen, assistant director general for economic and social development at the FAO

“While hunger remains a scourge, a more complex nutrition problem is looming ever larger. … Micronutrient deficiencies and overweight affects even vaster swathes of the population, underscoring how we have a lot of work to do to create healthier food systems for all. … Lamentably, countries keep subsidizing products of low nutritious content, favoring staple foods over fresh and variegated produce — and fail to provide adequate and well-designed incentives for farmers to produce more nutritious products. This has a negative effect on nutrition and dietary diversity, often where these are most needed. … Our current food systems are not delivering what is needed, and hint at the drastic changes we need to make. Better incentives for the world’s agricultural producers; better information to prod consumers into choosing healthier diets; sustainable trade with clear rules; and a big push to think of nutrition as part of food safety. This is the spadework needed to increase the resilience of the world’s poorest households, and the health of everyone” (8/5).