Recent Trends in Food Availability and Nutritional Well-Being

Abstract

This paper notes that, despite a doubling of the world's population, the past half century has witnessed marked improvements in per capita food availabilities and nutritional wellbeing in most parts of the globe. Aggregate diet quality has gone up in most developing countries and the incidence of child malnourishment and infant mortality has declined sharply. For the two groups falling outside of these generalizations—those living in Sub-Saharan Africa and the more impoverished of the three countries of the Indian subcontinent—remedial action lies less with agriculture than in political reform (Africa) and more and better paying jobs (Asia).