The factors that are hampering the development of practical and acceptable policies in the fields of food and nutrition are examined with particular emphasis on analyzing the disciplinary limitations that prevent physicians nutritionists and economists from working cooperatively with governments to present coherent broad-based plans in these fields. It is assumed in the discussion that the government has determined that adequate nutrition for all people is an appropriate national goal as an alternative to the traditional practice of allowing nutrition status to be secondary to agricultural policy foreign trade health and social policy and economic conditions. Prerequisites for highly centralized direction of all aspects of the food supply do not exist at present in most countries and models for intervention other than adjusting supplies and distribution directly to requirements need to be sought. Recognizing that they cannot control supplies under normal conditions nutritionalists often strive for a utopia in which they control demand. Economists are unwilling to give much attention to those commodities that do not travel through channels of trade or to those commodities that make a considerable contribution to good nutrition but are difficult to quantify. Concerned with nutrition policy the element of civic nutrition education is crucial. The goal of imparting civic nutritional literacy is to enable professionals to become more aware of the nutrition-related issues and to interpret those issues in policy making.
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Feb 1, 1990
Henry Kiernan 
