Food Consumption In Countries Research Articles

The Impact of Regime Type on Food Consumption in Low Income Countries

Competing studies use food consumption to measure the impact of political regime on the welfare of the poor. Democracies may outperform autocracies by using growth to hide redistribution, improving caloric consumption and currying favor. Alternatively, autocracies may have greater incentives to lower food prices to quell urban unrest. We test these competing theories using a more detailed, continuous, nuanced measure of food consumption quality – cereal equivalent values. We find evidence to support the second hypothesis, that autocracies outperform democracies at low incomes. For higher incomes, democracies perform significantly better. Segregated by growth, autocracies again outperform democracies at low incomes.

Seasonal prevalence and determinants of food insecurity in Iqaluit, Nunavut

BackgroundFood insecurity is an ongoing problem in the Canadian Arctic. Although most studies have focused on smaller communities, little is known about food insecurity in larger centres.ObjectivesThis study aimed to estimate the prevalence of food insecurity during 2 different seasons in Iqaluit, the territorial capital of Nunavut, as well as identify associated risk factors.DesignsA modified United States Department of Agriculture Food Security Survey was applied to 532 randomly selected households in September 2012 and 523 in May 2013. Chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression were used to examine potential associations between food security and 9 risk factors identified in the literature.ResultsIn September 2012, 28.7% of surveyed households in Iqaluit were food insecure, a rate 3 times higher than the national average, but lower than smaller Inuit communities in Nunavut. Prevalence of food insecurity in September 2012 was not significantly different in May 2013 (27.2%). When aggregating results from Inuit households from both seasons (May and September), food insecurity was associated with poor quality housing and reliance on income support (p<0.01). Unemployment and younger age of the person in charge of food preparation were also significantly associated with food insecurity. In contrast to previous research among Arctic communities, gender and consumption of country food were not positively associated with food security. These results are consistent with research describing high food insecurity across the Canadian Arctic.ConclusionThe factors associated with food insecurity in Iqaluit differed from those identified in smaller communities, suggesting that experiences with, and processes of, food insecurity may differ between small communities and larger commercial centres. These results suggest that country food consumption, traditional knowledge and sharing networks may play a less important role in larger Inuit communities.

Transnational Food and Beverage Corporations, Food Systems Transformations and the Nutrition Transition in Asia

Levels of ultra-processed food consumption in Asian middle-income countries is increasing rapidly and converging with levels consumed in high-income countries. In this paper we investigate whether these consumption patterns reflect underlying changes in food systems driven by transnational food and beverage corporations (TFBCs) in the grocery retail, manufacturing and chained food service sectors. Through their considerable market power TFBCs can shape global and local food systems in ways that alter the availability, price, nutritional quality, desirability and ultimately consumption of such foods. The results presented here demonstrate that Asian markets have become increasingly penetrated by TFBCs and that this is highest in the ultra-processed food categories. It further demonstrates that market concentration, whereby increasing market share and thus market power is held by a declining number of firms, is also increasing in the same sectors and categories. However there is wide variability between countries as well as between the three sectors suggesting variable implications for nutrition and public health across the region. Overall, the findings suggest that market forces are likely to be significant but variable drivers of Asia’s nutrition transition and that policy intervention outside of the health sector is warranted.

The consuming geographies of food: diet, food deserts and obesity

The consumption and distribution of food, as well as its production, has become a major public policy issue over the past few decades; what we eat is no longer merely a private matter but carries significant externalities for wider society. Its increasing significance within the public arena implies a dissonance regarding the boundaries of food; where do we draw the line between food as private and food as public? What are the rights of society to impinge upon individual food consumption, and what conflicts will ensue when this boundary is disputed? The Consuming Geographies of Food explores these multiple issues of food across different regions of the world from the consumer’s perspective. It uniquely explicates the factors that lead customers towards certain typologies of consumption and towards certain types of retailing, offering a comprehensive review of the obesity problem, the phenomenon of food deserts and the issue of exclusion from a healthy diet. It then considers the effects of food on the consumer, the dynamic relationship between food and people, and the issue of food exclusion before concluding with possible futures for food consumption, from low-technology projects to high-technology scenarios. Based on original research into food access, ethics and consumption in both developed and less-developed countries this book will be of interest to students, researchers and academics in the fields of geography, economics, hospitality health, marketing, nutrition and sociology.

Local country food sources of methylmercury, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids in Nunavik, Northern Quebec

Country foods are central to Inuit culture and replete in selenium (Se) and long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n−3 PUFA). However, some marine country foods bioaccumulate high concentrations of methylmercury (MeHg). Se and n−3 are associated with several health benefits in Nunavik, Northern Quebec, but, recent studies show that prenatal MeHg exposure is associated with visual, cognitive and behavioral deficit later in childhood.The study objectives are to identify contemporary country food sources of MeHg, Se and long-chain n−3 PUFA in Nunavik, particularly among childbearing-age women, taking into account regional differences in consumption profiles. The contribution of different country foods to daily MeHg, Se, long-chain n−3 PUFA intake (μg/kg body weight/day) was estimated using: (i) country food consumption and blood biomarkers data from the 2004 Nunavik Health Survey (387 women, 315 men), and (ii) data on MeHg, Se, long-chain n−3 PUFA concentrations found in Nunavik wildlife species.In the region where most traditional beluga hunting takes place in Nunavik, the prevalence of at-risk blood Hg (≥8μg/L) in childbearing-age women was 78.4%. While most country foods presently consumed contain low MeHg, beluga meat, not a staple of the Inuit diet, is the most important contributor to MeHg: up to two-thirds of MeHg intake in the beluga-hunting region (0.66 of MeHg intake) and to about one-third in other regions. In contrast, seal liver and beluga mattaaq – beluga skin and blubber – only mildly contributed to MeHg (between 0.06 and 0.15 of MeHg intake), depending on the region. Beluga mattaaq also highly contributed to Se intake (0.30 of Se intake). Arctic char, beluga blubber and mattaaq, and seal blubber contributed to most long-chain n−3 PUFA intake.This study highlights the importance of considering interconnections between local ecosystems and dietary habits to develop recommendations and interventions promoting country foods' benefits, while minimizing the risk of MeHg from beluga meat, especially for childbearing-age women.

The effect of rising food prices on food consumption: systematic review with meta-regression

Objective To quantify the relation between food prices and the demand for food with specific reference to national and household income levels.Design Systematic review with meta-regression.Data sources Online databases of...

Perception of the Importance of Traditional Country Foods to the Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Health of Labrador Inuit

Country foods play an integral role in Inuit life by providing nutrition and a spiritual connection to the land. However, they can harbour foodborne pathogens, such as zoonotic parasites or bacteria, which can cause disease in humans who consume contaminated meat that has been inadequately cooked. Given the heavy reliance of Inuit on subsistence living, it is important to have a clear understanding of the relative safety of these foods and the role that they play in a changing Inuit society. This community-based participatory research project involved Inuit residents of Nain, Nunatsiavut, Canada. Data on Inuit perceptions of the role, importance, and safety of country foods were collected during a series of interviews with focus groups and key informants. Despite the extremely positive views they expressed about country foods and the connections they provide to the land, community, and past, participants had major concerns about human expansion in the North, mining operations, chemical contamination, and the impact of these issues on animals and the food harvested from those animals. Also of concern was a perceived decrease in the importance of country food in their community in general, and specifically among children. These findings provide an understanding of Nunatsiavut residents’ perceptions that is essential to planning effective, culturally appropriate dissemination of public health messages about the safe consumption of country foods.

Infectivity of Toxoplasma gondii in northern traditional (country) foods prepared with meat from experimentally infected seals.

Serological and clinical evidence of human toxoplasmosis in the Canadian Arctic indicates a food safety risk associated with the consumption of wild game meat. Such meat often is eaten raw or partially cooked in locally prepared traditional (country) foods, but no data have been collected to describe survival of Toxoplasma gondii forms in these foods. The muscle of grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) experimentally infected with T. gondii oocysts was used to prepare three country foods: igunaq, a fermented product; nikku, a dried product; and sausage, a salted and spiced product. Igunaq and nikku were stored at 4 degrees C and bioassayed in cats at 49, 95, and 140 days postpreparation (DPP) and 41, 84, and 132 DPP, respectively. Raw and cooked sausages were stored at -20 degrees C and bioassayed at 50, 92, and 141 DPP. The source seal meat was infective for cats, but none of the foods prepared with this meat were infective for cats. Some cooked sausages did not reach internal temperatures considered lethal for T. gondii. Data from studies in domestic animals suggested that the negative results in this experiment were due to temperature and duration of storage. Because of the possibility that T. gondii of arctic origin might be more freeze tolerant than the swine-origin isolate used in this experiment, additional studies are necessary to clarify the risks of toxoplasmosis associated with consumption of arctic country foods.

Development of a monoclonal antibody-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of the furaltadone metabolite, AMOZ, in fortified shrimp samples

3-Amino-5-morpholinomethyl-2-oxazolidone (AMOZ) is a tissue bound metabolite of furaltadone, a synthetic nitrofuran antibiotic widely used in veterinary practices both to treat infectious diseases and as a growth promoter. Because AMOZ is carcinogenic and poses a potential health hazard for human consumers, its parent compounds, the nitrofurans, are banned from being used in animals destined for human food consumption in various countries. To enforce this, foods are routinely monitored for nitrofuran metabolite residues including AMOZ. Thus, reliable high throughput analytical methods to detect AMOZ have been developed but these are mostly based on chemical analysis. In contrast, sensitive and specific detection methods based on immunoassays for AMOZ using monoclonal antibodies have yet to be established. In this study, we report the generation of two monoclonal antibodies with high specificity for AMOZ and the development of a monoclonal antibody-based ELISA to detect AMOZ in shrimp samples using one of these clones (clone 2E5.1). Clone 2E5.1 yielded the highest sensitivity and specificity and cross reacted solely to furaltadone and AMOZ and not to other antibiotics. Competitive ELISA with 2E5.1 gave IC50 values for AMOZ, CPAMOZ and furaltadone of 5.33, 0.023 and 1.330 ng/ml, respectively. When applied in ELISA to detect AMOZ in fortified shrimp samples, the detection capability and limit of detection were 0.3 and 0.16 μg/kg, respectively. Taken together, a sensitive and specific monoclonal antibody-based ELISA for AMOZ detection has been developed that could facilitate the economic and reliable high throughput monitoring of AMOZ in shrimps and potentially other food.

Conceptualizing Food Security for Aboriginal People in Canada

Food insecurity is an urgent public health issue for Aboriginal people in Canada because of high rates of poverty; the effects of global climate change and environmental pollution on traditional food systems; and high rates of diet-related diseases. However, to date, public health has operated with conceptualizations of food security that were developed in non-Aboriginal contexts; they do not take full account of the traditional food practices of Aboriginal people or Aboriginal conceptualizations of food security. In this paper, I argue that there are unique food security considerations for Aboriginal people related to the harvesting, sharing and consumption of country or traditional foods, which impact the four pillars of food security: access, availability, supply and utilization. Thus food security conceptualizations, policies, and programs for Aboriginal people must consider both the market food system and traditional food system. Given the centrality of traditional food practices to cultural health and survival, I propose that cultural food security is an additional level of food security beyond individual, household and community levels. Conceptualizations of food security for Aboriginal people will be incomplete without qualitative research to understand Aboriginal perspectives; such research must take account of the diversity of Aboriginal people.

Food consumption and economic development in Turkey and European Union countries

This study investigates the relationship between food consumption and economic development in Turkey and European Union countries. Differences in food diets are analysed by using data on per capita consumption in caloric terms based on the period from 1970 to 2000. The cluster analysis is employed to derive country grouping on the basis of similarities in dietary structure in the 1970 and 2000. Existence of a trend towards a common European diet is explored with Beta convergence. The empirical results show that per capita food consumption is becoming less responsive to changes in income and appears to be reaching a ceiling in the majority of EU countries and Turkey. However, the share of animal products in food consumption diet is low and income expenditure elasticity of animal products is higher with 0.84 values in Turkey than that in European countries in 2000. There are great differences in dietary structure between Turkey and the European Union. Differences also exist between European Union countries; however, despite these differences there is a general tendency for dietary structure to become increasingly similar across the majority of European Union countries. The result also supports the absence of a convergence towards a common diet if Turkey joins the European Union.

Análisis comparativo de la canasta básica de alimentos, pirámide alimentaria y recomendaciones nutricionales para preescolares y escolares chilenos: A comparative analysis

Background : The basic food basket (BFB) has been developed to evaluate poverty and patterns of food consumption in many countries, including Chile. Different alternatives, like food pyramid (FP), have been proposed as guidelines for nutritional education. The relationship between both tools is unknown. Objective : To analyze the nutrient intake of children belonging to low-income Chilean families according to the BFB, in order to compare it with nutritional recommendations and Chilean FP. Methods: Information included in the CBA (MIDEPLAN) and Chilean BFB was analyzed. A family with 2 children (4 and 10 years-old) was studied in their feeding based on the BFB. We assume a proportional rate of intake according to normal energy (E) requirements by age and gender. The standard for nutrients consumption were those of FAO-WHO 2002 for energy and protein and WHO 1996 for zinc. Results : The E consumption with the BFB was 125% for preschool (PS) and 91% for school children (SC) of recommendations. High quality protein consumption was 76% in PS and 42% in SC children. Energy provided by fats was similar in terms of recommendations (21% with 7% saturated fats). The intake of calcium was 31% for PS and 29% for SC; zinc intake was 76% for PS and 73% for SC, all compared to WHO 1996 recommendations. Conclusions : BFB does not provide adequate amounts of protein, calcium and zinc. Chilean FP for children exceeds in proteins and contains few zinc. The analysis of both tools is recommended.

Introduction: Biology of the Canadian Arctic: A Crucible for Change in the 21st Century

Canada is a northern country. Whether defined in terms of geography, climate, culture, or political boundaries, the North is an integral part of Canadian national identity and a strategic component of the country’s future (Coates, 1995). Often defined as the half of the landmass and water that lies above the line of discontinuous permafrost, extending from northern British Columbia to Labrador, this vast region is home to only 1% of the human population in Canada. However, many other species are endemic to the North and many more seasonal migrants depend on northern environments for a significant part of their life history. The Canadian North, and indeed the entire circumpolar region, is a sensitive environment, facing rapid and unprecedented social, biophysical, and environmental changes. Several long-term, persistent, and pervasive changes are affecting northern environments simultaneously. Global climate change, ozone depletion, long-distance transport of contaminants, and rapid economic development have placed undue stress on terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. These stressors may have a wide range of ecologically significant effects on populations that will cascade upwards to affect the integrity of entire communities. World demand for energy supplies has increased interest in Canada’s northern oil and gas fields with the resultant prospect of a pipeline snaking down the Mackenzie River becoming ever closer to reality. The Canadian North is also the world’s third largest producer of diamonds, and mining for these precious stones now accounts for 20% of the Northwest Territories economic activity (McDonald, 2004). At the same time, new governance realities are being shaped by the settlement of aboriginal land claims and devolution of federal government responsibilities to the territories. These stressors and changes are a great cause of concern for aboriginal peoples as their health is affected by the consumption of country foods and their culture is linked to their desire to maintain traditional livelihoods. Nevertheless, much of the Canadian North is still in a natural, relatively undisturbed state, where most wildlife species are intact in terms of population abundance, distribution, and movement, and their hab1 From the Symposium Biology of the Canadian Arctic: A Crucible for Change in the 21st Centurypresented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, 4‐8 January 2003, at Toronto, Canada.

New trends in food consumption in Poland versus Western countries

Health can be viewed as a fundamental factor determining the quality of a country’s human resources. Therefore developing the health market through creation of favourable conditions for the production of healthy food products and promotion of healthy life‐style should be a priority of the state’s policy. Investigates: the state of the Polish market promoting good health; the condition of Polish producers of food products recommended in the healthy eating model; eating habits of Polish households. To illustrate these elements, gives examples of the initiatives and trends observed in Poland. Also presents the approaches practised in the Western countries’ markets. Having tailored them to the particular culture of the Polish market, they can be used as examples of health orientation.

Organochlorine Contaminants in the Country Food Diet of the Belcher Island Inuit, Northwest Territories, Canada

An initial assessment of the country food diet at the Belcher Islands' community of Sanikiluaq, Northwest Territories, was made by interviewing 16 families during May-July 1989. Estimates of consumption per day were established over a two-week period for 10 of these families. This information was utilized along with previously published harvest data for the community to estimate country food consumption in grams/day and kg/year. Beluga ( Delphinapterus leucas ), ringed seal ( Phoca hispida ), arctic charr ( Salvelinus alpinus ), common eider (Somateria mollissima) and Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) were found to be important components in the diet during this period. Results of analysis for organochlorine contaminants reveal that ringed seal fat and beluga muktuk (skin and fat layer) samples have the highest concentration of DDE and total PCBs among the country food species. Average DDE and total PCB values were 1504.6 micro g/kg and 1283.4 micro g/kg respectively in ringed seal fat and 184.3 micro g/kg and 144.7 micro g/kg respectively in beluga muktuk. Comparison of contaminants in seal fat indicates concentrations approximately two times higher in samples from the Belcher Islands than from sites in the Canadian Western Arctic, but lower than concentrations reported from various European sites. The daily consumption estimates in grams/day were used along with organic contaminant analysis data to calculate the estimated intake levels of 0.22 micro g/kg body weight/day of total DDT and 0.15 micro g/kg body weight/day of total PCBs during the study period. Although limited in sample size, studies such as this provide a framework from which to establish future consumption guidelines more applicable to arctic systems and native diets. Key words: organic contaminants, PCBs, DDE and total DDT, Inuit diet, Belcher Islands

Country food consumption during the Norman Wells Project, 1982–1985

AbstractDuring public hearings before the Norman Wells Project began, fears were expressed that the project would adversely affect consumption of country food. This note examines consumption of country food by native residents living in four communities in the impact zone of the project The proportion of country food in their diet did not diminish over its construction period, and may have increased slightly, mainly because residents maintained normal harvesting despite handicaps caused by the project. Other mitigating factors were that most construction occurred at a predominately non-native centre (Norman Wells), virtually no natives from the three native communities were employed full-time for the duration of the project, and most of their hunting area was well outside the pipeline impact zone.

World Food Security and Non-Aligned Countries

An important factor of international economic relations today is that the developed market economy countries produce much more food than they need for their own consumption while the developing nations have to import food-grains at heavy cost from the former to feed their growing population. The cereal imports of all developing countries in 1978/79—1979/80 amounted to 86.2 million tonnes. Of this only 9.2 million tonnes was received in food aid from the developed countries;1 the rest had to be paid for. Food imports thus imposed a big strain on the external payments account of the developing countries. That, however, is not the only or even the major problem in the distribution of world food supplies between the developed North and the poor South. Because of their poverty, the average daily energy in-take per person in the latter group of countries in 1974–76 was 2180 Kcal compared to 3315 Kcal in the former. Out of the total population of 2259 million (excluding China) in developing countries, 435 million or over 19 per cent were undernourished.2 At the root of the low levels of food consumption and undernourishment in these countries, lay the poor performance of agriculture. As against 5.4 tonnes per hectare in the developed countries, the average yield of paddy in the developing countries in 1974–76 was 1.9 tonnes and that of wheat 1.9 and 1.3 tonnes respectively.3 The close association between under development, backward agriculture and under-nourishment of a large section of the population needs to be noted.

EEC food aid

EEC food aid is made available as one of several methods of reducing the problems of structural surplus within European agriculture. Although the majority of the aid goes to countries in need, there is no direct relationship between the severity of the need and the volume of aid. The links between food aid and European agricultural policy ensure that it is largely additional to other forms of aid. Since much of the food received as aid is sold by the recipient governments it provides a source of indirect financial aid which would not be forthcoming from elsewhere should the food aid be withdrawn. There is likely to be both a continuing need for financial assistance to the Third World and a continuation of food aid. It is important that the food aid should be effective aid, not necessarily in directly increasing food consumption in recipient countries but through its role in overall development funding. For this reason it is important that the use of the money raised by recipients through the sale of the food aid should be effectively monitored by the EEC and that food aid should be coordinated with other forms of aid to form a multi-year programme of assistance.

Food for a growing world population: Some of the main findings of a study on the long-term prospects of the world food situation

A study has been made of the factors which determine the evolution of the production and use of food in various regions of the world It is particularly concerned with the period until the year 2010 when the world's population is expected to be roughly twice as large as it was in 1970. A Model of International Relations in Agriculture (MOIRA) has been set up in order to increase the knowledge of world relationships and their significance in the development of the food situation in various parts of the world. In this model an attempt has been made to describe human behaviour, not only of consumers and producers but also of governments, in the food supply process. After a short verbal description of the model the article concentrates on the effects of changes in exogenous variables, i. e., the rate of economic growth and population growth, and of policy alternatives, i. e., the reduction of food consumption in rich countries, food aid, the stabilisation of world market prices at various levels and the liberalisation of international trade. In this context the important role that rich countries could play with regard to world food supply has been discussed. The Appendix provides more detailed information about the construction of the model.

Food Consumption, Nutrition, and Economic Development in Asian Countries

In the postwar years numerous controversies have raged over the adequacy of the levels of food consumption in underdeveloped areas. I Usually, the food issue appears to be discussed from the standpoint of health; in this paper, we ask: whether food consumption is adequate for work purposes, as distinct from problems of health. In brief, our answer is that for the majority of working Asians, food intake is probably less than optimal from the economic viewpoint. In the concluding sections, the implications for economic development analysis are delineated. The first portions of the paper will evaluate the various qualitative findings of food consumption and concepts of requirements, after which a hypothesis designed to interpret the data will be presented. The discussion will focus on calorie intake