Presented by Lawrence Haddad (Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition) at the International Tropical Agriculture Conference, Brisbane, Australia, 11−13 November 2019
Why animal source foods need to be part of the global food security and nutrition agenda
1. Why animal source foods need to be part
of the global food security and nutrition
agenda
Lawrence Haddad
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
International Tropical Agriculture Conference
Brisbane, Australia
November 11-13, 2019
2. Simple message 1:
Animal source foods are
essential for infant and
young child growth
State of the World’s Children 2019, UNICEF
3. 7.3
4.8
1.9
6
0
Any ASF Any
grains/roots/tuber
Any Legumes/nuts Any fruit Any vegetables
Percentage reduction in stunting rates from consuming a food from the
food groups below in the previous 24 hours
(49 countries in Africa, Asia and LAC)
Animal Sourced Foods and Child Stunting
D. Headey, K. Hirvonen, and J. Hoddinott (2018) Amer. J. Agr. Econ. 100(5): 1302–1319
%
4. % of children under
5 with micronutrient
deficiencies
State of the World’s Children 2019, UNICEF
Simple message 2:
Too many children under 5 have micronutrient deficiencies
Hint: value add of ASF
consumption is mainly
about minerals & vitamins,
not protein
6. Figure 1 in the EAT Lancet report
https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet-
commission/
South Asia and Sub
Saharan Africa are
well below the EAT
Lancet Commission
Reference Diet
Recommendations for
Animal Source Foods
So, what’s
the problem?
9. Aleksandrowicz L, Green R, Joy EJM, Smith P, Haines A (2016) The Impacts of Dietary Change on
Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Land Use, Water Use, and Health: A Systematic Review. PLoS ONE
Diets that are better for health tend to have lower greenhouse gas emissions,
but with lots of variability
Virtually all
diets are from
high income
countries
10. And Low Carbon Diets are not always Healthy
16 High Income Country studies, 100 dietary patterns, many more GHG-nutrient links
Do low-carbon-emission diets lead to higher nutritional quality and positive health outcomes? A systematic review of the literature.
Charlotte LR Payne et. al 2016. Public Health Nutrition: 19(14), 2654–2661
57/84
low GHG-diet
links had
reduced salt &
saturated fat
38/55
low GHG-diet
links were high
in sugar
129/158
low GHG-diet
links were low
in essential
micronutrients
11. Plant Source Foods Animal Source Foods
Cereals, roots
and tubers
Fruits,
vegetables,
pulses etc.
Non Meat
Meat
Red White Processed
The
Complex
Picture
12. Plant Source Foods Animal Source Foods
Cereals, roots
and tubers
Fruits,
vegetables,
pulses etc.
Non Meat
Meat
Red White Processed
Health
outcomes
Stunting and
Wasting
Premature
Mortality,
Diabetes,
Heart Disease
Environ-
mental
outcomes
Greenhouse
Gases
Other
Environmental
Effects
Livelihoods
Poverty
reduction,
economic
development
The
Complex
Picture
13. Plant Source Foods Animal Source Foods
Cereals, roots
and tubers
Fruits,
vegetables,
pulses etc.
Non Meat
Meat
Red White Processed
Health
outcomes
Stunting and
Wasting
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces ??
Premature
Mortality,
Diabetes,
Heart Disease
Environ-
mental
outcomes
Greenhouse
Gases
Other
Environmental
Effects
Livelihoods
Poverty
reduction,
economic
development
The
Complex
Picture
14. Plant Source Foods Animal Source Foods
Cereals, roots
and tubers
Fruits,
vegetables,
pulses etc.
Non Meat
Meat
Red White Processed
Health
outcomes
Stunting and
Wasting
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces ??
Premature
Mortality,
Diabetes,
Heart Disease
Environ-
mental
outcomes
Greenhouse
Gases
Other
Environmental
Effects
Livelihoods
Poverty
reduction,
economic
development
Very
important
Very
important,
with great
potential
Very important, with great potential
The
Complex
Picture
15. Plant Source Foods Animal Source Foods
Cereals, roots
and tubers
Fruits,
vegetables,
pulses etc.
Non Meat
Meat
Red White Processed
Health
outcomes
Stunting and
Wasting
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces ??
Premature
Mortality,
Diabetes,
Heart Disease
Reduces Strongly
Reduces
??
Increases, but
also not so cut
and dried
?? Strongly
Increases
Environ-
mental
outcomes
Greenhouse
Gases
Other
Environmental
Effects
Livelihoods
Poverty
reduction,
economic
development
Very
important
Very
important,
with great
potential
Very important, with great potential
The
Complex
Picture
16. Plant Source Foods Animal Source Foods
Cereals, roots
and tubers
Fruits,
vegetables,
pulses etc.
Non Meat
Meat
Red White Processed
Health
outcomes
Stunting and
Wasting
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces
Strongly
Reduces ??
Premature
Mortality,
Diabetes,
Heart Disease
Reduces Strongly
Reduces
??
Increases, but
also not so cut
and dried
?? Strongly
Increases
Environ-
mental
outcomes
Greenhouse
Gases
Low
emissions
Low
emissions
Lower
emissions
than red
meat
High
emissions,
but highly
contested
Lower
emissions
than red
meat
??
Other
Environmental
Effects
?? ?? ?? ?? ?? ??
Livelihoods
Poverty
reduction,
economic
development
Very
important
Very
important,
with great
potential
Very important, with great potential
The
Complex
Picture
17. What is a stressed out policymaker to do?
• Reduce ASF
consumption
• Continue to reduce the
GHG emissions of ASF
production
• Reduce ASF consumption
(although win may not be
as big as many think)
High Income Country
Improve
human
health
Improve
planetary
health
Policy aim
18. What is a stressed out policymaker to do?
• Reduce ASF
consumption
• Increase ASF consumption for
nutritionally vulnerable groups with low
ASF consumption
• Reduce ASF consumption for those with
already high Western level consumption
• Continue to reduce the
GHG emissions of ASF
production
• Reduce ASF consumption
(although win may not be
as big as many think)
• Reduce GHG emission of ASF
production (big potential gains)
• Livelihood impacts from enhanced
productivity should be positive
• Animal welfare effects need to be
monitored
High Income Country Low Income Country
Improve
human
health
Improve
planetary
health
Policy aim
19. Why animal source foods need to be part
of the global food security and nutrition
agenda
Lawrence Haddad
Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition
International Tropical Agriculture Conference
Brisbane, Australia
November 11-13, 2019
20. Other Implications
• Important big caveats: have not looked at livelihoods or other environmental
effects
• Context is everything
• A big Inequality agenda
– Differentiated responsibilities and capacities to change consumption
• Much more data and research needed in low and middle income countries on
tradeoffs
– Most data and research from high income settings
– Establish consensus within cells & across them: Intergovernmental Panel on Agriculture & Food?
• More university programs, journal articles and research calls that straddle the
health and environment worlds
– Still ships passing in the night
– Big contributions of EAT Lancet report to bring them together
21. We Need to Elevate the Discourse
• Issues are complex
• The evidence base is thin
• There is a lot of ideology mixed in
• Competing interests are everywhere
• Need to avoid demonising those who disagree with
us— it sets everyone back