FOOD AND WORK - POVERTY AND HUNGER

Argues that many international recommendations for human energy intake have failed to consider human variation and adaptation. These recommendations have been grossly misinterpreted by some international agencies and social scientists who have viewed failure to meet these recommended levels as indications of impaired labor power, or even starvation. Undernutrition exists, but its incidence and significance is much less important that malnutrition. In the future, more emphasis needs to be placed on the quality of the diet and less on the quantity of food intake. The key health problems in India and Indonesia are polluted water, unsanitary disposal of excreta, and extremely high levels of pneumonia and dysentery. The real health needs of peoples in the developing agricultural nations absolutely demand a more holistic approach to their multiple problems. More food is not the key to development. -from Authors