The relationship between the bodyT
s need for nutrients and
food as the source of these nutrients for human development is
known, although not with the precision available for growing
crops or producing animals. Some links in the complex chain
leading to availability and acceptance of foods—production,
processing, distribution, nutritional knowledge, tradition,
consumption, etc.—are better understood than others. In the
health field, it is recognized that a vast gap exists between
current knowledge of nutrition and the capability for bringing
this knowledge within the effective reach of people—that
critical elements in the chain are missing or misunderstood,
often tragically in the less developed countries of the tropics.
Unfortunately, even where food sources exist, poverty,
ignorance and prejudice often result in unnecessary malnutrition