NUTRITION

Food trade. On 7 June, Mario Lubetkin, Sub-Regional Director of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), met with FAO General Director José Graziano da Silva in Uruguay. During the event, Mr. Lubetkin urged entrepreneurs to “take on the importance of joining campaigns for the good nutrition of humanity”. It is expected that such an approach will be focused on in the next FAO regional conferences, to be held in the coming months.

The Sub-Director stressed the need for commitment from the business sector to reverse the rising trend of obesity in Latin America and the Caribbean. He also argued that the supply of healthy food will be profitable from a commercial point of view. In his own words, Lubetkin considered that those who center their business around consideration for integral health “are going to gain a lot”.

On the other hand, Lubetkin stressed the value of the approach to nutrition problems by governments in the region, considering that ten years ago “they did not feel responsible”. He explained that Latin American governments have assumed nutrition problems “as an issue for the private sector”. Consequently, he urged the public authorities to continue in the process of strengthening their public policies concerning the fight against obesity.

Next steps

This topic will continue to be worked on in future conferences, following on from the 35th FAO Regional Conference which took place between 5 and 8 March this year in Montego Bay, Jamaica. It is expected that the Sub-Director will promote, inside FAO, an agenda to deepen joint efforts with the private sector in the coming months.