Food science and nutrition: the gulf between rich and poor

Abstract

The people of economically developed countries benefit greatly from modern food science. They are protected from food contamination, have access to a great variety of food, and need spend little time preparing it. The poor in developing countries enjoy few of the benefits of food science. Their diets are often nutritionally deficient and they spend many hours each day processing their food and searching for wood with which to cook it. In most tropical countries food losses between harvest of slaughter and eventual consumption are inestimable. Efforts to improve post-harvest food systems in developing countries require the attention and ingenuity of many scientific disciplines and the support of all development agencies.