Milk-and-Dairy-Products-in-Human-Nutrition-FAO

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Milk and dairy products in human nutrition
(WHO, 2003). Most national dietary guidelines recommend daily consumption of
milk. Some but not all make recommendations on the quantities to be consumed
daily. Recommendations differ according to the nutritional needs of different
age groups. Generally, larger quantities of milk and dairy are recommended for
children and adolescents, pregnant and lactating women and the elderly, who have
special requirements. For more information, see Table 4.7 in Chapter 4, Milk and
dairy products as part of the diet. Neumann, Harris and Rogers (2002) reviewed
animal-source foods such as milk and meat and major constituent micronutrients
and their impact on child growth, cognitive development and health (see Chapters
4 and 7; also UNICEF, 1998).
As already discussed in Chapters 4 and 7, milk and dairy foods can make an
important contribution to improving nutrition for women and children and are an
important constituent in food products aimed at treating malnourished children.
In livestock-keeping communities where milk is readily available milk and dairy
products are fed preferentially to young children, whose nutritional requirements
for growth and mental development are greatest between conception and two
years of age.
NGOs including Heifer International, FARM-Africa and Oxfam report increased
milk consumption and child growth in households raising livestock. However, the
possible impact of increased income and associated purchase of animal products and
improved health care is seldom considered in such reports. Smallholder dairying,
especially in crop–dairy systems, contributes to food security and poverty alleviation
of most smallholders in many areas of Kenya, directly through milk consumption
and indirectly through income generation (Muriuki, Mwangi and Thorpe,
2001). In the Ethiopian Highlands, the introduction of improved technologies
(cross-bred cows, improved feeding and management) made a significant contribution
to food security and nutrition as well as to alleviating poverty (Tangka, Ouma
and Staal, 1999).
While agricultural programmes, including post-harvest processing, contribute
to the quality and quantity of the food supply (Peduzzi, 1990; Soleri, Smith and
Cleveland, 2000), nutritional objectives are seldom integrated with main objectives
or monitored. The Agriculture-Nutrition Project, a joint venture between ICRW,
IFPRI, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
in Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Uganda, promoted stronger links
between agriculture and nutrition while also considering gender (Johnson-Welch,
1999). An important observation is that women are the primary caregivers in
households and many references indicate that income gained by women is directed
towards family health, care and well-being.
People in low-income countries spend an average of 55 percent of their expenditures
on food, as compared with 16 percent in high-income countries (Regmi, 2001).
Agricultural policies that reduce production costs, create incentives to produce
more nutrient-rich and diversified crops and improve access to markets can improve
food supply, nutrition and income (Chavas and Uriarte, 1999; Xinshen et al., 2003).
One example is FAO’s Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS), operational in
over 70 low-income, food-deficit countries, which reported that rearing livestock
(with attendant income and nutritional gains) mitigates the impact of HIV/AIDS on
the livelihoods and food security of affected households (FAO, 2005b).