title: General characteristics of food in developing regions-a situational diagnostic assessment.
abstract: Since the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1946, it has reported on the serious problem of hunger in the world and has undertaken various initiatives for eradicating this problem; however, they have ended in failure. The number of people suffering from hunger has increased from 500 to 800 million in a period of six decades, despite constant growth in world food production, which has been more than sufficient to cover the needs of all of humanity since the 1970s. This paper analyses FAO initiatives in the framework of the evolution of the nutritional situation in developing countries and identifies national and regional contexts in which technical solutions may be successful, as well as those requiring the implementation of economic, political and social measures.
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Department, National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition, Mexico City, Mexico. aavila@slan.org.mx
authors.forename: Abelardo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Avila-Curiel
mesh_terms: D003906:Developing Countries; D005523:Food Supply; D006801:Humans; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D014480:United Nations