Hunger is an everyday, unchanging fact of life for great numbers of the world's people, many of whom are hard put to get any food at all. In some 3rd world countries, for example, protein malnutrition is widespread because the consumption of meat and diary products-the natural foods containing the most complete protein- is almost nil. In such regions animals cannot be raised for food, since they return only a fraction of the calories, or energy, they consume- an important consideration in countries where a poor rice crop can mean the death of millions and where a polite salutation between freinds is, "Have you eaten?"
Famine and malnutrition, of course, have existed since the beginning of time. But today there is a cruel paradox. Man has all the knowledge necessary to produce enough properly balanced food to feed the entire population of the world. It is now known that in addition to oxygen and water, man needs at least 43 essential nutrients, classified into five main groups: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals and vitamins. A deficiency of any one of them can cause illness, but all of them can be made plentiful by science. It is a question of priorities and money.
The proteins, currently the most expensive of foods to obtain in high-quality form, are also among the vital to human beings. They are large, complex chemical substances made up of varying combinations of some 20 amino acids. At least nine are essential in a child's diet. They all promote growth during the crucial childhood years and aid in the renewal of tissues. In nature, proteins are first manufactured by plants, using nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen and carbon from the soil and air. Thus both man and animals depend ultimately on plants for proteins. But most of commonly eaten plant products contain incomplete proteins: They lack some of the essential amino acids, or have them in the wrong proportions. And the absence of even one essential amino acid limits the body's ability to make use of the others.
In the wealthy countries, animals are used as virtual factories for the production of high-quality proteins inconcentrated form. But it is not necessary to eat meat, eggs or dairy products to stay healthy. The Japanese get a large percetage of their protein from soybeans and other vegetables. Some primitive tribes have learned to eat various leaves, berries, insects and even clays, all of which are rich in nutrients they would otherwise lack. But a dreadful monotony marks the diet of people in more and more nations as they specialize in exporting agricultural products to world markets and fail to import foods necessary for proper nutrition. Some parts of Latin America now produce almost nothing but coffe for export, while others grow mainly bananas or sugar cane. In Central American nations as well, governmental policies have encouraged the production of cash crops, such as cotton.
The usual Central American diet of corn and beans, or just corn, is deficient in certain essential amino acids and accounts for some lethargy in the people there. Many peasants who have been raised on this diet no longer feel genuine appetite; they content themselves with a few cornmeal tortillas, and sometimes must force themselves to eat even those. Besides suffering from a shortage of proteins, Central Americans also lack minerals and vitamins. When they become infested with worms or others parasites, they have little energy left, even though they may not actually look sick. A serious infestation of hookworm can rob its vitamin of half a pint of blood per day, leading to fatal anemia.
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