Ambiente - Salute - Diritti Umani - Nutrizione - Agricoltura

Most families across the world will have felt the pinch from the rising cost of food in the past few years. But in poorer nations the health risks, particularly for young children, are far more severe. In developing countries people spend a larger proportion of their income on food than in wealthy countries – as much as 80 percent in some cases. So when prices head higher, they cut down on non-staple foods like meat, fish, fruit and vegetables, which contain more minerals and vitamins than cereals and grains but are more expensive.
"When food prices go up, people become poorer, and they can't afford to buy as diverse a basket of food as before," says Lawrence Kent, an agricultural development officer with the U.S.-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. "And it's when you cut out nutritious foods that people are more susceptible to deficiencies."
With international food prices having touched a record high in February, there is concern that a growing number of poor families are not consuming enough micronutrients – including iron, zinc and vitamin A – to stay healthy and enable their children to develop properly. Micronutrient malnutrition – often called "hidden hunger" – can cause stunted growth, anaemia, complications in childbirth, blindness and greater susceptibility to infections like diarrhoea and measles. (...)
One promising solution, which is starting to gain ground in Africa and Asia, is the breeding of crop varieties enriched with higher levels of minerals and vitamins – a process known as biofortification. (...)

The article:
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/special-report-nutrient-enriched-crops-target-hidden-hunger

More about:
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/factbox-whats-the-impact-of-hidden-hunger/

Basic information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofortification