Combating micronutrient deficiencies through vegetables - A neglected food frontier in Asia

The widespread prevalence of micronutrient deficiency is a major cause of poor human health in many developing countries of Asia. Integrating micronutrient-rich foods such as vegetables, fruits and livestock products into diets is the most practical and sustainable way to alleviate micronutrient deficiency. Vegetables are efficient sources of several important micronutrients, both with respect to unit cost of production and per unit of land area. However, vegetable consumption in most Asian countries is far below the level required to meet the micronutrient requirements. This is further aggravated by seasonal and annual fluctuations in vegetable production and consumption. The per capita consumption of vegetables has stagnated at low levels in most Asian countries, and real vegetable prices are on the increase. Policies to ameliorate micronutrient deficiency include reduction in the relative prices of vegetables, increase in income, enhancement of micronutrient contents in vegetables, generating awareness among consumers about the role of vegetables in human health, improvement in vegetable cooking and processing methods and improvement in the gestropolitics of micronutrient distribution. Enhancing vegetable supplies through low-cost production and marketing technology, and advance vegetable cooking and processing methods coupled with educational programs to promote a balanced diet is considered the most efficient strategy to solve the problem of mineral and vitamin deficiency, along with an increased food and income security, new jobs, food diversity, and enhanced sustainability of agricultural production systems that results from the diversification of these systems. Such efforts should not be targeted at a single vegetable or single micronutrient, but rather to enhance overall vegetable supplies, especially during the lean supply period, as well as to increase their diversity usually demanded by consumers when they start consuming more vegetables. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.