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Article in scidev.net: 'Don't medicalise micronutrient deficiency'

This article in scidev.net criticises current mainstream approaches to tackling micronutrient deficiency in developing countries through biofortifying food or giving out supplements.

It says that, while these approaches may reduce the short-term burden of malnutrition, they are doomed to fail in the long term because they frame micronutrient deficiency as purely a health issue, ignoring the food and agricultural aspects of the problem. It argues that a "strategy that frames malnutrition not only as a health problem but also a 'food problem' could have more success. Such a strategy must consider the full complexity of social and ethical issues associated with tackling micronutrient deficiency: ensuring sustainable and climate-neutral agriculture, protecting biodiversity, and understanding cultural food preferences and communities' perceptions of risk."

You can read the article here.

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