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The
Global Child Nutrition Forum
by
Emmanuel Ohene Afoakwa
The Global Child Nutrition Forum is a year-round project that culminates
in a four-day networking event, held in conjunction with School
Nutrition Association (SNA) Annual National Conference. A core group
of 20 or more international leaders in school food-service and child
nutrition exchange program ideas and information at special education
sessions during the Forum and through ongoing communication after
the event.
Participants represent countries developing or seeking to improve
their school feeding programs. Upon returning home, they serve as
resource persons for neighboring nations developing feeding programs.
In the past, countries have included Canada, Chile, Jamaica, Malaysia,
Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, United
Kingdom and Vietnam. The 2005 Forum was held from July 12 –
16, 2005 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA and it brought together 16
experts from 12 different countries, namely; Argentina, Canada,
Colombia, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Ghana, Malaysia, Mexico, Jamaica,
South Africa, Scotland and United Kingdom.
The Global Child Nutrition Forum unites food-service professionals
from diverse school districts in the United States - with international
participants - allowing an exchange of information on school foodservice
programs and child nutrition, food safety and foodservice management.
Roundtable discussion groups compare nutrition education, employee
training, program operations, sanitation practices and funding,
in the context of school foodservice and child feeding programs.
This year’s Forum focused on all aspects of child nutrition,
food preparation, food safety and foodservice management, prevention
of food-borne illness and networking between nations and groups.
Activities focused on developing solutions to problems faced by
participants in providing nutritious meals to their countries’
children. A site visit to an Elementary School in Annapolis, Maryland
provided a behind-the-scene look at how programs across the U.S.
serve lunch to more than 33 million school children each school
day. Forum participants were also given a one year membership in
SNA, providing them with access to all of the resources that come
with membership, including professional development and training
opportunities, a subscription to the School Foodservice and Nutrition
magazine and access to all portions of the SNA Web site, including
a GCNF online community.
The specific mission of the Forum is to build and support a global
network of child nutrition advocates, committed to expanding access
to school and community-based nutrition programs. The Global Child
Nutrition Forum illustrates SNA’s commitment to “advance
good nutrition for all children”. Reaching out to children
and schools in less developed countries is consistent with this
mission of helping children reach their life potential through good
nutrition.
The main goal of this program is to ensure that more children will
be fed in schools and community-based nutrition programs throughout
the world. SNA wishes to have an effective global network of child
nutrition advocates. Hosting the Forum at the ANC each year helps
SNA members and other child nutrition advocates in the United States
support the mission and vision of these global child nutrition activities.
The Child Nutrition Foundation, with the assistance of various industry
partners and other like-minded organizations, has planned and coordinated
each of the Global Child Nutrition Forums since its inception in
1997 in Orlando, Fla. This year's funders included Animal Krackers
Alliance, Child Nutrition Foundation, Florida School Food Service
Association (2), Rich Products, Schwan's Food Service, Tetra Pak,
Virginia School Food Service Association and the United Nations
World Food Programme.
In pursuance of the activities of the international programs, the
Global Child Nutrition Forum is annually coordinated by individuals
and companies who call themselves friends of the GCNF. These include
Anne Gennings, Brevard School Food Service Association, Indiana
School Food Service Association, Polk County School Food Service
Association, Mississippi School Food Service Association, Mary Owens,
Schreiber Foods, SFSPac, Tree Top Inc., Gene White and Cindy Wimberley.
THE
CHENNAI CONFERENCE:
HUMAN CENTERED SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
7TH - 10TH AUGUST, 2005
In
honor of Prof. M. S. Swaminathan’s 80th birthday
Kennedy
Shiundu
Represented
Hon. Prof. Ruth K. Oniang’o
Felicitation
The renowned Indian scientist Prof. Moukombu Sambasivan Swaminathan
(famously, known as M. S. Swaminathan) celebrated his 80th birthday
on 7th August 2005. The internationally acclaimed Father of Green
Revolution in India, was feted by his countrymen/women and the international
community with a conference organized specifically, to honour his
immense contribution to food security and agricultural development,
not only in India, but throughout Asia and the rest of the developing
world.
The
Human Centered Sustainable Development conference, aptly phrased
to honour this icon of the 20th and 21st centuries, reflected the
ideals that Prof. Swaminathan holds dear, and has endeavored to
practice throughout his illustrious career in public and international
life.
Prof.
Swaminathan’s life is a study in great passion, intellectual
ingenuity, amazing staying power, incisive focus and above all,
extreme spirituality and belief in humanism. His enthralling maxim
of pro-poor, pro-women and pro-environment continue to be central
to his work.
The
participants in this conference came from all over the world - Europe,
Americas, Asia and Africa. However, there was a glaring under representation
from Africa. This indeed is a wake up call to African countries.
For far too long, the African continent has relied heavily on Europe
in all spheres of socio-economic matters. Maybe, the time is ripe
for Africa to seek new partners, and no less from the emerging economies
of Asia - India included - whose socio-economic profile mirrors
closely the African situation.
Presentations
Presentations during the conference covered a broad spectrum of
issues including Biodiversity, Biotechnology, Gender and Development,
ICT, Food and Peace, just to mention but a few. The running thread
through all the presentations was the need to consolidate the progress
realized so far, while working to refine emerging technologies to
address the escalating level of poverty in developing countries,
particularly in Asia and Africa.
The
Green Revolution in India happened because Prof. Swaminathan had
the vision to appreciate the need to hybridize the wheat varieties
then growing in India with the Mexican dwarf varieties (Seminal
research work of Nobel Laureate, Dr. Norman Borlang). This worked
wonders; the production of wheat in India went up from 12 million
to 17 million tons by 1968, true revolutionary jump. This is what
led William Gand of USA to call the Green Revolution in 1968. In
1971, the Indian Government officially declared the country to be
self-sufficient in food production, thanks to the efforts of Swaminathan
and his team of scientists. However, the problem of food distribution
remains a lingering food insecurity issues in India.
The
upshot of all these is that it took one man, Prof. Swaminathan,
to make a permanent impression in the area of food provision in
developing countries. There is no doubt that the ability of India
to feed itself has allowed the country to focus on other sectors
of the economy, and today India is a power to reckon with in the
fields of information technology, automobile industry, space exploration
and even the controversial nuclear technology.
In
recognition of the work of Prof. Swaminathan, Norman Borlang in
a letter he wrote to Swaminathan on the eve of him (Borlang) receiving
the Nobel Peace Prize, said:
“The
Green Revolution has been a team effort and much of the credit for
its spectacular development must go to the Indian officials, organizations,
scientists and farmers. However, to you Dr. Swaminathan, a great
deal of the credit must go for first recognizing the potential value
of the Mexican dwarfs. Had this not occurred, it is quit possible
that there would not have been a Green Revolution in Asia.”
This
is a big lesson to Africa. The persistent notion by the African
leadership that developing the continent requires massive financial
inflows from the West is not entirely true. Just as it took the
courage of independent fathers to wrestle freedom from colonizing
powers, likewise economic liberation will come via homegrown solutions;
Asia has demonstrated this reality with amazing clarity. The paradigm
shift today in Africa is to abandon the yester-years, donor club
conferences and Breton wood institution processed-solutions, to
internal problem-solving mechanisms. The partnership from outside
should be value-driven, devoid of arm-twisting maneuvers, inequality
and insubordination.
Self-sufficient
Biotechnology currently remains the most compelling strategy in
achieving food security in Africa. The raging debate on the merits
and demerits of biotechnology might be music to some ears, and actually
invigorating intellectual discourse for the well-fed in Europe,
America and fast-improving Asia. However, for Africa with millions
starving for lack of food, the ‘semantics’ of biotechnology
is dangerously sadistic, if not focused on practical solutions of
providing food to masses of starving people.
To
be fair though to the biotechnology debate and without slighting
it in the least, a historic perspective will suffice at this point:
When the dwarf Mexican wheat seeds arrived in India, farmers were
happy, but they did not like the colour of the new wheat which was
red. Under Swaminathan’s guidance, scientists used gamma rays
and ultra-violet light, which changed the wheat colour from red
to amber. The new hybrids of wheat were superior to both Mexican
and Indian varieties.In other words, there is no technology that
is perfect. The idea is to keep working to achieve the best results
in the existing socio-political and economical environment.
Food
will not come to Africa because there is plenty in the world. Indians
and the rest of Asia continued to starve in as much as there were
mountains of grains in Europe and America. Asians had to produce
food for themselves and Africa who will unfortunately have to walk
the same path.
Words of Swaminathan
Prof.
Swaminathan believes that the world must recognize that development
is not all about goods and services; hence the measure of GDP (Gross
Domestic Product) cannot be used to corroborate GDH (Gross Domestic
Happiness). GDH is the true measure of economic development.
‘Economic
growth without job creation is a lie’.
Prof. S. M Swaminathan.
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