Squeeze on supplies drives global sugar prices to 12-year high
A combination of factors, including the El Niño weather pattern, congested Brazilian ports, export limits in India and Thailand, and expanded use of biofuels, has propelled global sugar prices to their highest level since 2011, said two analysts with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on Tuesday. Sugar supplies "will likely shrink further if production impacts from El Niño worsen, putting continued upward pressure on prices," they said in a blog.
World Food Prize goes to four leaders in biofortification of crops
The $250,000 World Food Prize, sometimes called the Nobel of agriculture, was awarded to four scientists for development and promotion of biofortified crops, bred to include vitamins and micronutrients. An estimated 10 million people in Africa, Asia and Latin America already have better diets due to the improved staple crops, "with a potential of several hundred million more in the coming decades," said the prize foundation.
Report: $1 spent on baby’s nutrition saves a country $16
Only three countries show no serious signs of malnutrition: China, Vietnam and South Korea, according to the 2016 Global Nutrition Report. The rest of the world is plagued by such poor nutrition indicators as “stunted toddlers, anemic young women and obese adults,” says The New York Times. In the United States, each obese family member costs families an average of 8 percent of their income in additional healthcare.