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Subject:
From:
John C Klensin <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
John C Klensin <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:18:57 -0400
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Ruth,

If my vague and very incomplete memory from the early 1980s is
correct, it was a previous major cutback of FAO activity in food
composition and the effects of that cutback that ultimately led
to the development of INFOODS and several of the associated
regional food composition organizations.

I think your survey and other efforts to understand national and
other priorities is worthwhile.  At the same time, I have also
been, as you know, concerned that INFOODS (and most of the
regional groups at the time) were very forward-looking while
many of the FAO efforts have seemed to be oriented toward
preserving and reinforcing the status quo even when we know it
is problematic.

Noting that next week marks the 30th anniversary of the Logan,
Utah conference that defined much of the INFOODS work and led to
publication of _Food Composition Data: A User's Perspective_,
perhaps it is time for the community to start thinking about a
similar conference or other systematic review of where we have
come and where we should be going and/or other ways to organize
the work in which, e.g., an FAO that is putting more emphasis on
other areas might be more of a partner with other bodies rather
than the leader.

    best regards,
     John

(Because it may be relevant to identify myself for those who
don't know: I was the last Director of the INFOODS Secretariat
under MIT and UNU auspices as well as author or co-author of the
original INFOODS specifications for food composition data
identification and interchange.  I've spent most of the last
twenty years of so in topics much more closely related to
Internet technology and policy and have never been a food
scientist, food chemist, or nutritionist, but continue to follow
this list and INFOODS developments with interest.)

p.s. A colleague from the Internet technology and policy part of
my life has recently started a blog and discussion that builds
on "Internet of Things" discussions to look at the "Internet of
Food".  It is definitely oriented toward lay people rather than
specialists, but might be interesting or amusing to some of the
people on this list.  http://internet-of-food.org/


--On Friday, March 13, 2015 17:27 +0100 "Charrondiere, Ruth
(ESN)" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Dear all,
> I would like to bring to your attention FAO's "Medium Term
> Plan 2014-17 (reviewed) and Programme of Work and Budget
> 2016-17" (http://www.fao.org/3/a-mm710e.pdf) which states on
> p.21: "Nutrition: in realigning and strengthening work on
> nutrition in follow-up to ICN2, reduce work on nutrition
> education curricular development and some food composition
> work."
> 
> It comes as a surprise as the Evaluation of FAO's role and
> work in nutrition of 2011 recommended exactly the contrary:
> see p.14 and recommendation 7
> (http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/023/mb663E01.pdf).
> 
> In the past, two professionals were working on food
> composition (Barbara Burlingame and me) with a much higher
> level of regular budget funding. Barbara left FAO in 2014.
> 
> In order to know which part of our work is the least relevant
> for countries, and thus could be de-emphasized, I designed a
> survey https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9N5N6G5 which I hope
> many of you will complete ASAP. Please disseminate it widely
> also to colleagues who work on food composition.

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