So the big ASEP summit is happening, and with surprisingly few disturbances for ordinary people like me. Just a few soldiers on the riverside with very new machine guns (from China?)
Today VT write about the goals of the ASEP summit.
"Parliamentarians from Asia and Europe met yesterday in Vientiane to
discuss ways to ensure food security, public debt management and development"
Food security? Thats interesting. Laos do have labs for testing food, but food tests are rarely done. And more important, usually not published. So we dont know about the levels of mercury and lead in the Catfish or Tilapa we buy at the market. Or about pesticides and insecticides in vegetables. Not to talk about the formalin in the meat.
When there are rare reports, it is never mentioned where. Like the recent water scandal. Thanks for telling us that a certain amount of drinking water producers are dirty, but not who. So how do I know where to buy and where not?
I am looking forward to results of the ASEP meeting to improve food security in Laos.
I think you're mistaken on the definition of food security. What you are referring to is food safety. Food security actually deals with the prevention of hunger and malnutrition, arguably a much bigger problem in Laos than food safety at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThe WHO definition of food security from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_security:
The World Health Organization defines food security as having three facets: food availability, food access, and food use. Food availability is having available sufficient quantities of food on a consistent basis. Food access is having sufficient resources, both economic and physical, to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. Food use is the appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation. The FAO adds a fourth facet: the stability of the first three dimensions of food security over time.[1]
You are right, I mistaken it. But it is kind of related, because having enough food doesn't always mean having enough good food. The issue in Laos is not so much hunger but malnutrition. And this is sometimes related to food safety as well. But thanks for correcting me.
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