The guest speaker at our November Çatı Katı seminar for employees of our group companies was  Ass. Prof. Artemis Karaali.

We would like to extend our thanks to Mrs. Karaarli  for relaying all her knowledge to concerning Food Security and Insecurity,

We would like to share the contents of this presentation under a few headings.

Concerns in relation to food

We can evaluate these concerns under three headings:

1. Concerns regarding Food Security,
2. Concerns regarding Food Safety,
3. Concerns regarding nutrition problems

1. FOOD SECURITY and INSECURITY:

• “Food security is the right for individuals to always have access to sufficient and balanced food in order to live a healthy life and to sustain their lifestyle.” The basic conditions of food security are sustainable availability of the food and its affordability. These two issues are directly related to a country’s economic state, social development, political stability and “peace” in all its regions. There are still approximately 2.1 billion people in the world who are living under the poverty threshold. This rate is under 5% in our country; In Turkey, villagers with no land ownership or small land-owning farmers, small-scale stockbreeders (especially female farmers), those living in squatter settlements in large cities, urban homeless people and working children have all been identified as sensitive groups in this issue.  Within the scope of the the “Zero Hunger by 2030” projects launched by FAO and WHO, a legal management framework will be prepared to encourage national and international investments in order to develop the economic state of rural areas which compose areas that are especially sensitive to food insecurity in the world and in Turkey, the management of these investments to be carried out by public organizations and private corporations in collaboration, and even direct help and income support to impoverished households are all part of the plan.
• FOOD SAFETY:

Defined as “the process which involves the monitoring of each and every phase of production, from the fields to consumers’ dinner table (ffarm to the fork), ensuring a healthy and safe supply of products,” the concept of food safety involves the precautions taken against all physical, chemical and biological threats which may be found in food and hence constitute health risks.

2.a. Physical threats involve all kinds of foreign solid substances that should not be found in foodstuff, such as bones, glass, metal, pieces of plastic, seeds, stones, dirt and so on.

2.b. Chemical threats are much more diverse. All kinds of chemical substances which can taint food during the agricultural and food production processes (farm to fork) are included in this category. Foremost among these are veterinary drugs such as hormones and antibiotics, agricultural chemicals used in farming processes (pesticides: Herbicides and insecticides), some additives added to food during production processes, toxic chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons which form in high temperatures (PAH), plastic monomers which can contaminate food through packaging material, heavy metals and similar environmental pollutants, all pose a long-term risk for human health.

2.c. Microbiological threats are observed to cause food poisoning as a result of disease agent microorganisms developing in food. And these can only be avoided by ensuring hygienic conditions in food production sites and strict adherence to sanitation rules.

• NUTRITION PROBLEMS:

3.a. Undernourishment: It is observed when the necessary amount of certain vitamins and minerals are not obtained, especially in micro-nutrients. This category includes illnesses such as beriberi caused by B1 deficiency, scurvy caused by Vitamin C deficiency, rickets caused by Vitamin D deficiency, anemia caused by iron deficiency and osteoporosis caused by calcium deficiency.

3.b. Malnourishment is observed when more energy-generating (calories) macro-nutrients that are found in food are consumed a lot more than the body requires. Known as the disease of modern times, «obesity», defined as “bodyweight exceeding the desired body weight in accordance with body height as a result of excessive fat accumulation,” is the largest threat that we face in this issue; because obesity is the most important factor in the development of chronic illnesses.

The main objective in a healthy diet is to maintain «bodyweight suited to body height».  In order to achieve this, we must follow a diet that adheres to the principles of a «healthy diet»(sufficient and balanced, as well as diverse).   The body's defense (immune) system can only be at an optimal level with a diversified diet.   In addition to the Aegean diet that is being promoted all over the world today, the “four-leaf clover diet” developed by Turkish nutritionists, can be summarized as two servings of dairy products, red meat the size of four meatballs, five servings of fruit and vegetables each day and multi-grain bread with each meal.