Through my UC-Berkeley MPH internship, I was fortunate enough to spend the summer of 2008 in Rome, Italy working at the headquarters of the World Food Programme (WFP).  The WFP is the largest humanitarian organization in the world helping to prevent hunger.  It operates during emergencies like civil wars or natural disasters and continues after these events to help restore people’s livelihoods and nutritional status.  During last summer, WFP was dealing with gaining access to the people of Myanmar to provide food and services after the devastating cyclone, helping the earthquake survivors in Sichuan province of China and continuing to provide aid to refugees of the conflict in Darfur, all the while maintaining operations in the 80 countries they serve.

Most WFP beneficiaries receive rations consisting of micronutrient fortified flour, Vitamin A fortified oil, beans, sugar and iodized salt.  Last summer, however, the Nutrition Programming department was considering incorporating a new product, Ready to Use Foods (RUFs), into rations.  The most recognized RUF on the market is PlumpyNut, a peanut butter-tasting paste high in calories and fortified with micronutrients and essential fats.  The taste is widely accepted (I liked it!), requires no water or refrigeration, and the individual packets discourage sharing among family members.  Doctors Without Borders has had success in treating severely malnourished children with these products and has encouraged WFP to utilize these RUFs in hopes it will also be successful in treating those who are moderately malnourished.

These products were a stark contrast to the food markets of Italy I would joyfully wander through on the weekend as well as the meals I enjoyed full of juicy melon, ripe tomatoes, eggplant, fresh mozzarella, and cones and cones of gelato.  While Michael Pollan and others remind us that eating food, real food, and not fortified or engineered nutrients is best, it is sadly not always an option for some, especially those in the developing world living through and recovering from conflicts, natural disasters and corrupt governments.  I am eager to see the results of the efficacy trials using RUFs in treating mild to moderate malnutrition and if the WFP incorporates these products on a larger scale.