Economic stability tied to vitamins.

• Position: Worldview - Brief Article

Boosting the availability of key vitamins and nutrients in the diets of people in developing countries is vital to the long-term health and economic stability of those nations, contends Montague Demment, director of the Global Livestock Collaborative Research Support Program at the University of California, Davis.

"Micronutrient deficiency--the lack not just of calories but of critically important vitamins and minerals--is a hidden form of malnutrition that affects half of the children in developing nations. By tailoring the diets of the children in these countries to assure that they are eating foods that fulfill their micronutrient needs, it is possible to significantly improve their mental, physical, and immune-system development and, in the long run, help those countries build...