Integrating Food and Nutrition Security in a Middle‐Income, Globalized, Food‐Exporting Nation: Thailand's Food Policy Challenge

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.18278/wfp.3.2.4.1.2
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Date: 01 March 2017

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Integrating Food and Nutrition Security in a

Middle-Income, Globalized, Food-Exporting

Nation: ailand’s Food Policy Challenge

Mathew Kelly1, Sam-ang Seubsman2, Jane Dixon1,

Cathy Banwell1, Adrian Sleigh1

A

ailand is deeply linked to the world food system, with food ex-

ports key to the country’s global connections. It has been a world

leader in tackling poverty-related malnutrition and is food secure

at a national level. New challenges are emerging with increases in

obesity and diet-related disease as well as the relative poverty of

farmers constraining capacity to avoid non-sustainable agricul-

tural intensication. Here, we consider ai enmeshment in the

global food trade and impacts on food and nutrition security for

farmers and urban consumers. We review past and present poli-

cy approaches, and examine the prospects for ailand to interact

with these new challenges.

Keywords: Globalization; nutrition transition; Southeast Asia; sus-

tainability; ailand

R

Tailandia está profundamente vinculada al sistema de alimentos

mundial, ya que las exportaciones de comida son clave para las co-

nexiones mundiales del país. Ha sido un líder mundial en enfrentar

la desnutrición relacionada con la pobreza y tiene seguridad ali-

mentaria a nivel nacional. Nuevos desafíos están surgiendo con los

incrementos en obesidad y las enfermedades relacionadas con la

dieta, así como la pobreza relativa de los agricultores que limita la

capacidad de evitar la intensicación agrícola no sustentable. Aquí

1

Department of Global Health, Research School of Population Health, Australian National

University (ANU)

2

Sukhothai ammathirat Open University, Bangkok, ailand

World Food Policy • Vol. 3, No. 2 / Vol. 4, No. 1 • Fall 2016 / Spring 2017

doi: 10.18278/wfp.3.2.4.1.2

World Food Policy

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consideramos el enriquecimiento tailandés en el comercio inter-

nacional de alimentos y los impactos que tiene en la seguridad ali-

menticia y de nutrientes para los agricultores y consumidores ur-

banos. Repasamos acercamientos políticos del pasado y el presente

y examinamos los prospectos que tiene Tailandia para interactuar

con esos nuevos desafíos.

Palabras clave: Globalización; transición de nutrientes; Sudeste

Asiático; sustentabilidad; Tailandia

摘要

泰国和世界粮食系统紧密联系，其食品出口对该国与全球之

间的连接十分关键。泰国一直引领全球应对与贫困相关的营

养不良，其国内粮食处于安全状态。（泰国）正面临着新的

挑战，这些挑战源于肥胖和膳食疾病的增加，以及农民为避

免非可持续农业集约化而限制生产、进而产生相对贫困的情

况增多。本文考量了泰国涉入全球粮食贸易，并对农民和城

市消费者在粮食和营养安全上产生的影响。作者检验了以往

和当下的政策措施，然后考察了泰国在迎接这些全新挑战时

的前景。

关键词：全球化；营养变迁；东南亚；可持续性；泰国

1. Introduction

Today’s globalized food system

has increased food availability

overall, improving food securi-

ty. Indeed, since the early 1990s global

per capita food energy availability has

increased 100–200 calories per capita

per year (Traill, Mazzocchi, Shankar, &

Hallam, 2014). Consequently, the prev-

alence of undernutrition, particularly

among children, has fallen, especially

in East Asia and Latin America (Inter-

national Food Policy Research Institute,

2013). But food security so dened does

not reect nutrition security of national

populations for two reasons. First, food

is not shared equitably due to economic

inequality within countries, so under-

nutrition persists. Second, sucient