[Aquatic foods can improve human health by reducing nutritional
deficiencies and offering red meat alternatives.]
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PORTSIDE CULTURE

MORE AFFORDABLE AQUATIC FOODS COULD PREVENT 166 MILLION MICRONUTRIENT
DEFICIENCIES WORLDWIDE  
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Chris Sweeney
September 15, 2021
Harvard Chan Newsletter
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_ Aquatic foods can improve human health by reducing nutritional
deficiencies and offering red meat alternatives. _

Aquatic foods hold promise for world health,
jeannetteferrary.photoshelter.com

 

Boston, MA – Some 166 million micronutrient deficiencies could be
averted by 2030 if the global production of marine and freshwater
foods is increased by 15.5 million tons (8%), new research has found.

The study published by Nature highlighted several ways in which
aquatic foods improve human health, including reducing micronutrient
deficiencies and offering alternatives to red and processed meat,
which are often associated with non-communicable disease.

 Produced as one of five initial scientific papers for the Blue Food
Assessment (BFA), the research, entitled “Aquatic foods to nourish
nations,” found that an increase in the sustainable production of
aquatic foods through investments in aquaculture and improved
fisheries management would lead to a decrease in prices by 26%, making
fish and seafood more affordable for low-income populations around the
world.

“We live in a deeply malnourished world, with billions of people
suffering from micronutrient deficiencies and diet-related chronic
diseases,” said lead author Christopher Golden, assistant professor
of nutrition and planetary health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of
Public Health. “Finding ways to sustainably increase the production
of blue foods offers an opportunity to increase access to safe,
nutritious and healthy diets for the world’s most vulnerable.”

Aquatic foods offer the chance for developing countries to improve
their diets without suffering the negative health risks associated
with the meat-intensive diets of more affluent countries, the authors
said.

“Aquatic foods can provide a potential pathway for nutritional
equity,” said Zachary Koehn, early career fellow at the Center for
Ocean Solutions, Stanford University. “Policymakers and development
stakeholders should leverage the availability of culturally
appropriate and sustainably produced aquatic foods to reduce food
insecurity and tackle malnutrition.”

The findings are based on data from the Aquatic Foods Composition
Database (AFCD), which was developed to increase understanding of the
potential nutritional benefits of aquatic foods. It is now the most
comprehensive global database of its kind, profiling 3,753 aquatic
food species and hundreds of nutrients, with important implications
for nutrition and fishery management policies across the world.

“For the first time, our study highlights the significant role of
aquatic foods in meeting the dietary needs of nutritionally vulnerable
populations, while also mitigating chronic diseases by weaning people
away from red and processed meats,” Golden added.

For more information:

Chris Sweeney

617.432.8416

[email protected]

Visit the Harvard Chan School website for the latest news, press
releases, and multimedia offerings.

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