797 



The distribution of "Modern Bread" in India is a case in point. Only 

 about two percent of the country's population, mainly in the large 

 cities, has tne means or opportunity to buy this fortified product. Dis- 

 tribution techniques in other underdeveloped countries are unlikely 

 to be more sophisticated. Consequently more fundamental approaches 

 to the protein malnutrition problem are also under consideration. 



Another problem is that of taste. Some of the protein supplements, 

 like some or the new strains of wheat and rice, are unacceptable to the 

 deepseated cultural preferences of those who need them most, or are 

 incompatible with traditional cooking practices. 



EXPANSION OF TRADITIONAL PROTEIN SOURCES 



Emphasis on new protein sources should not obscure the fact that 

 important gains are possible through more intensive exploitation of 

 long-established protein food sources. Production can be expanded in 

 meat and poultry. Fish resources can be substantially increased, both 

 ocean and inland, through extensive fishing and intensive fish farms. 

 The protein content of grains, while neither abundant nor balanced, is 

 nevertheless an important source. 



The next stage for some LDCs might be a poultry and livestock 

 boom. In terms of both cost and technolog}^ it is likely that poultry 

 production, particularly of broilers, will undergo the most rapid ex- 

 pansion. Livestock production cannot be expanded so readily. Never- 

 theless the World Bank, AID, and the Inter- American Development 

 Bank have made substantial loans for livestock improvement, both in 

 Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. Exports of U.S. breeding 

 cattle doubled in value between 1964 and 1967, mostly to Latin 

 America. The Green Revolution, where it has made a country self- 

 sufficient in cereals, has stimulated agricultural diversification. This in 

 turn can lead to the production of nigh-protein foods for the home 

 market and for export, provided the developed countries are ready to 

 import more grain and other foods from the LDCs. 



The Protein Advisory Group of the FAO notes that estimated world 

 production of fish has almost trebled in the past two decades, from less 

 than 20 million tons to almost 60 million tons as of 1968.*^ It sees an 

 estimated peak of about 120 million tons by the mid-1980s. However, 

 the developing countries have so far enjoyed little of this expansion. 

 The Protein Advisory Group also cites the fact that many of the 

 i-emaining unexploited stocks of fish lie close to developing countries, 

 constituting good prospects for new viable fishing industries, which 

 will help provide a fairer distribution of fish protein in the future."** 

 In a previous study in the series on Science, Technology, and Ameri- 

 can Diplomacy, George A. Doumani has called attention to the im- 

 portance of aquaculture as a source of fish protein.*'^ 



• United Nations. Pood and Agrlcultnral Organization. Protein Advisory Grouo "LIvpr 

 In Pert! : Protein and the Child" (Rome, 1970) . page 47. "vioury wroup. i^iree 



** Ibid. 



"U.S. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. "Science, Technology and 

 American Dlplomacr : Exploiting the Resources of the Seabed." Prepared for the Sub- 

 committee on National Security Policy and Scientific Developments of the bv 

 George A Doumani. Science Policy Research Division. Congresalonal Research Service. 

 Library of Congress, July 1971. See vol. I. p. 464. 



