A discussion exploring the benefits of adding small amounts of fish and fishery products to plant-based diets to improve diet quality and food and nutrition security in developing countries.

Date: Wednesday, 7 December 2022

Time: 13:15-15:15 (Tokyo, Japan time)

Fish and fishery products play a vital role in food and nutrition security by providing food and income. Fish is an ‘irreplaceable’ animal-source food (ASF) in many Asian and African countries where large numbers of people are malnourished and poor. Fish and other aquatic animals are rich sources of a wide range of micronutrients, essential fatty acids, and animal proteins that are crucial for human brain development and cognition. Fish is the most common and frequently eaten, cheapest ASF in many low-income, food-deficit countries where starchy staples and plant-sourced foods mainly dominate the diet. 

Fish has always been treated as a traded commodity as it generates employment and income. Very few fishers and fish farmers consume the total commodity they catch or grow; instead, they sell the majority of their catch to earn money to meet other necessities. Demand for fish has increased in recent years, both in developed and developing countries with the growing global population. Therefore, sustainable supplies of fish and fisheries products are crucial for people's health and well-being and for achieving the SDGs.

In this side event at the 22nd IUNS-ICN International Congress of Nutrition, chaired by The University of Tokyo's Nobuyuki Yagi and WorldFish's Global Lead for Nutrition and Public Health and the 2021 World Food Prize Laureate, Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, a panel of presenters explored how adding small amounts of fish to the plant-based diet can significantly improve diet quality.

Presenters:

Making small fish part of an affordable healthy diet for low-income households

Anna Lartey, University of Ghana

Fishing for Complements: How aquaculture helps improve diet quality among the poor

Patrick Webb, Tufts University

Household engagement with aquaculture and horticulture is associated with a better-quality diet

Rumana Akter, Save the Children, Bangladesh

Opportunities and challenges of fish in food environments in low- and middle-income countries

Gina Kennedy, GAIN

JICA's support for the fisheries and aquaculture sector and its contributions to food and nutrition security in developing countries

Shunji Sugiyama, JICA

For further information and presentations, please do contact the Co-Chair, Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, by email: s.thilsted@cgiar.org .

Follow WorldFish and the hashtag #aquaticfoods to check out past conversations on Twitter.