Seminar on Organic food, health and sustainabilty in schools

The current concerns about negative health impacts of distorted food habits and the future of sustainable food system emphasise the role and possibilities of schools in orientating youth toward sustainable food habits and more broadly responsible consumer behaviour. At an open seminar in Helsinki, Finland, 21st and 22nd of January 2009, research results and current practices related to young people's learning about sustainability, organic food and health will be presented.

See the iPOPY project homepage for more information.

Belgian Nutrition Society

Belgium, as other countries, faces a number of important public health problems rooted in nutrition. An effective public health policy can only be in place if it can be structurally underpinned by consolidated action based on scientific evidence. In order to achieve this, an efficient mobilization of the existing nutrition expertise is an absolute necessity.
Therefore it was deemed opportune to create a Belgium structure that offers a forum for the multidisciplinary group of scientists in the field of human nutrition and related domains.

Since September 2007, a small group, comprising members of various key scientific institutions in Belgium has met regularly to prepare a blueprint of the structure and statutes of a nutrition society and to determine its main objectives.

The official inauguration of the Belgian Nutrition Society will take place on the 18th of December in Brussels (Palace of Academies).

Registration and participation is free. If you like to attend this meeting, confirm your attendance to info@belgiannutritionsociety.be.

More information is available on: www.belgiannutritionsociety.be

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ENLP Young Investigator Award

The ENLP Young Investigator Award that is now open for applications as part of the activities that the ENLP-Network is organizing within the frame of the 19th International Nutrition Conference.
This award, organized for the first time and supported by the International Union of Nutrition Science, aims to recognize the potential of young scientists to become International Leaders in Nutrition and is open for final year PhD students or postdoctoral fellows under 35 years old from any country .

Full details on the application process can be found on:

http://www.enlp.eu.com/en/basic100008.html

http://www.iuns.org/conferences.htm

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Vacancy - Scientific Officer, Nutrition (FSA)

Scientific Officer, Nutrition
The post forms part of a small team, within the Nutrition policy and advice branch, which has a major role in the provision of information and advice on healthy eating and nutrition to consumers and other stakeholders.
Ref: SO/515
Salary: £21,608 + benefits
Location: Central London
Closing date for applications: 9am, 8 December 2008

Click here for a detailed job description

Click here for additional information

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Vacancy - Scientific Officer, Food Policy (FSA)

Scientific Officer, Food Policy

Gain insights into how scientific data is translated into policy. The job holder will provide regulatory and technical advice to Government, industry and the general public on a range of food commodities including bottled water, alcoholic drinks and vinegar.
Ref: SO/517
Salary: £21,608 + benefits
Location: Central London
Closing date for applications: 9am, 8 December 2008

Click here for a detailed job description

Click here for additional information

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Dietary Implications of Supermarket Development: A Global Perspective

Interesting article by Corinna Hawkes has been pulished on the Development Policy Review(2008, 26 (6): 657-692).

The abstract of the article is provided below.

"Five decisions by supermarket operators have important dietary implications:
- the location of their outlets;
- the foods they sell;
- the prices they charge;
- the promotional strategies they use; and
- the nutrition-related activities they implement.

These decisions influence food accessibility, availability, prices and desirability, which in turn influence the decisions consumers make about food.

Based on a comprehensive literature review, this article finds that the dietary implications are both positive – supermarkets can make a more diverse diet available and accessible to more people – and negative – supermarkets can reduce the ability of marginalised populations to purchase a high-quality diet, and encourage the consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor highly-processed foods.

Overall, the most universally applicable dietary implication is that supermarkets encourage consumers to eat more, whatever the food."

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Vacancy - Scientific Officer in Nutrition

The following vacancy has recently been published by the Food Standards Agency

Scientific Officer in Nutrition (6 months fixed term contract)

Working to protect the health of the public and providing independent advice to consumers on food-related issues, the Food Standards Agency Scotland impacts on everyone in the country. You can play a vital part within our busy and fast-growing operation.

Location: Aberdeen
Closing date: 14 November 2008

Click here for more information

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Vacancy for a Scientific Officer in the FSA

The following has recently been published by the Food Standards Agency

Scientific Officer, Food Supplements, GM Labelling and GM/Novel Foods Research

This job provides an opportunity to gain experience in both research management and policy issues in relation to GM foods/novel and food supplements.

Reference: 000508
Closing date: 14 November 2008

More information available:
http://www.food.gov.uk/aboutus/jobs/sofoodsupp

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The global burden of disease: 2004 update

WHO published a new assessment of the global burden of disease.
Drawing from extensive data across the Organization, it features comparisons between deaths, diseases and injuries by region, age, sex and country income for the year 2004. It also provides projections of deaths and burden of disease by cause and region to the year 2030.

Striking findings of this update include:

- The top five causes of death in low-income countries are: pneumonia, followed by heart disease, diarrhoea, HIV/AIDS and stroke. In high-income countries, the list is topped by heart disease and followed by stroke, lung cancer, pneumonia, and asthma/bronchitis.
- Men between the ages of 15 and 60 years have much higher risks of dying than women in the same age category in every region of the world. This, is mainly due to injuries, including those caused in violence and conflict, and to higher levels of heart diseases. This difference is most pronounced in Latin America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and the eastern European regions.
- Depression is the leading cause of years lost due to disability, the burden being 50% higher for females than males. In both low- and middle-income countries, and high-income countries, alcohol dependence and problem use are among the 10 leading causes of disability.
- Under-nutrition is the underlying cause of death for at least 30% of all children under age five

This study provides an important input for health decision making, planning and priority setting.

More information available: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/2004_report_update/en/

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Salt content of breakfast

New research carried out by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) has found that many foods commonly eaten for breakfast have large amounts of hidden salt.

CASH surveyed over 200 breakfast items from June – October 2008. Information was collected through a combination of product labels, customer services and company websites where nutritional information was not available on the label.
Breakfast options included breakfast cereals and milk, toast and spreads, traditional English and cooked breakfasts, croissants and pastries, muffins and hot rolls.

The survey showed that a traditional Full English fry-up can contain as much as 6g of salt – the limit for an adult for the whole day in a single sitting.

More information available on: http://www.actiononsalt.org.uk/

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Poor choices: The limits of competitive markets in the provision of essential services to low income consumers

A major study of the problems faced by the poor in the market for seven essential services in the UK - energy, food, housing, water, telecoms, transport, and financial services - has been published and it's available for download:

Poor choices: The limits of competitive markets in the provision of essential services to low income consumers

The chapter on food was writen by Dr Tim Lobstein and can be found on pages 23-46.

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Vacancy - Higher Scientific Officer, Food Signposting, Nutrition Division

The following has recently been published by the Food Standards Agency

Higher Scientific Officer, Food Signposting, Nutrition Division

FSA is looking for someone who has the necessary scientific and technical skills to help support the Agency's work on a range of nutrition labelling issues, including signpost labelling.

Reference: 000504
Salary: £26,840 - £34,289 pa
Location: Central London
Closing date: 31 October 2008

More information is available here

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World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy - 16 October, World Food Day

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations celebrates World Food Day each year on 16 October, the day on which the Organization was founded in 1945.

In an effort to raise awareness about the current food crisis and the various challenges brought to the food chain due for example to Global warming and the biofuel boom, this year's theme was "World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy".

More information is available here

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Food prices and pesticides report

England Marketing completed a new study, commissioned by the Crop Protection Association, that looks at the potential social impact of food price rises. The study relates specifically to the EU proposal to to replace the current directive on the authorisations of pesticides. Recent reports by ADAS and Cranfield University respectively have argue that the introduction of new pesticide regulations would a significantly
a. reduce crop yields and
b. raise food prices.

The report is entitled Playing Politics with our Food? Research into the Social Impacts of European Legislation-Induced Increases in Food Prices and can be downloaded here: www.englandmarketing.co.uk/reports.htm.

Note that the report does not look at all at the environmental/health rationale for changing the regulations on pesticide use nor at what current food prices would be if the environmental and health exernalities of pesticide use (and other inputs) were internalised in the cost of the food. For a different take on the EU proposals see the Pesticides Action Network website - http://www.pan-europe.info/

Thanks to the Food Climate Research Network - mailinglist.

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Call for internship applications at the WHO

The World Health Organization Headquarters, Geneva is accepting applications for internships for the Non Communicable diseases and mental health cluster(NMH).
The NMH Cluster includes the following departments: Chronic Disease and Health Promotion, (in which the activities for the implementation of the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health are included), Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Nutrition for Health and Development, Tobacco Free Initiative, Violence and Injury Prevention and Disability.

The deadline to submitting applications is the 31st October.

Basic information copied from the vacancy notice is provided below, further details can be found through these links:
- Vacancy notice
- WHO internships

Title: Internship - NMH Winter 2008 2009
Grade: P level
Contract type: Internship
Duration of contract: 6 - 12 weeks

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROGRAMME:
The WHO internship programme has three objectives: (a) to provide a framework for assigning students from diverse academic backgrounds to WHO programmes, where educational experience can be enhanced through practical work assignments; (b) to expose students to the work of WHO and (c) to provide WHO programmes with the assistance of students specializing in various fields. Most students are placed in health-related programmes, although other disciplines can be considered as appropriate.

Description of duties:
Under the supervision of a professional in the department concerned, interns typically contribute to some or all of the following responsibilities:
- review literature
- undertake research in a particular subject area
- collate information on topics related to the subject area
- organize data and documents
- develop tools and guidelines
- draft reports
- participate in on-going departmental projects

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS
Education:
Minimum of three years university studies, ideally a first degree, in medical or social science or a field related to the technical work of WHO. The intern must be a student during the internship. Additionally there are limited possibilities for students from disciplines such as Information Technology, Media Relations, Human Resources, Business Administration and/or Public Administration.

Skills:
All interns should possess the following skills in line with the WHO core competencies:
- Communicating effectively orally and in writing
- Showing willingness to learn from mistakes
- Producing and delivering quality results
- Working collaboratively with team members
- Respecting and promoting difference

In addition, interns need to be familiar with commonly used computer programmes, such as Word, Excel, Powerpoint. Knowledge of specialized computer programmes may be an advantage.

Experience:
Experience in research and in drafting reports would be preferred. Experience in the subject area through academic work or research would be an advantage.
Field and/or developing country experience would be an advantage.
More specific experience such as statistics or specialized computer programmes may be needed for some internships.

Languages:
Interns should have a good working knowledge or English and/or French and should possess some knowledge of the other.
Knowledge of other UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Spanish) would be an advantage.

Additional Information:
Please note that internships at WHO are very competitive and only a small number of applicants will be accepted every year. Only successful candidates will be contacted.

Interns must be minimum 20 years of age and be enrolled in a course of study leading to a formal qualification (graduate or post-graduate) to be eligible for the program. All internships at WHO are unpaid and full-time.

WHO accepts no responsibility for medical insurance of interns or costs arising from illness incurred during an internship.

Interns are NOT eligible for appointment to any position in WHO for a period of three months following the end of the internship.

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