More than 2 billion people -- one-third of the planet's population -- suffer from "hidden hunger," debilitating mineral and vitamin deficiencies that impair growth, physical and intellectual development, activity and survival, especially among women, infants and children in developing nations. To address this problem, 90 scientists, technical experts, program developers and development specialists from 29 countries gathered last November in Salt Lake City, Utah, to determine how permanent food-based systems could relieve micronutrient malnutrition.

The summary of that workshop, the consensus for how to overcome the barriers and limitations of using available knowledge, and what new knowledge needs to be generated, are outlined in a new 68-page monograph, Food -Based Approaches to Prevent Micronutrient Malnutrition: An International Research Agenda, published by the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development (CIIFAD).

"The group agreed, for example, that a comprehensive database of the micronutrient compositions of crops, vegetables and fruits of regional importance, including indigenous species, needs to be developed," said Gerald Combs, Cornell University professor of nutrition, a key organizer of the workshop and the first editor listed on the monograph. "It also called for clear communication to policy makers and donor agencies and the need for multi-disciplinary food system-based approaches to alleviating micronutrient malnutrition."

The other editors include Ross M. Welch, Cornell professor of plant nutrition and a plant physiologist at the USDA U.S. Plant, Soil & Nutrition Laboratory; John M. Duxbury, Cornell professor and chair of the department of soil crop and atmospheric sciences; Norman T. Uphoff, director of the Cornell International Institute for Food, Agriculture and Development; and Malden C. Nesheim, Cornell professor of nutritional sciences.

Among a wide variety of recommendations, the group also called for more research on storing fruits and vegetables and identifying which foods might require fortification; crop system diversification; better utilization of edible indigenous plants; developing simple techniques for assessing the bioavailability of micronutrients from foods; enriching crops with micronutrients; developing farming systems that maximize the micronutrient-rich crops; and improving technologies to fortify foods with multiple nutrients.

In addition to the research agenda, the monograph also includes summary essays on the global significance of micronutrient malnutrition; using systems approaches to prevent micronutrient malnutrition; and conceptualizing food systems. The report includes detailed abstracts of the plenary papers presented at the workshop, a list of useful references and a listing of workshop participants.

The workshop was organized by Cornell and the Thrasher Research Fund and was co-sponsored by CIIFAD, the Thrasher Research Fund, FAO and UNICEF. The report is available free from CIIFAD, Box 14, Kennedy Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. 14853-4203.