A/HRC/19/59 II. The triple challenge A. The role of agrifood systems: from increasing production to ensuring sustainable diets 4. Since the 1960s, food security has been linked largely to production, while the links to nutrition were often neglected. Hunger and malnutrition were equated with a lack of calorie intake. In the face of widespread global hunger, this focus was perhaps understandable. But this prompted an overemphasis on increasing agricultural outputs and lowering food prices, while scant attention was paid to ensuring the availability of and accessibility to a wide range of diverse foods containing the micronutrients necessary for the full physical and mental development of children, and for adults to lead healthy and productive lives. In other words, because addressing protein-calorie malnutrition was seen as the major challenge, the requirement of dietary adequacy was neglected. In addition, beyond making foodstuffs available at low prices, the other functions of agriculture—to ensure decent incomes to food producers and to maintain the ecosystems—were not considered. 5. This is changing. Experts now agree that food systems must ensure the access of all to ―sustainable diets‖, defined as ―diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable, accessible, economically fair and affordable; nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; while optimizing natural and human resources‖.4 This definition recognizes the need to gear agrifood systems away from an exclusive focus on boosting production and towards integrating the requirements of the adequacy of diets, social equity and environmental sustainability. All these components are essential to achieving durable success in combating hunger and malnutrition, as emphasized by the Special Rapporteur in past reports. B. Undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency 6. The world is now paying a high price for having focused almost exclusively on increasing production over the past half-century. Undernutrition remains considerable, largely because agrifood systems have not contributed to the alleviation of rural poverty. One in seven people on a global level are still hungry. About 34 per cent of children in developing countries, 186 million children in total, have a low height for age, the most common symptom of chronic undernutrition. 5 Although the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Food Price Index, adjusted for inflation, indicates that food costs declined from the early 1960s until 2002 (apart from a peak in 1973–1974), the poorest are still too poor to feed themselves in dignity because agriculture has not been designed to support the livelihoods of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups. 7. Additionally, a large number of people (with children and women being affected disproportionately) suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. Vitamin A deficiency affects at least 100 million children, limiting their growth, weakening their immunity and, in cases of 4 5 4 Definition adopted by consensus by the participants in the International Scientific Symposium on Biodiversity and Sustainable Diets, held from 3 to 5 November 2010 in Rome. See the final report of the Symposium, p. ix, available from www.fao.org/ag/humannutrition/29186021e012ff2db1b0eb6f6228e1d98c806a.pdf. Stunting affects 42 per cent of children in sub-Saharan Africa, and 48 per cent in South Asia. See www.unicef.org/nutrition/index_statistics.html.