| Abstract: |
A global approch to alimentation is required to design culturally appropriate and acceptable preventive action. This article describes and analyzes Lao PDR's food and nutrition status and its eating and cooking habits. The diet has remained very traditional, prominently featuring rice, with an accompaniment of vegetables and spices, and the available animal proteins are (fish, meat,insects). The rural fraction (over eighty percent) of the country's population farm, hunt, fish, and collect. It clearly appears that the whole range of natural resources is resorted to, which provides a food input that is both, varied and sufficient even when cultivated foods are wanting. In terms of food and nutrition, however, Lao PDR is now in a transitional phase with important health and economic effects. It appears critical, in future food and nutrition policies, to focus on women and children and improve hygiene and access to drinking water and medical facilities. It is also momentous that, in their implementation, these policies appreciate the country's eating and cultural traditions and its natural assets, as well as their diversity.
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