Eat well

The people of West Africa do not have enough food to eat. The percentage of the population that is malnourished is higher in Sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world. But when it comes to quality, a new study has found that the West African diet is healthier than the diets of many other places on the planet. And it's one point that the rest of the world should look at more closely.

Researchers ranked self-reported diet surveys from 187 countries on the basis of nutrition. They evaluated the surveys based on the consumption of healthy foods — fruits, vegetables, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, fish and milk — as well the prevalence of unhealthy foods such as red meats, processed meats, sugary beverages, saturated fats, cholesterol and sodium.

The winner for the diet with the most healthy components and the least junk goes to the nations of West Africa, namely Chad, Gambia, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Côte d’Ivoire. It turns out, the West African diet of lean meats, vegetables, beans, legumes and rice trumps the kale chips and asparagus water sold as "health foods" in many developed nations. The nations of West Africa ranked better on the survey than wealthier countries across North America and Europe.

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/what-we-can-learn-west-africa-about-healthy-eating

Bush Meat

The report - Conservation and Use of Wildlife-Based Resources: The Bushmeat Crisis - says that many attempts to crack down on the hunting of bush meat are misguided and a blanket ban on sales of bush meat simply would not work.

The report argues it is important to distinguish between the rural poor, who hunt to survive, and those who engage in the activity purely as a commercial venture.

The authors argue that only by giving rights to local hunters to decide on what they want to hunt will they be encouraged to adopt sustainable practices - such as hunting for fast reproducing species like rodents instead of larger mammals.Consumption of bush meat in Europe and elsewhere is often blamed for driving up demand but this report points out that the most of it is consumed in local village areas.

Researchers estimate that more than a million tonnes of bush meat is killed every year. In some areas it provides 80% of the protein and fat consumed.