Don't conceal food shortages: Professor

By Joko Sarwono

BOGOR, West Java (JP): In recent months, people have become more aware of the rising death toll in famine-stricken Irian Jaya -- which now exceeds 600 -- and the thousands of others facing a drought-related food shortage in Maluku.

And some people have also started looking across the table at friends or even spouses who help themselves to sumptuous meals despite their already-thick waistline and susceptibility to nutritional problems such as high cholesterol.

Florentinus Gregorius Winarno, a professor of food technology at the Bogor Institute of Technology here, agreed that there were two major global problems relating to food today -- its shortage and a glut of it.

Both developing and developed countries are similarly affected, Winarno said.

"There are obese people in developing countries, especially in the urban centers," he told The Jakarta Post recently. "They are facing health risks such as heart disease at an early age, cancer, and other degenerative health problems."

On the other hand, famine is not something that takes place only in poor countries.

"Even in developed countries, famine can affect certain regions," Winarno, who obtained his doctorate in 1970 at the University of Massachusetts in the United States, said.

Food shortage is not a shameful problem that should be covered up, he said. The problem hinges on the good distribution, transportation and international cooperation concerning food.

But the distribution of food is not easily accomplished and it is not simple to reallocate a food surplus, he said.

For 30 years Winarno has been working in food science and technology. When he was dean of the School of Agriculture, Mechanization and Technology at the Bogor Institute of Technology he helped found the Food Technology Development Center (FTDC) and Agricultural Products Processing Pilot Plant.

He also establish at the institute, Indonesia's first postgraduate program in food technology in 1976. In 1982, he became a professor in food technology.

Winarno was the secretary-general of the Association of Food and Nutrition Experts between 1980 and 1985, a staff expert for the minister of agriculture on the technology of postharvest agriculture and special advisor to the state minister of food. In 1991, he was installed as the youngest member of the prestigious Indonesian Academy of Science.

Winarno was a visiting professor at the University of Wisconsin in 1975, at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Osaka University in 1977, and at Deakin University in Victoria, Australia, in 1981.

He was also the first person from Asia to be chairman of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and held the post between 1991 and 1995.

Based at the headquarters of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, the CAC was built in 1962 to handle affairs relating to international food trade and standard setting.

Awards

A recipient of many awards, including the 1994 Adi Grahita from IPB and the Bintang Jasa Utama from President Soeharto, Winarno leads a hectic life.

"I have offices everywhere," he said.

And for a man approaching 60, Winarno is very fit. A grandfather of five, Winarno does not have gray hair and continues to play tennis. Born in Klaten, Central Java, on February 15, 1938, Winarno also plays squash and does yoga.

"My secret is a healthy life style... a healthy diet and regular exercise," he said. "A healthy person is not someone who is without illnesses but who has a sense of well-being, is fit and feels great."

"Exercise slows aging and reduces stress. Unfortunately, too many people in this technological age prefer to pop pills (to stay healthy) rather than to exercise.

"If a person does not want to set aside some time to exercise, then he may have to spend an even longer time laying in a bed in the hospital," he said.

Famine

The following are his comments about various food-related issues.

Question: Hundreds of people have died in the famine in Irian Jaya recently. Why are there food shortages?

Answer: I believe the real problem is not that Indonesia does not have enough food, but more because of poor distribution and difficulties in transportation. Not that these should be an excuse. A country is responsible for providing its citizens with their basic rights, in the form of an adequate amount of food and good quality goods at affordable prices.

Q: So what is wrong with the situation in Irian Jaya?

A: If a province suffers from famine, its (officials) lose 'points' (with their superiors). This is why officials tend to cover up (the food shortage situation). This is not good in view of the Early Alert System for Food and Nutrition (SKPG). Food shortage should not be covered up.

The early warning system is there to help prevent possible food shortages. It was established in 1978 after there was a famine in Central Java between 1975 and 1976.

Q: Some people say the food shortage in Irian Jaya was caused by the authorities' failure to diversify the menu (of local people, who primarily eat yams)?. What do you think?

A: Food diversification started to be discussed in 1978. Discussions about it emerge again from time to time, usually around the season when there is a rice shortage.

All this time, people talk about food diversification without having clear concepts. Actually, food diversification should be included in policies and translated into clear programs, including education, training and counseling. Just like the Family Planning program. The state minister of food should draw up the general policies and programs on food diversification.

Q: Do you see any other problems regarding food?

A: Yes, there are the problems regarding food quality and food safety.

Take the question of food quality for instance. The level of damage during harvest and postharvest processing is still high. Maybe the crops became ruined because of late harvesting, poor treatment or poor storage. Sometimes, the amount of damaged crops reaches 10 percent to 25 percent. It's a pity. But appropriate technology should cure this problem.

As for food safety, we know that food poisoning often takes place in developing countries, although not all cases are reported. In developed countries, one reported food poisoning is usually accompanied by 10 unreported cases. In developing countries, the ratio is 1:100.

In Indonesia, the ratio could be 1:500 because of difficult terrain and transportation, so people find it difficult to report cases of food poisoning.