Can. Inst. Food Sci. Technol. J. 17, No.2, pp. i-xix, 1984

INSTITUTE AFFAIRS - AFFAIRES DE L'INSTITUT

From the President's Desk

As this will be my last opportunity todo so via these pages, I wish to expressmy thanks to all who have made thisyear such a memorable one. As I travell­ed throughout the country to visit withmembers during their section activities,and had discussions with the manymembers who serve the Institute in somany ways, my sense of pride grew.Pride because of the strong commit­ment shown by so many to make ourInstitute the meaningful organizationwe all want it to be. Pride also becauseit has been my privilege to serve the In­stitute as its President this year. Hav­ing profitted from this closer look, I amconvinced that we will continue to growin a meaningful way.

I do not say that improvements arenot necessary. Just think of the activitieswe could mount if all members wereequally involved and committed. Howto stimulate this greater involvement isstill a legitimate question for almost allsections. The challenge of putting on aninteresting and beneficial programshould not be minimized and itbehooves each of us to ask what can wedo to make that task easier. Would notour presence at section meetings con­tribute to their success, even if we arenot that interested in the topic? Maybewe could contribute with comments orexperiences. Effective learning can oc­cur in many ways and we could assist

Insights

Food Science and Society

The following is Joseph A. Hulse'sPresidential address to the IUFoST 6th WorldCongress held recently in Dublin, Ireland.The theme of the Congress, 'Food Scienceand Technology - For Development,Welfare and Peace' inspired Dr. Hulse'scomments which the editor feels are bothtimely and relevant to all those in the foodindustry.

as well as benefit. Here also sections canlearn and benefit from the experienceof others. The subject of stimulating in­terest and attendance will be discuss­ed at the meeting of section chairper­sons, scheduled for the upcoming con­ference. I hope that some assistance inthis area will also be proVided by thesection operations guidelines that I haveasked Dan Cumming to develop.

At the time I am writing this, the Ex­ecutive has just completed its mid-yearmeeting in Ottawa. Each of the Institutecommittees had reports for us to con­sider and from them it is evident thatthey are working diligently on the tasksassigned to them. While matters fromeach report could be mentioned, I wantto highlight only two. Both of these areof immense importance to the Institute.

The first relates to the position of Ex­ecutive Director. During his term, ArtGreene has ably transformed the Na­tional Office into one which can addressthe concerns of the Institute and itsmembers in a knowledgeable, personalmanner. The continued provision ofthis type of service to the members, willrequire that the right person is chosento fill the Executive Director positionwhen Art retires in June 1985. This pro­cess of defining our need and determin­ing how it can best be filled is receiv­ing much attention. It is hoped thatCouncil will be able to make somedefinitive decisions in May.

The second is the matter of Institutescholarships. Several years ago the

When starting to compose this ad­dress I was reminded of a poem byW.B. Yeats, a Nobel Laureate andformer Senator of Ireland:

"I sought a theme and sought forit in vain

I sought it daily for six weeks or soI must be satisfied with my heart,

although .... .. What can I but enumerate old

themes?"

What follows is indeed a variation onold themes. But, given the unhappystate in much of the world, the themeof the Congress "Food Science and

principle of establishing a CIFSTScholarship program was adopted.Subsequent to that, the idea of makingsuch scholarships available to all stu­dent members received much attention.While the full implementation of suchideas is probably still several yearsaway, there is ongoing discussion onthem. Several committees are activelydeveloping the necessary mechanismsand procedures whereby this im­plementation can become reality. Onceagain some interesting proposals will bebrought to Council for its considerationin May.

Having mentioned Mayas the timefor Council meetings, it is appropriatethat I conclude these comments by ex­tending a warm invitation to you to at­tend the 27th Annual Conference inVancouver. The Conference Committeeunder the able chairmanship of ClaryJensen, has prepared an excellenttechnical program balanced with ap­propriate social functions to permit youto mix business with pleasure. We hopeyou will come and join us. We look for­ward to hosting you.

John Vanderstoep Ph.D.President

Technology - For Development, Wel­fare and Peace" inspires more a moodof serious and sober contemplation ofthings as they are, than resort to highdrama and extravagant predictions ofbrave new worlds.

The Quality of Our DietWhile these remarks were being put

together a letter arrived from anAmerican scientist taking issue with astatement made some months ago inthe journal "Science" Oune 1982 216(4552) 1291). In the article in question,I had written "The contrast in lifestyles(between rich nations and poor nations)

Copyright <> 1984 Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology

Can. Inst. Food Sci. Technol. J. 17, No. 2, pp. i-xix, 1984

INSTITUTE AFFAIRS - AFFAIRES DE L'INSTITUT

From the President's Desk

As this will be my last opportunity todo so via these pages, I wish to expressmy thanks to all who have made thisyear such a memorable one. As I travell­ed throughout the country to visit withmembers during their section activities,and had discussions with the manymembers who serve the Institute in somany ways, my sense of pride grew.Pride because of the strong commit­ment shown by so many to make ourInstitute the meaningful organizationwe all want it to be. Pride also becauseit has been my privilege to serve the In­stitute as its President this year. Hav­ing profitted from this closer look, I amconvinced that we will continue to growin a meaningful way.

I do not say that improvements arenot necessary. Just think of the activitieswe could mount if all members wereequally involved and committed. Howto stimulate this greater involvement isstill a legitimate question for almost allsections. The challenge of putting on aninteresting and beneficial programshould not be minimized and itbehooves each of us to ask what can wedo to make that task easier. Would notour presence at section meetings con­tribute to their success, even if we arenot that interested in the topic? Maybewe could contribute with comments orexperiences. Effective learning can oc­cur in many ways and we could assist

Insights

Food Science and Society

The following is Joseph A. Hulse'sPresidential address to the IUFoST 6th WorldCongress held recently in Dublin, Ireland.The theme of the Congress, 'Food Scienceand Technology - For Development,Welfare and Peace' inspired Dr. Hulse'scomments which the editor feels are bothtimely and relevant to all those in the foodindustry.

as well as benefit. Here also sections canlearn and benefit from the experienceof others. The subject of stimulating in­terest and attendance will be discuss­ed at the meeting of section chairper­sons, scheduled for the upcoming con­ference. I hope that some assistance inthis area will also be provided by thesection operations guidelines that I haveasked Dan Cumming to develop.

At the time I am writing this, the Ex­ecutive has just completed its mid-yearmeeting in Ottawa. Each of the Institutecommittees had reports for us to con­sider and from them it is evident thatthey are working diligently on the tasksassigned to them. While matters fromeach report could be mentioned, I wantto highlight only two. Both of these areof immense importance to the Institute.

The first relates to the position of Ex­ecutive Director. During his term, ArtGreene has ably transformed the Na­tional Office into one which can addressthe concerns of the Institute and itsmembers in a knowledgeable, personalmanner. The continued provision ofthis type of service to the members, willrequire that the right person is chosento fill the Executive Director positionwhen Art retires in June 1985. This pro­cess of defining our need and determin­ing how it can best be filled is receiv­ing much attention. It is hoped thatCouncil will be able to make somedefinitive decisions in May.

The second is the matter of Institutescholarships. Several years ago the

When starting to compose this ad­dress I was reminded of a poem byW.B. Yeats, a Nobel Laureate andformer Senator of Ireland:

"I sought a theme and sought forit in vain

I sought it daily for six weeks or soI must be satisfied with my heart,

although .... .. What can I but enumerate old

themes?"

What follows is indeed a variation onold themes. But, given the unhappystate in much of the world, the themeof the Congress "Food Science and

principle of establishing a CIFSTScholarship program was adopted.Subsequent to that, the idea of makingsuch scholarships available to all stu­dent members received much attention.While the full implementation of suchideas is probably still several yearsaway, there is ongoing discussion onthem. Several committees are activelydeveloping the necessary mechanismsand procedures whereby this im­plementation can become reality. Onceagain some interesting proposals will bebrought to Council for its considerationin May.

Having mentioned May as the timefor Council meetings, it is appropriatethat I conclude these comments by ex­tending a warm invitation to you to at­tend the 27th Annual Conference inVancouver. The Conference Committeeunder the able chairmanship of ClaryJensen, has prepared an excellenttechnical program balanced with ap­propriate social functions to permit youto mix business with pleasure. We hopeyou will come and join us. We look for­ward to hosting you.

John Vanderstoep Ph.D.President

Technology - For Development, Wel­fare and Peace" inspires more a moodof serious and sober contemplation ofthings as they are, than resort to highdrama and extravagant predictions ofbrave new worlds.

The Quality of Our DietWhile these remarks were being put

together a letter arrived from anAmerican scientist taking issue with astatement made some months ago inthe journal "Science" Oune 1982 216(4552) 1291). In the article in question,I had written "The contrast in lifestyles(between rich nations and poor nations)

Copyright <> 1984 Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology

is particularly evident in the quality oftheir diets, to which food science hascontributed so much for the richer andso little for the poorer".

The article went on to propose thatfor people in North America foodscience has provided access to the mostvaried range of wholesome diets in thehistory of mankind. In light of theremarkable range of food available toNorth Americans, I stand by my pro­position. In disputing the propositionthe adversary contended that "very fewscientists seem to be fully aware of thereality that people in developed coun­tries are on their way towards eatingsemi-synthetic diets that are fed toanimals only on an experimentalbasis". He quoted a person he de­scribed as an eminent chairman of adepartment of nutrition in a major V.S.university as having said "The typicalAmerican diet is a national disaster. IfI fed it to pigs or cows, without addingvitamins or other supplements, I wouldwipe out the livestock industry".

Not long ago a Canadian professorproposed that food materials are sonutritionally debased by the food pro­cessor that housewives should throwaway all their canned meats andvegetables.

Food and LongevityThese are extreme views and the first

reaction of many IUFoST members\VOUId be to discount them as the pro­ducts of ill-informed or mischievousminds, possibly motivated either by agrudge against food processing anddistributing industries or a quest forpublicity at any price. A recent reviewof Canadian public health statistics overthe past 80 years would not indicatethat the nation is suffering from seriousmalnutrition or a general decline inhealth standards. In 1900 the medianage of Canada's population was 20years. By the end of the century it isforecast to be 36 years of age. Duringthe past decade the number of Cana­dians over 65 years of age has increas­ed by more than 20%. Though fewerbirths per capita elevates the averagemedian national age, greater longevitycontributes most to the progressivechange in Canadian demographic pat­terns. In 1932 life expectancy at birth forCanadian males was 60 and for women62 years. By 1976 these had increasedto 70 and 77.5 years respectively.

Bearing in mind the adulterations andsophistications that were common acentury ago, the codification and en­forcement of our food regulations, sus­tained by a progressive refinement ofour analytical tools, guarantees us a

ii / Affaires de l'Institut

food supply far more safe and whole­some than was available to our ances­tors. Following the pioneer work ofPasteur in France and Hassall in Britain,which gave rise to the first food anddrug regulations, food science hasmade an immense contribution to pro­tecting society from deliberate or ac­cidental adulteration or sophisticationof its food supplies.

If we live longer lives and enjoyoverall better health than our fore­fathers, we may be permitted to assumethat the world's most privileged nationsand communities have not been entirelyill-served by the industries and distribu­tion systems that are sustained by foodscience and technology.

Search for the Ideal DietThough our eating habits may not

always be consistent with our statedbeliefs we all recognize the benefits togood health of a wholesome and nutri­tionally balanced diet. The difficulty formany is to agree upon what constitutesan ideal intake and balance amongessential nutrients for all conditions ofmen, women and children. George Ber­nard Shaw advised us not to try to liveforever; we would not succeed. Shaw'sdictum notwithstanding, the wish foran elixir vitae lives on, if one can judgefrom the wide publicity given to everynew diet that promises enhanced healthand longevity.

The excessive publicity given to everynutritional concept that emerges and toevery new dietary panacea that pro­mises to cure all ills serves more to con­fuse than to enlighten, and probablydilutes confidence in food and nutri­tional scientists. For many years, expertopinion advised that the royal road tolongevity was intended for the leanCassius types. A school of thought nowappears which suggests that God in­tended fat people to be fat so theyshouldn't feel guilty about it.

It was once widely believed that redmeat and red wine made good bloodwith the clear implication that thosewho prefer chicken and sauterne are in­evitably disposed to anaemia. Otherequally curious nutritional concepts un­supported by scientific evidence, are tobe found all over the world.

Desirable levels of, and benefits to bederived from various vitamins have dif­fered markedlly among differentauthorities. The recommended daily in­take of ascorbic acid differs significant­lybetween Canada and the U.S.A. Ex­travagant claims made for large dosesof different vitamins have proved ex­tremely profitable for both the reputableand less reputable distributors. So

much so that some years ago action wasnecessary to discourage the house-to­house peddling of vitamin pills by ven­dors who predicted all manner of dis­abilities to those who refused to accepttheir advice or their wares. During thetime of heavy promotion of multi­vitamin pills, a distinguished Canadianscientist suggested that many NorthAmericans are probably passing themost expensive urine in man's history.

The Nutrition PendulumDesirable levels of protein intake have

swung back and forth like a pendulumover the past century. In 1865 Playfairrecommended 119 grams per personper day. In 1889 Hirshfeld recom­mended only 45.6 g. In 1935 the Leagueof Nations recommended 1.0 g per kgof body weight and in 1950 the BritishCommittee on Nutrition recommendedthat calories from protein should be be­tween 11 and 14% of calorie intake. Inthe early 1960s the responsible UnitedNations' agencies recommended a dai­ly intake of between 52 and 72 g of pro­tein dependent upon geographicalregion. In 1971 the FAP/WHO ExpertCommittee on Energy and Protein Re­quirements recommended 0.57 g/kgbody weight. I understand that a new­ly revised set of protein recommenda­tions is being formulated by the UNagencies.

In similar fashion how much andwhat kind of carbohydrate is best for ushas bounced this way and that. Severalyears ago, news media food editorswere advising that starch made us fatand therefore bread and potatoes wereto be avoided. To take advantage of thistrend of thought many bakers began of­fering low starch bread. Now starchseems to be in favour once again, whilerefined sugar is proscribed.

Over the past decade dietary fibre hasrapidly moved into the nutritionallimelight. According to the US NationalAgricultural Library research literaturedata base, between 1970 and 1973 therewere 12 research papers' published ondietary fibre. The number grew to 155from 1974 to 1977, and to 287 between1978 to 1981. Several authors present in­teresting and original concept of the roleof fibre in human metabolism. Not afew, however, seem unaware that 1700years ago Hippocrates wrote that theunbolted flour of whole ground graindoes have a salutary effect upon thefunctioning of the bowel. McCance andWiddowson in their book on "Brownversus White Bread", elegantly docu­ment how people's choice of bread isoften conditioned more by emotion and

J. Inst. Can. Sci. Technol. Aliment. Vol. 17, No. 2, 1984

mysticism than by rational judgementbased upon the best scientific evidenceavailable.

The lively and growing public interestin the nutritional quality of food is in­deed to be welcomed. It offers foodscientists an opportunity, indeed anobligation, to provide information thatis relevant, reliable and rational; to dif­ferentiate clearly between what is trueknowledge, what is honest belief, andwhat is to be labelled "Caveat emptor".

The Social DimensionFood science is comparatively unique

in being both a technical (biological,chemical and physical) science and asocial science. Should not therefore ourpursuit of superior technical skills bematched by an equally lively socialawareness? Should we not be morefrank and open with the general public,helping them to a better understandingof what is reliable and factual and whatis at best notional? Several nationalmember organizations in IUFoST haveorganized meetings in which foodscientists meet with consumer organiza­tions to discuss openly matters ofmutual interest and concern. Such in­itiatives are to be welcomed and en­couraged to spread.

While applauding those who dis­courage eating not wisely but too well,and advise that we eat to live not liveto eat, the more extreme dietarycounsellors sometimes forget that forthe fortunate, food is a source ofpleasure and of bodily sustenance. AsBrillat-Savarin wrote: "To dine wellneeds study and care, it is an art nophilosopher need despise." Sadly, it isa philosophy to be enjoyed in practiceby only a privileged minority. It is theresponsibility of food and agriculturalscientists to extend both the aestheticand the physiological benefits of an ade­quate dietary choice to all mankind.

The adverse comments about Ameri­can diet, referred to earlier, are in effectcriticisms of the dietary choices madeby the many who eat excessively or un­wisely. The distinct advantage mostNorth Americans and Europeans haveover many other nations is that they canmake choices. In Canada, in the largercities, the choice year round is fromseveral thousand different food items:Canadians, on average, spend less than18% of their disposable income on food.Protected by efficient food regulatoryservices, adequate, varied and whole­some diets are available to most Cana­dians, a fortunate situation for whichboth food and agricultural scientists andfood industries can take considerablecredit.

Can. Inst. Food Sci. Technol. J. Vol. 17, No. 2, 1984

Constraints to a Sufficient andSafe Food Supply

Unfortunately, among many devel­oped countries events are taking placethat are clearly contrary to the con­tinued growth of essential food supply.Most serious is the extensive destruc­tion of arable land. Collectively,developed countries destroy about 3million hectares of agricultural landevery year, burying it under roads, fac­tories, airports and urban proliferations.Second, and equally serious in Canada,and I believe elsewhere, is the declinein the number of students who opt forcareers in agricultural research. Overthe next five years nearly 500 scientists,more than a quarter of Canada'sagricultural professors and researchworkers, will retire. Canada's eightagricultural faculties produce only 68doctoral graduates while at least 150PhOs are needed annually to fill vacantand new positions. The reluctance ofstudents the world over to studyagricultural sciences is in large partcultural. Agricultural science appearsless glamorous and prestigious than theso-called high technologies. Even if,two or three decades in the future, con­trolled genetic modifications and newbiological technologies generate moreproductive food plants and novel foodmaterials, for the immediate and, mostprobably, the long term future, conven­tional agriculture will have to providemost of the world's essential foods.

In any event, food or animal feedderived from genetically modifiedmicroorganisms which transform inedi­ble polysaccharides or lignocellulosicmaterials into food or animal feed willpresent a whole new generation of in­triguing nutritional problems. It is ques­tionable if a laboratory methodology ex­ists by which to determine the safety oftotally novel foods intended for regularand continuous ingestion. A geneticmodification intended to produce a par­ticular and desirable biochemicalchange may simultaneously give rise tounpredictable and undesirable sideeffects.

These important new implications forfood safety will be addressed byIUFoST's Committee on Food Com­position and Safety, a Committee underthe chairmanship of incoming PresidentDr. Hall which is expected to play anextremely important international rolein the future. During a recent meeting,several "international scientific unionscovering a broad spectrum of biologicalsciences expressed concern about ourability to monitor reliably the safety ofcontinued consumption of foods andanimal feeds derived from unconven­tional raw materials by novel and

previously untested technologies oftransformation.

Of related importance is the jointIUFoST-IUNS Working Group underDr. Burt's chairmanship, which is ex­amining the nutritional implications ofpreserving fish by smoking and drying.The results will be particularly valuablewhen one considers first, the immensequantities of fish by-catch that arediscarded by shrimp trawlers, and sec­ond, the rapidly expanding opportuni­ties for the cultivation of fish and otheraquatic animals in inland and coastalwaters. The progress in fish polyculturemade in India under Dr. Swaminath­an's direction is now being demon­strated in other countries. By cultivatingin a single body of water 5 or 6 non­competitive species, each with a dif­ferent feeding habit, stocking densitiesand annual yields are increased severalfold.

It is estimated that man-made lakes(reservoirs or impoundments) coverover 300,000 km2 of earth's surface.The development of cage and enclosureculture in natural and man-made lakessuch as Lake Nasser in Egypt and theKeban in Turkey can produce sizeableincreases in fresh water fish. Thegreatest constraint to the expansion offish culture has been an inadequatesupply of fish seed. Advances made ininduced spawning of gravid femalesnow promises much larger supplies ofjuvenile breeding stocks. Female adultsinjected with crude gonadotropin orwith analogues of luteinizing hormonereleasing hormone (LHRH) - the firstchemical messenger in the hormonalchain that leads to spawning - willrelease their ova in captivity. Newtechniques for preserving the male fishgametes permit sperm to be stored andapplied when the eggs are spawnedand ready to be fertilized.

The Management of Food ScienceScientists in general and food scien­

tists in particular should be concernedabout the changes in patterns of in­dustrial ownership and managementwhich militate against investment inresearch and scientific development.Studies of professional employmentpatterns in North America strongly in­dicate that the route to senior executivemanagement in industry is more opento accountants, economists and lawyersthan to highly qualified scientists. Thistrend is being exacerbated by the pat­terns of industrial ownership and finan­cial control now widely evident.

Historically, food processing in­dustries were owned and developed by

Institute Affairs / iii

artisans and technologists whose em­pirically derived skills were eventuallysubjected to scientific scrutiny. Overmany centuries millers and bakerslearned their skills as apprentices andeventually at practical trade schools. Atfirst chemistry and later other disci­plines provided scientific understand­ing of the composition and changes thattook place during processes of transfor­mation and preservation.

Until relatively recently, food in­dustries were characterized by ownersand managers who spent most of theirworking lives in those industries. Nowwe are witnessing the rapid expansionof large holding companies: financial in­stitutions which purchase and take con­trol of a wide variety of industrial enter­prises to control and operate these con­glomerates like stock market portfolios.These financial manipulators are guid­ed only by the bottom line.

It would be foolish to suggest com­mercial enterprises should operate at afinancial loss. Nevertheless, the pursuitof rapid short term gain may lead to alonger term loss. Unfortunately, thestock market mentality thinks predom­inantly in terms of short gain. Conse­quently, during the recent economicrecession, we have witnessed severalinstances of research divisions inestablished food companies being clos­ed down soon after being taken over bylarger financial holding companies.

I do not believe that the stagnation ordecline in an already low rate of invest­ment in food research is peculiar toCanada. If, as I suspect, it is morewidespread, some of the fault rests withwe food scientists. If, as statisticsstrongly suggest, we occupy a veryminor proportion of senior managerialpositions, is it because we expend moreof our intellectual effort in developingour scientific skills than our manage­ment potential?

A politician recently remarked thatscience is too dangerous to be controlledby scientists. Ireland is indeed fortunateand to be congratulated on having soeminent a scientist as Professor Doogein a position of political importance andinfluence. In many, perhaps most coun­tries, individual political or industrialpower seems rarely to be wedded to aprofessional scientific cognisance andcompetence. Science, particularly foodscience, is too vital to human welfareto be left to the control of politicians andstock brokers who have little apprecia­tion of the importance of science: ofwhat science can and cannot accom­plish.

It is not time for more scientists, par­ticularly food scientists, to direct their

iv / Affaires de l'Institut

attention to the management of scienceand to take their place in positions ofsenior management? Food scientists arefar better able than stock brokers andbottom line accountants to comprehendthe technical possibilities and social con­sequences attendant upon food re­search and development.

In exploring these matters, theIUFoST Working Group on ResearchManagement under Dr. Rubin's chair­manship has made innovative use ofmodern technology in holding an inter­national workshop on food researchmanagement. Three groups of directorsof food research institutes, one fromAsia, a second from Africa, and a thirdfrom Latin America met during thesame four days, in Singapore, Nairobiand Bogota respectively. Working to thesame agenda, they maintained a com­munication linkage by satellite andcomputer and, taking advantage of thetime zone difference, each was able totransmit the proceedings of each day'sdiscussions to the other two. The out­come of these meetings will form thebasis of the round-table discussion onresearch management to be held dur­ing the Congress.

Food and PovertyIrish writers are renowned for the

pointed brevity of their wit andwisdom. Oscar Wilde and George Ber­nard Shaw, both sons of Dublin, wroterespectively: "The truth is rarely pureand never simple"; and, "The greatestof evils and the worst of crimes is pover­ty." Absolute truth about human nutri­tion is certainly not simple and themotives behind some of the more ex­cessive propositions may not be whol­ly pure. Nevertheless, one relationseems beyond dispute: poverty andmalnutririon go hand in hand. They arein large degree self perpetuating. Toolittle money buys too little food;malnourishment in infants impairsphysical and mental development; itrenders infants and adults more suscep­tible to infections, recovery from whichcalls for an exceptionally nutritious diet;an inadequate food intake provides toolittle energy for an efficient work out­put; inability to work efficiently impairsincome-earning capacity. Too little in­come spells poverty.

Among the poorest people, first in­creases in disposable income arecustomarily spent on food. Studiesamong many poor communities haveshown that expenditures on food con­tinue to expand with growth in income,first to increase intake of basic staples,later to add variety to the diet, the pat-

tern continuing until the communitiesapproach middle income levels.

Growth in disposable income that ac­companies national economic develop­ment is therefore the greatest stimulantto increased food demand, as illustratedby the rapid growth in food imports(about 19% per year in real terms)among the Oil-exporting developingcountries during the 1970s. Life expec­tancy for Canadian women is now closeto 80 and for men 75 years. Average lifeexpectancy among the world's 32lowest income countries (GNP percapita below $100), 20 of them in Africa,is only 48 years. Among the 62 nationsclassed as middle income (GNP percapita between $400 and $4000), life ex­pectancy increased from 51 to 60 yearsbetween 1960 and 1980. Thus as incomerises, food demand and consumptiongrows, access to an improved diet iswidened, and life expectancy is in­creased.

Agro-industries -The Leading Edge of Development

With very few exceptions, the abilityof nations and communities to acquireand accumulate wealth has dependedupon the development and expansionof agriculture and agro-industries. Asrecorded by Theophrastes in his"History of Plants", over 4,000 yearsago the City States of the Tigris andEuphrates developed irrigated multiplecropping to produce grain surplus totheir subsistence needs, and fodder tofeed their draught animals. The poorestnations are principally those with thepoorest agricultural systems and theweakest agro-industrial sectors. Agro­industries provide employment and in­come for landless rural and impover­ished urban dwellers.

In light of this Congress' theme, andrecognizing the urgent need for greaterinvestment in agricultural and agro­industrial development, the preferencefor bombs over bread displayed by somany nations is a melancholy reflectionof man's inhumanity to man. Between1980 and 1982 the world's expenditureson armaments increased from $450billion to $650 billion while annual in­vestment in agricultural developmentby all bilateral and multi-national aidagencies remained constant at $11 bil­lion - equivalent to about $3 per capitafor every man, woman and child indeveloping countries. It is especiallytragic to observe extremely poor coun­tries importing millions of dollars worthof armaments and exporting scarce foodcrops in order to pay for them.

Though investment still falls far shortof what is needed, research and devel­opment to improve and expand agricul-

J. Inst. Can. Sci. Technol. Aliment. Vol. 17, No. 2, 1984

tural production has received more at­tention than research and developmentinto the post-production sector. Suchinvestment as has been made has con­centrated largely upon post-harvestlosses and attempts to transfer whatoften proved to be untransferabletechnologies. Comparatively little atten­tion has been given to agro-industrialdevelopment. Many of the inadequateefforts made have been frustrated byhaving started at the wrong end of theindustrial development spectrum; bydeveloping or adapting products andtechnological processes in laboratoriesbefore determining what markets are tobe served, what those markets demand,and what iridustrial facilities exist or areneeded to satisfy an existing or poten­tial demand.

The linear approach to rural industrialdevelopment: starting in the laboratory,proceeding through a pilot plant, andeventually presenting a finished tech­nology to rural industrialists, is morelikely to end in disappointment andfrustration than in technical andeconomic development. Though it re­quires more patience, more skill, andthe need for the scientist and technol­ogist to spend time away from theirlaboratory and pilot plant, it is unques­tionably more reliable if technologicaldevelopment begins with the industriesit seeks to serve, by determining thepotential market for the products ofthose industries, the resources available

to those industries, opportunities for ex­pansion or diversification, and themany constraints by which all of theseare conditioned. A thorough compre­hension of these important factors isessential if rural agro-industrial devel­opment is to take place on a significantscale in developing countries. Agricul­tural and agriculturally based industriesprovided the leading edge of and mo­tive force for economic development inmost of the countries of Europe, NorthAmerica and Oceania. Unquestionablythey offer the greatest hope foreconomic development in many de­veloping countries.

One of the important findings of theresearch management discussions wasthe weakness of government and uni­versity food research institutes to con­duct market research and analysisbefore embarking upon product andprocess development. The result hasbeen a proliferation of products andprocesses that never progress beyondthe confines of the laboratory.

Throughout the world a great deal ofknowledge and experience in marketresearch, market analysis and marketdevelopment for food and agriculturalproducts has been acquired by private,parastatal and public enterprises. Muchof this knowledge exists within organ­izations represented among IUFoST'smembers. Some of the hard lessonslearned in the market places of someIUFoST member countries might help

others to avoid the frustrations born in­evitably from an imbalance of emphasesupon technological development andmarket research.

Several governments have establish­ed programs to encourage and enablecooperation in scientific and techno­logical development between develop­ing and developed nations. IUFoST hasa particular role to play in promotingsuch cooperation not only in thephilosophy and techniques of foodscience, but equally important, instimulating agro-industrial develop­ment among the world's poorernations.

Beyond the CongressFew nations in the western hemi­

sphere have more vivid experience thanIreland of the miseries of malnutritionand the social and economic conse­quences of an inadequate food supply.It is therefore not surprising that theCongress organizers have presented tous a program that challenges both ourscientific integrity and our internationalsocial obligations. As did their coun­tryman Yeats, our Irish colleagues"have spread their dreams" not "be_neath our feet' I, but before our eyes andimaginations. They will be satisfied ifwe reward their imaginative labours byleaving this Congress dedicated to thedevelopment of more abundant welfareand universal peace and justice for allmankind.

Table 1. Areas study from which food science evolved.

agencies as major contributors.He also suggested food science evolv­

ed as a separate entity from the fourareas of study shown in Table 1. Thisevolution explains why food science isstill academically regarded as a"hybrid" by many.

Food Science Education in CanadaIn 1983, at the Annual Conference in

Ottawa, the Educational Affairs Com­mittee sponsored a symposium entitledl'Educational Criteria and Accredita­tion". The Educational Affairs Commit­tee at that time was chaired by KarenLapsley who served as the symposiumchairman. Currently, there is con­siderable discussion taking place withinthe CIFST membership concerning theappropriate role of CIFST with respectto credentialing individuals as I1 profes­sionals" and accreditation of institu­tions teaching food science. Associatedwith this discussion are concernsregarding scholarship funds ad­ministered by, responsible to, or in­fluenced by CIFST and the appro­priateness of educational criteria for thedispersment of such funds. This latterpoint is of some importance since CIFSThas accepted a set of academic criteriarestrictive in outlook.

With these concerns in mind, theEducation Committee wishes to makeavailable to the membership some ofthe information and data brought for­ward, and some of the opinions ex-

Can. Inst. Food Sci. Technol. J. Vol. 17, No. 2, 1984

pressed, at that symposium. Whatfollows are the texts of the talks givenat that symposium provided by theauthors at Ilcommittee" request. Thecommittee thanks the authors for prov­iding the manuscripts and hopes themembers find interesting and pro­vocative food for thought in thecontents.

At the 3rd IUFOST meeting held inWashington, D.C., August 1970, thehead of Food Science at Reading,Dr. Aylward, gave an interesting pers­pective on the evolution of this area ofstudy. He equated the growth of foodscience education with what he term­ed I the second industrial revolution ofpost World War II' and cited the follow­ing reasons for the development of foodscience:

- general scientific, technological andengineering advances;

- discoveries related to methods offood preservation and processing andthe growth of larger central operations.

- social and economic factors suchas: population shifts, growth in con­sumer organizations and regulatory

Area of Study

1. Natural ScienceChemistry

Biochemistry orPhysiologicalChemistry Biology,Applied Biologyand Microbiology

2. Applied Science &TechnologyChemical TechnologyChemical Engineering

3. Medicine & Pharmacy

4. Agriculture andVeterinary Science

Examples of Activities

Research sugars, fats, proteins,vitamins, etc.Food AnalysisFood components and changes,nutrition, analytical methodsFood Microscopy and Microbiology,Industrial Fermentations, PestControl

Sugar or Fat Technology, etc.Biochemical and Food EngineeringToxicological problems, legalstandards for food analysisExtension of crop husbandry, e.g.to canningExtension of animal husbandry, e.g.to Dairy ScienceExtension of Agr. Biochem: toFood and Nutr. Sci.Extension of work on vet. hygieneto Food Quality Appraisal

Institute Affairs / v