Food Security, Self-Sufficiency, and the Availability of Amaranth in Mexico

Abstract, UNAM , 2016

In Mexico, obesity and malnutrition have become a severe public health problem. As a result, a return to nutritional surplus crops, such as amaranth, has emerged as an alternative to improve the population’s diet and mitigate malnutrition-related problems in Mexico. Amaranth, considered to be a crop with wideranging nutritional potential, has seen a statistical reduction in production, entailing a clear example of untapped agricultural potential and diversity resulting from the food strategy. It will be important to revive local amaranth production, ensuring that the actors involved in growing this crop have the capacity to boost its production and consumption to better deal with the problems of malnutrition and food security.

Key Words: Amaranth, agricultural crop, food security, nutrition, malnutrition