International Symposium on ‘Dietary Protein for Human Health’ (organized in cooperation with the IAEA)

The symposium has been concluded. For those who were unable to attend, the recordings are available for purchase here.

Intake of adequate and high quality dietary protein is central to all functions of the human body. The discussion currently focuses on how to provide high quality protein to feed the rapidly growing human population in the light of other dynamics such as climate change that limit access to protein rich foods. In order to protect the environment, there is a recommendation to shift from currently animal-source protein foods to more plant-based protein sources; the question is whether this shift can compromise nutritional status of already vulnerable populations in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries where animal source food are rarely consumed. Yet, protein quality, defined as the ability of a food to provide all nine essential amino acids, is difficult to measure. The International Symposium on Dietary Protein for Human Health will bring together experts from across the world to debate this complex topic from different angles, including recent advances in  measurement of protein quality. The critical role stable isotope techniques have played in generating much needed protein quality data will also be discussed. The international symposium is organized by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Wageningen University and the Research and Riddet Institute, Massey University, in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).