[arthur2e5]

A typical "not-so-poor" country with large scale nutrition problems would be China. A look into the micros shows that ALMOST EVERYONE is short on calcium, riboflavin, a couple of other B vits, and Vitamin A. The current deficiency data by DALY accordingly shows large disease burdens on iron deficiency (somewhat linked to riboflavin), good old protein-energy malnutrition (child stunting and the like), and Vit A deficiency.

A lot of the issues with micros can probably be solved through food fortification, except the public is not known to appreciate the price increase (however small it will be) and the longer ingredients list. You might also suggest switching from white rice to brown or parboiled rice, but economics of scale and (for brown) the need for airtight storage mean that these things are much, much more expensive than a 2-year-old sack of white rice.

Even then you haven’t solved the big protein-energy issue. Sure, push legumes more, but these things still don’t have the price-calorie ratio that rice has, and you might compromise the energy part as you do it.

(For non-kids there’s still a big protein issue. Laborers just want to eat enough fuel to keep working, and good old white rice with Lao Gan Ma wins every time. Tofu is fast to shove down too, but it’s mostly water.)

Micros: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9696081/

DALYs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9570758/

[Legumes do provide a good amount of B too. Whole-ish beans and TVP are kind of awkward in Chinese fast food though. Maybe we just need more recipes with them as the star, instead of an accompaniment to meats.]