To honor the extraordinary life and work of Eduardo R. Mendez, friends and colleagues have partnered with the Pan American Health and Education Foundation to establish the Eduardo R. Mendez Memorial Fund.
The purpose of this fund is to foster organizations and projects in the Republic of Mexico that improve health and nutrition, food science, and nutrition education while enhancing the well-being of the Mexican people.
Food Science & Nutrition in the Americas
The number of food-related disease outbreaks has increased in recent years throughout the Americas and the world. The WHO estimates three million deaths caused by diarrhea occur annually in Latin America and the Caribbean—and a significant percentage of this is related to eating contaminated food. In addition to damaging health, food contamination has negative social, political and economic effects. Food processing conditions for domestic consumption and export vary from country to country and economic globalization has led to massive worldwide food trade, meaning these disease outbreaks can spread globally at frightening speed.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, problems of undernutrition increasingly co-exist with problems of overnutrition. Undernutrition primarily affects infants and young children under the age of two and causes stunted growth and anemia. Overnutrition is on the rise and includes people overweight and obese. It affects both children and adults and contributes to high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The region is currently experiencing an obesity epidemic caused by changes in diet and decreased levels of physical activity.
How You Can Help
We encourage you to contribute to this special fund in memory of Eduardo R. Mendez. Your gift will support projects to prevent food-related disease outbreaks and improve nutrition, food science and nutrition education in the Republic of Mexico. It will also support the participation of world-renowned experts in the “Eduardo R. Mendez Lectureship Program” at the Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico.
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