Food At Work is available from online bookstores and directly from the International Labor Organization.
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In 2004 the International Labor Organization asked me to write a book about how workers eat around the world. The goal was to highlight the problems workers face in gaining access to a good meal.
But this is not about a free meal at work. This book documents how food is a health, safety and productivity issue in all countries, rich or poor. The statistics I collected are staggering. Over 2 billion people worldwide are iron deficient. Nearly a billion people are chronically undernourished and one billion are overweight or obese. Diet-related diseases account for 60 percent of deaths worldwide.
Consider that obese workers are twice as likely to miss work, and that obesity costs the United States over $100 billion a year. Consider that low-blood iron leads to accidents and is associated with up to a 30 percent reduction in productivity. Refer to the book introduction and chapter 1 for more statistics, available for free download.
Wouldn't it be nice to attack these problems at work? Yet instead of being accommodating, the workplace is often a hindrance to good nutrition. It's hard to get a good meal at work. Cafeterias, if they exist, are often expensive and have unhealthy offerings. Many workers have no access to food, let alone access to food storage, water and tables.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part I. Nutrition and the Workplace
Chapter 1. The history and economics of workplace nutrition
Chapter 2. A nutrition overview
Chapter 3. The workplace as a setting for good nutrition
Part II. Case Studies - Lessons from the Field
Chapter 4. Food solutions: canteens and cafeterias
Chapter 5. Food solutions: meal vouchers
Chapter 6. Food solutions: mess rooms
Chapter 7. Food solutions: refreshment facilities and mobile food vans
Chapter 8. Solutions for families: low-cost shops; food vouchers
Chapter 9. Clean drinking water
Part III. Resources for Unions, Employers and Governments
Chapter 10. A checklist of enterprise decision-making
Chapter 11. International standards, policies and programmes
Chapter 12: Conclusions
Appendix A: Nutrition, macronutrients
Appendix B: Nutrition, micronutrients
Consider the construction worker, who builds cafeterias but has no place to eat himself. Consider the migrant farmer, who harvests our food yet eats in a field without shelter from the weather and pesticides. Consider every single worker you encounter during the day: the store clerk, the gas station attendant, the fast-food worker. Consider your own plight.
Food At Work presents the statistics to convince employers and governments that providing access to food is a wise investment. Case studies describe "food solutions" that range from the pricey to those that are essentially free.
I researched and wrote Food At Work during 2004, and the book was published in 2005. I have since presented my findings in over a dozen capitals in South America and Europe; and my colleagues at the ILO have presented the book in Asia and Africa. I have also participated in numerous radio and newspaper interviews. This book has resonated in many corners of the world.
Download the book announcement press release in English, French or Spanish, and the Executive Summary in Spanish.