Plumpy'nut is the new revolution in food aid emergency feeding. Developed by Nutriset, a French company specializing in food supplements for relief efforts, Plumpy'nut was conceived by French scientist, André Briend.

This ready-to-eat food is a paste, packaged in foil packets, with a two-year shelf life. No need to add water or refrigerate - just cut the foil and suck the peanut-tasting paste, which is fortified with milk, vitamins and minerals for a 500-calorie powerhouse per packet.Used widely now by Doctors Without Borders (Médecins sans Frontières) in the Niger crisis, Plumpy'nut is sure to start spreading to feeding stations in other parts of drought-ridden Africa. A four-week course of treatment costs $20 and can be administered by the mothers themselves, rather than by doctors or nurses.

Children can gain on average 450 to 900 grams per week - a miraculous growth curve when compared to other treatments available.And what else in on the humanitarian food aid menu? For more than thirty years, food aid agencies have been dependent on powdered milk, and wheat/soy and corn/soy blends, which are fortified powders requiring added clean water. Frequently clean water just isn't there.My question is: why has it taken so long for a company to come up with an emergency food ration that is really designed to be used in the field under real-life conditions? Where are all the other Plumpy'nut ideas?

Why haven't the major food manufacturers, such as Nestlé or General Foods, developed research divisions solely for altruistic, humanitarian purposes - to develop a new generation of relief-aid products? Not for profit. Not to sell more Western milk or wheat or corn or soy - but to come up with inventive solutions for emergency situations in countries touched by disaster. The answer is that there is no real money to be made in humanitarian aid and Nestlé and General Foods are interested in real money, not charity.Plumpy'nut can be produced almost anywhere with local ingredients - plus the fortified vitamins and minerals supplied by Nutriset. There are start-up operations in Malawi and Niger, and Nutriset is looking for more local partners in Africa.Plumpy'nut is great. So why aren't we encouraging more people/companies to develop products as good as Plumpy'nut? New product ideas should be a priority for the UN's World Food Program communications campaigns.