Nutrition researcher and consultant, 1917-1992. Schaefer received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in 1947. He served as executive director of the Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defense from 1955-1964; for various U.S. agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, and as Executive Director of the Swanson Center for Nutrition in Omaha, Nebraska. Schaefer’s work included coordinating nutrition surveys in over 30 foreign counties and the first large-scale nutritional survey of the U.S. in 1968-1970.
Summary:
Schaefer discusses his work with the Interdepartmental Committee on Nutrition for National Defense (ICNND) in the 1950s and 1960s, and the organization’s work in coordinating projects and studies in nutrition and assisting developing countries to address nutrition problems of both civilian populations and military personnel. He talks about his service as a nutrition officer during World War II, the beginnings of United States government interest in the nutrition of foreign nations, the nutrition office in the U.S. Army Office of the Surgeon General, and the formation of the ICNND following the Korean War. Several of Schaefer’s colleagues are discussed, including Frank B. Berry, Harold R. Sandstead, and John B. Youmans. Schaefer describes the cooperation between the ICNND and the U.S. Navy medical research units, how ICNND surveys yielded valuable clinical research data, and how the ICNND projects established laboratories and trained personnel in developing countries. Schaefer also discusses other international projects on nutrition, the Food for Peace (PL-480) program, domestic U.S. nutrition surveys, and rivalries between various U.S. government agencies (such as the United States Agency for International Development – USAID) concerned with nutrition.
Notes:
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