Does Livestock Ownership Affect Animal Source Foods Consumption and Child Nutritional Status? Evidence from Rural Uganda

In many developing countries,
consumption of animal source foods among the poor is still
at a level where increasing its share in total caloric
intake may have many positive nutritional benefits. This
paper explores whether ownership of various livestock
species increases consumption of animal source foods and
helps improve child nutritional status. The paper finds some
evidence that food consumption patterns and nutritional
outcomes may be affected by livestock ownership in rural
Uganda. The results are suggestive that promoting (small)
livestock ownership has the potential to affect human
nutrition in rural Uganda, but further research is needed to
estimate more precisely the direction and size of these effects.