In Central and South America, Africa and Asia, several hundred million people rely on maize as their principal daily food. Maize is widely used as a weaning food for babies. Many small livestock farmers or smallholders also use it to feed pigs. Conventional maize is lacking in quality protein content, especially lysine and tryptophan, which are two essential amino acids the human body cannot synthesize and, therefore, must be obtained from food. Normal protein deficient maize is not a quality food staple.
People relying on it heavily typically suffer from malnutrition.
Babies weaned on it are frequently underweight, prone to disease, and are at high risk for starvation. QPM offers 90 percent the nutritional value of skim milk, the standard for adequate nutrition value. Babies and adults consuming QPM are healthier, and at lower risk for malnutrition disorders such as Marasmus and Kwashiorkor seen all too commonly in photos of children with bone-thin limbs and distended bellies. Pigs fed on QPM experience rapid weight gain and are ready for market sooner or as an additional quality protein source for small farm families. Villegas and Vasal developed QPM through field and laboratory research in Mexico, their teaching and that of others helped spread its adoption and use across the globe.