The diet in the rainforest consisted principally of starchy staples such as cassava. Moreover, there were various problematic customs, such as that elders would eat before the children and that those who worked would eat before those who didn't. As a consequence, mothers and children would only eat leftovers and children suffered from serious malnutrition, particularly a lack of protein.
雨林區的居民以牛豆、樹薯等澱粉植物為主食，加上某些族群中的文化是按長幼、勞動力貢獻多寡的順序進食，母親與孩童往往只能吃到殘羹剩餚，幼兒的營養不良與蛋白質缺乏症十分嚴重。