PIP: This paper presents results of the 1992 National Rural Nutrition Survey in Ethiopia that challenge the appropriateness of the centrality of food security as a dominant element of nutrition policy and planning. While the focus of this work is on protein-energy malnutrition in Ethiopia, the implications extend to other countries, and some of the same principles apply to micronutrient deficiencies. After a description of the design of the Ethiopian national nutrition surveillance system, results are presented for rural Ethiopia in terms of 1) the prevalence of stunting, wasting, and underweight by age; 2) changes in prevalence of stunting and underweight between February 1983 and March 1992; 3) prevalence of stunting and wasting by region; 4) distribution of stunted children by economic group and size of cultivated land; 5) prevalence of stunting and wasting in selected household economic groups by age group; 6) prevalence of stunting and wasting among children 24-59 months of age by size of cultivated area among cereal growers; 7) height-for-age z-scores across regions and cultivated areas; 8) weight-for-age z-scores; and 9) prevalence of stunting and medial age of introducing complementary foods. The most relevant findings of the study are that 1) stunting is far more common than wasting; 2) chronic malnutrition occurs at high rates among infants aged 6-11 months despite a typical rate of low birth rate, and the presence of stunting does not increase markedly after 24 months; 3) high rates of chronic malnutrition are ubiquitous, with some of the highest in food surplus areas; 4) the prevalence of chronic malnutrition has increased since 1983; 5) household food security is not uniformly associated with child nutritional status; and 6) cultivated area and child nutritional status are not significantly associated among children 6-23 months old.