FOOD SECURITY

LORENZANA
LORIA
LORICA
Food security is defined as the availability of food and one's
access to it. A household is considered food secure when its
occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation.

• Food security is not a developed-developing world conversation

anymore. It is a global one, and the past year has seen momentum
shift with new commitments from governments and the private sector
and with a newfound willingness to set goals that create bridges
between program areas instead of funding battles between them.
• Nearly a billion people across the world experience the effects of
food insecurity according to the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID), which is often link to poverty.
Due to shifts in the global economy, including rises in global food and
oil prices, it can affect food security throughout the world, with
especially severe effects in low-income countries.
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have
physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe
and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and
food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Household food security is the application of this concept
to the family level, with individuals within households as
the focus of concern.

Food insecurity exists when people do not have

adequate physical, social or economic access to food as
defined in the latter concept.
 3 Main Aspects of Food Security

1.Food Availability
Having a sufficient supply of food available on a consistent
basis. This food can be either locally produced or imported from other
places.
2. Food Access
Having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a
nutritious diet. Even when a sufficient supply of food exists to feed
everyone, food may not always be accessible to everyone. People need
to have sufficient incomes and resources in order to obtain food.
3. Food Utilization
The final aspect of food security is known as food utilization, or
consuming a nutritious diet. This means that people make appropriate
use of food, based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, and have
access to water and sanitation for preparing food and maintaining
proper hygiene.
• The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) states that 925 million people in the world are
undernourished. The largest percentage of undernourished
people live in Asia and the Pacific Islands, followed by Sub-
Saharan Africa. Thus, a key factor in addressing the world's
food security challenges is improving the availability, access,
and utilization of food across global communities.

• Unfortunately, Asia has the largest number of hungry

people (over 500 million) but Sub-Saharan Africa has the
highest prevalence (24.8 percent of population) based on
the State of Food Insecurity in the World.
 Things affecting food security today includes:

Global Water Crisis - Water table reserves are falling in many countries
(including Northern China, the US, and India) due to widespread over-
pumping and irrigation.
Climate Change - Rising global temperatures are beginning to have a
ripple effect on crop yields, forest resources, water supplies and altering
the balance of nature. “Results show that climate change is likely to reduce
agricultural production, thus reducing food availability” (Brown etal.,
2008.)
Land Degradation - Intensive farming leads to a vicious cycle of
exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of agricultural yields.
Greedy Land Deals - Corporations and Governments buying rights to
millions of acres of agricultural land in developing countries to secure their
own long-term food supplies.
Agricultural diseases – Diseases affecting livestock or crops can have
devastating effect on food availability especially if there are no
contingency plans in place. For example, Ug99, a lineage of wheat stem
rust which can cause up to 100% crop losses, is present in wheat fields in
several countries in Africa and the Middle East.
Politics - While drought and other naturally occurring events may
trigger famine conditions, it is government action or inaction that
determines its severity, and often even whether or not a famine will
occur. Governments sometimes have a narrow base of support, built
upon cronyism and patronage.
Food sovereignty - The approach known as food sovereignty views
the business practices of multinational corporations as a form of
neocolonialism. It contends that multinational corporations have the
financial resources available to buy up the agricultural resources of
impoverished nations, particularly in the tropics. Food sovereignty
holds it to be true that communities should be able to define their own
means of production and that food is a basic human right.
Food waste - Food waste may be diverted for alternative human
consumption when economic variables allow for it. The waste of
consumable food is even gaining attention from large food
conglomerates.
Global Food Security Index. The index provides a common set of metrics
that enables to track progress in food security globally. It is a dynamic
quantitative and qualitative scoring model that measures drivers of food
security across both developing and developed countries. The overall goal
of the study is to assess which countries are most and least vulnerable to
food insecurity through the categories of Affordability, Availability, and
Quality and Safety.
 FAO STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING FOOD SECURITY
1. Fair Trade

2. Environmental Protection

3. Appropriate Agriculture

4. Equal Rights for Women

5. Land Reform

6. Peace

7. Sharing the Wealth

8. Building Community

9. Rediscovering Traditional Foods

10. A ‘Blue Revolution’

REFERENCES:
https://www.disabled-world.com/fitness/nutrition/foodsecurity/
http://www.fao.org/3/y4671e/y4671e06.htm
https://www.peacecorps.gov/educators/resources/global-issues-food-security/
http://www.unesco.org/education/tlsf/mods/theme_c/popups/mod14t04s01.html
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_security
https://data.unicef.org/resources/sofi-2018/
https://knowledge.unccd.int/kss/global-food-security-index
https://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/environment/global-food-security-index-improves
globalfoodsecurity-slide share.net