Food Insecurity

Question 7: Discuss the current threats and possible solutions to food security. Within your answer identify the problems associated with the possible solutions. 

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, food insecurity is a situation of "limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways." While their definition is somewhat convoluted, the basic idea behind it is clear: humans need a stable source of food. Unfortunately, the world has approached the next serious challenge related to food security due in part to accelerated global population growth and climate change. 

Today, food availability has decreased due to rising oil prices, land use for biofuels, water supply issues, and unprecedented population growth. As food has become increasingly expensive due to an increase in demand and lack of supply, people are suffering more and more from undernourishment. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has estimated that almost 870 million people were chronically undernourished in the years 2010-2012, or 1 in 8 people. 

Number of people affected by undernourishment 2010-2012 (in millions). 

As the population is projected to reach between 8.3 and 10.9 billion by 2050, it is anticipated that food security will become an increasingly dramatic problem. It is not only developing countries that are suffering. In fact, the United States has a serious problem with food insecurity, which is portrayed in the chart below. According to their data, only 85.4% of the United States is classified as food secure.

Food insecurity statistics for the U.S. from the Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program.

Meanwhile in vulnerable regions such as central Africa and southeast Asia, a much higher percentage of people do not know when there next meal may be. For example, food insecurity has been identified as one of the most serious issues for Africa by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

An image from the Africa Human Development Report 2012 - UNDP. 

What can be done to fix this devastating situation? Well, the UN's Millennium Development Goals for 2015 cover the broad necessity for aid. More specifically, it is important to preserve and protect the world's water resources, curb population growth through education and family planning assistance, and provide more international resources for aid.


Photo sources: 
Image 1: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_security#mediaviewer/File:FAO_Food_security_2012.jpg
Image 2: http://www.georgiadisabilitylawyerblog.com/091117-Food-FoodInsecurity.png
Image 3: http://www.afhdr.org/