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[[Image:Food production per capita 1961-2005.png|thumb|Growth in food production has been greater than population growth. Food per person increased during the 1961–2005 period. The y-axis is percent of 1999–2001 average food production per capita. Data source: World Resources Institute.]] |
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[[File:Human Biomass Consumption.ogv|thumb|Humans are using an increasing amount of Earth’s annual production of plants.]] |
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[[Image:Barley.jpg|thumb|[[Barley]] is a major animal [[feed crop]].]] |
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'''Food security''' refers to 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]]. According to the [[World Resources Institute]], global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past several decades.<ref>{{dead link|date=March 2012}}[http://earthtrends.wri.org/searchable_db/results.php?years=1961-1961,1962-1962,1963-1963,1964-1964,1965-1965,1966-1966,1967-1967,1968-1968,1969-1969,1970-1970,1971-1971,1972-1972,1973-1973,1974-1974,1975-1975,1976-1976,1977-1977,1978-1978,1979-1979,1980-1980,1981-1981,1982-1982,1983-1983,1984-1984,1985-1985,1986–1986,1987–1987,1988–1988,1989–1989,1990–1990,1991–1991,1992–1992,1993–1993,1994–1994,1995–1995,1996–1996,1997–1997,1998–1998,1999–1999,2000–2000,2001–2001,2002–2002,2003–2003,2004–2004,2005–2005&variable_ID=180&theme=8&cID=&ccID=0 Agriculture and Food—Agricultural Production Indices: Food production per capita index], World Resources Institute</ref> In 2006, [[MSNBC]] reported that globally, the number of people who are overweight has surpassed the number who are undernourished – the world had more than one billion people who were overweight, and an estimated 800 million who were undernourished.<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14407969/ Nearly 1 in 5 Chinese overweight or obese], MSNBC, August 18, 2006</ref> According to a 2004 article from the [[BBC]], China, the world's most populous country, is suffering from an [[obesity]] epidemic.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3737162.stm Chinese concern at obesity surge], BBC, October 12, 2004</ref> In India, the second-most populous country in the world, 30 million people have been added to the ranks of the hungry since the mid-1990s and 46% of children are [[underweight]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8309979.stm |title=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8309979.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=October 16, 2009 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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Worldwide around 925 million people are chronically hungry due to [[extreme poverty]], while up to 2 billion people lack food security intermittently due to varying degrees of poverty (source: [[FAO]], 2010). Six million children die of hunger every year – 17,000 every day.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/11/17/italy.food.summit/ | work=CNN | title=U.N. chief: Hunger kills 17,000 kids daily | accessdate=May 2, 2010 | date=November 17, 2009}}</ref> As of late 2007, export restrictions and panic buying, US Dollar Depreciation,<ref>[http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/pdf/ag-price100105.pdf : The 2007/08 Agricultural Price Spikes, Causes and Policy Implications]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> increased farming for use in [[biofuel]]s,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.2104849.0.2008_the_year_of_global_food_crisis.php |title=2008: The year of global food crisis |publisher=Sundayherald.com |date=March 8, 2008 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> world [[oil prices]] at more than $100 a barrel,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0118/p08s01-comv.html |title=The global grain bubble |publisher=Csmonitor.com |date=January 18, 2008 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> global [[population growth]],<ref>{{cite news|author=James Randerson, science correspondent |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2008/mar/07/scienceofclimatechange.food |title=Food crisis will take hold before climate change, warns chief scientist |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=November 13, 2011 |date=March 7, 2008}}</ref> [[climate change]],<ref>{{cite news|author=John Vidal, environment editor |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/nov/03/food.climatechange |title=Global food crisis looms as climate change and fuel shortages bite |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=November 13, 2011 |date=November 3, 2007}}</ref> loss of agricultural land to residential and industrial development,<ref>{{cite web|author=Walsoft |url=http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article3782.html |title=Experts: Global Food Shortages Could ‘Continue for Decades' |publisher=Marketoracle.co.uk |date=February 22, 2008 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Moya K. Mason |url=http://www.moyak.com/papers/urbanization-agriculture.html |title=Has Urbanization Caused a Loss to Agricultural Land? |publisher=Moyak.com |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> and growing consumer demand in China and [[India]]<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite news|last=Walt |first=Vivienne |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1717572,00.html |title=The World's Growing Food-Price Crisis |work=Time |date=February 27, 2008 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> are claimed to have pushed up the price of grain.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7284196.stm |title=The cost of food: Facts and figures |publisher=BBC News |date=October 16, 2008 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2008/Update72_data.htm#table1 |title=Food Price Unrest Around the World, September 2007– April 2008 |publisher=Earth-policy.org |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> However, the role of some of these factors is under debate. Some argue the role of biofuel has been overplayed<ref>[http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodfarm/food/pdf/ag-price-annex%205.pdf : The role of demand for biofuel in the agricultural commodity price spikes of 2007/08]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> as grain prices have come down to the levels of 2006. Nonetheless, [[2007–2008 world food price crisis|food riot]]s have recently taken place in many countries across the world.<ref>{{cite news|author=Jonathan Watts in Beijing |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/dec/04/china.business |title=Riots and hunger feared as demand for grain sends food costs soaring |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=November 13, 2011 |date=December 5, 2007}}</ref><ref>. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3500975.ece Already we have riots, hoarding, panic: the sign of things to come?]</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Julian Borger, diplomatic editor |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/26/food.unitednations |title=Feed the world? We are fighting a losing battle, UN admits |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=November 13, 2011 |date=February 26, 2008}}</ref> |
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The ongoing global credit crisis has affected farm credits, despite a boom in commodity prices.<ref>[http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hSQJyAYJT8yJGDIiyQqAlWmNpJ2QD905OCU01 Amid strong farm economy, some worry about increased debt, Associated Press, April 20, 2008]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> Food security is a complex topic, standing at the intersection of many disciplines. |
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A new peer-reviewed journal of ''Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food'' began publishing in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.springer.com/life+sciences/agriculture/journal/12571 |title=Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food |publisher=Springer.com |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> In developing countries, often 70% or more of the population lives in rural areas. In that context, agricultural development among smallholder farmers and landless people provides a livelihood for people allowing them the opportunity to stay in their communities. In many areas of the world, land ownership is not available, thus, people who want or need to farm to make a living have little incentive to improve the land. |
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In the US, there are approximately 2,000,000 farmers, less than 1% of the population. A direct relationship exists between food consumption levels and poverty. Families with the financial resources to escape extreme poverty rarely suffer from chronic hunger, while poor families not only suffer the most from chronic hunger, but are also the segment of the population most at risk during [[food shortage]]s and [[famine]]s. |
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Two commonly used definitions of food security come from the UN's [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO) and the [[United States Department of Agriculture]] (USDA): |
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* Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y4671e/y4671e06.htm |title=Chapter 2. Food security: concepts and measurement[21] |publisher=Fao.org |accessdate=2011-03-16}}</ref> and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/al936e/al936e00.pdf |title=FAO Practical Guide: Basic Concepts of Food Security |format=PDF |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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* Food security for a household means access by all members at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life. Food security includes at a minimum (1) the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods, and (2) an assured ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways (that is, without resorting to emergency food supplies, scavenging, stealing, or other coping strategies). (USDA)<ref>{{cite web| coauthors = | title =Food Security in the United States: Measuring Household Food Security | publisher = USDA | url = http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/FoodSecurity/measurement.htm | accessdate = 2008-02-23}}</ref> |
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The [[famine scales|stages of food insecurity]] range from food secure situations to full-scale [[famine]]. "Famine and hunger are both rooted in food insecurity. Food insecurity can be categorized as either chronic or transitory. Chronic food insecurity translates into a high degree of vulnerability to famine and hunger; ensuring food security presupposes elimination of that vulnerability. [Chronic] hunger is not famine. It is similar to undernourishment and is related to poverty, existing mainly in poor countries."<ref>Melaku Ayalew–[http://www.bradford.ac.uk/research/ijas/ijasno2/ayalew.html What is Food Security and Famine and Hunger?]</ref> |
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==Stunting and chronic nutritional deficiencies== |
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[[Image:Kwashiorkor 6903.jpg|thumb|right|Children and a nurse attendant at a Nigerian orphanage in the late 1960’s with symptoms of low calorie and protein intake.]] |
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Many countries experience perpetual food shortages and distribution problems. These result in chronic and often widespread hunger amongst significant numbers of people. [[Human population]]s respond to chronic [[hunger]] and [[malnutrition]] by decreasing body size, known in medical terms as [[Stunted growth|stunting]] or stunted growth. This process starts ''in utero'' if the mother is malnourished and continues through approximately the third year of life. It leads to higher infant and child mortality, but at rates far lower than during famines. Once stunting has occurred, improved nutritional intake later in life cannot reverse the damage. Stunting itself is viewed as a coping mechanism, designed to bring body size into alignment with the calories available during adulthood in the location where the child is born. Limiting body size as a way of adapting to low levels of energy (calories) adversely affects health in three ways: |
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* Premature failure of vital organs occurs during adulthood. For example, a 50-year-old individual might die of heart failure because his/her heart suffered structural defects during early development; |
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* Stunted individuals suffer a far higher rate of disease and illness than those who have not undergone stunting; |
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* Severe malnutrition in early childhood often leads to defects in cognitive development. |
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"The analysis ... points to the misleading nature of the concept of subsistence as [[Malthus]] originally used it and as it is still widely used today. Subsistence in not located at the edge of a nutritional cliff, beyond which lies demographic disaster. Rather than one level of subsistence, there are numerous levels at which a population and a food supply can be in equilibrium in the sense that they can be indefinitely sustained. However, some levels will have smaller people and higher normal mortality than others."<ref>Robert Fogel, The Escape from Hunger and Premature Death: 1700–2100; Cambridge University Press, 2004.</ref> |
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==Global water crisis== |
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[[Image:Grain storage silos.jpg|thumb|right|Grain storage facilities in Australia]] |
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[[Water deficits]], which are already spurring heavy grain imports in numerous smaller countries,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earth-policy.org/Books/Seg/PB2ch03_ss6.htm |title=Water Scarcity Crossing National Borders |publisher=Earth-policy.org |date=September 27, 2006 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> may soon do the same in larger countries, such as China or [[India]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Jul 21, 2006 |url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/HG21Df01.html |title=Asia Times Online:: South Asia news – India grows a grain crisis |publisher=Atimes.com |date=July 21, 2006 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> The [[water table]]s are falling in scores of countries (including Northern China, the US, and India) due to widespread overpumping using powerful diesel and electric pumps. Other countries affected include [[Pakistan]], Afghanistan, and [[Iran]]. This will eventually lead to water scarcity and cutbacks in grain harvest. Even with the overpumping of its [[aquifers]], China is developing a grain deficit.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.globalenvision.org/library/2/887/ |title=Outgrowing the Earth |publisher=Globalenvision.org |date=November 23, 2005 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> When this happens, it will almost certainly drive grain prices upward. Most of the 3 billion people projected to be born worldwide by mid-century will be born in countries already experiencing [[water shortages]]. After China and [[India]], there is a second tier of smaller countries with large water deficits—[[Afghanistan]], Algeria, [[Egypt]], Iran, [[Mexico]], and [[Pakistan]]. Four of these already import a large share of their grain. Only Pakistan remains self-sufficient. But with a population expanding by 4 million a year, it will also likely soon turn to the world market for grain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.i-sis.org.uk/TFBE.php |title=The Food Bubble Economy |publisher=I-sis.org.uk |date=April 12, 2002 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://www.greatlakesdirectory.org/zarticles/080902_water_shortages.htm Global Water Shortages May Lead to Food Shortages-Aquifer Depletion]</ref> |
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Multimillion dollar investments beginning in the 1990s by the [[World Bank]] have reclaimed [[desert]] and turned the [[Ica, Peru|Ica]] Valley in [[Peru]], one of the driest places on earth, into the largest supplier of [[asparagus]] in the world. However, the constant irrigation has caused a rapid drop in the water table, in some places as much as eight meters per year, one of the fastest rates of aquifer depletion in the world. The wells of small farmers and local people are beginning to run dry and the water supply for the main city in the valley is under threat. As a cash crop, asparagus has provided jobs for local people, but most of the money goes to the buyers, mainly the British. A recent report concluded that the industry is not sustainable and accuses investors, including the World Bank, of failing to take proper responsibility for the impact of their decisions on the water resources of poorer countries.<ref>{{cite news|author=Felicity Lawrence |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/sep/15/peru-asparagus-british-wells |title=How Peru's wells are being sucked dry by British love of asparagus | Environment |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=2011-03-16 |date=September 15, 2010}}</ref> Diverting water from the headwaters of the [[Ica River|Ica]] River to asparagus fields has also led to a water shortage in the mountain region of Huancavelica, where indigenous communities make a marginal living herding.<ref name="guardian.co.uk">{{cite news|last=Lawrence |first=Felicity |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2010/sep/15/peru-asparagus-aid-policy |title=Big business clear winner in Peru's asparagus industry | Global development | guardian.co.uk |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=2011-03-16 |date=September 15, 2010}}</ref> |
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==Land degradation== |
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{{See also|Land degradation|Desertification}} |
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Intensive farming often leads to a vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility and decline of agricultural yields.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2006/Update61.htm |title=The Earth Is Shrinking: Advancing Deserts and Rising Seas Squeezing Civilization |publisher=Earth-policy.org |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.<ref>{{cite news|author=Ian Sample in science correspondent |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/aug/31/climatechange.food |title=Global food crisis looms as climate change and population growth strip fertile land |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=November 13, 2011 |date=August 30, 2007}}</ref> In Africa, if current trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to [[United Nations University|UNU]]'s Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.mongabay.com/2006/1214-unu.html |title=Africa may be able to feed only 25% of its population by 2025 |publisher=News.mongabay.com |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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==Land deals== |
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{{See also|Land grabbing}} |
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Rich governments and corporations are buying up the rights to millions of hectares of agricultural land in developing countries in an effort to secure their own long-term food supplies. The head of the [[Food and Agriculture Organisation]] (FAO), [[Jacques Diouf]], has warned that the controversial rise in land deals could create a form of "neocolonialism", with poor states producing food for the rich at the expense of their own hungry people. The [[South Korea]]n firm [[Daewoo]] Logistics has secured a large piece of farmland in [[Madagascar]] to grow maize and crops for [[biofuel]]s. [[Libya]] has secured 250,000 hectares of [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] farmland, and [[People's Republic of China|China]] has begun to explore land deals in Southeast Asia.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/nov/22/food-biofuels-land-grab Rich countries launch great land grab to safeguard food supply], The Guardian, November 22, 2008</ref> [[Oil reserves|Oil-rich]] [[Arab]] investors, including the [[sovereign wealth fund]]s, are looking into [[Sudan]], Ethiopia, [[Ukraine]], Kazakhstan, [[Pakistan]], Cambodia and [[Thailand]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.afrik.com/article14301.html |title=Arable Land, the new gold rush : African and poor countries cautioned |publisher=En.afrik.com |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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Some countries are using the acquisition of land for agriculture in return for other gains. [[Egypt]] is seeking land acquisition in [[Ukraine]] in exchange for access to its natural gas. [[Qatar]] has plans to lease 40,000 hectares of agricultural land along [[Kenya]]'s coast to grow fruit and vegetables, in return for building a £2.4 billion port close to the Indian Ocean tourist island of [[Lamu]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.virtuescience.com/geopolitics-of-food.html |title=Futehally, Ilmas, The Geopolitcs of Food, Virtue Science |publisher=Virtuescience.com |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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==Climate change== |
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===Agriculture=== |
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{{See also|Climate change and agriculture}} |
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Approximately 2.4 billion people live in the [[drainage basin]] of the Himalayan rivers.<ref>[http://www.peopleandplanet.net/pdoc.php?id=3024 Big melt threatens millions, says UN]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> [[India]], China, [[Pakistan]], Afghanistan, [[Bangladesh]], Nepal and [[Myanmar]] could experience floods followed by severe droughts in coming decades.<ref>{{cite web|author=english@peopledaily.com.cn |url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90781/90879/6222327.html |title=Glaciers melting at alarming speed |work=People's Daily |date=July 24, 2007 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> In [[India]] alone, the Ganges provides water for drinking and farming for more than 500 million people.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/jul/24indus.htm |title=Ganges, Indus may not survive: climatologists |publisher=Rediff.com |date=December 31, 2004 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Singh |first=Navin |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3998967.stm |title=Himalaya glaciers melt unnoticed |publisher=BBC News |date=November 10, 2004 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> The west coast of North America, which gets much of its water from glaciers in mountain ranges such as the [[Rocky Mountains]] and [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], also would be affected.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317154235.htm |title=Glaciers Are Melting Faster Than Expected, UN Reports |publisher=[[ScienceDaily]] |date=March 17, 2008 |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> Glaciers aren't the only worry that the developing nations have; sea level is also reported to rise as climate change progresses, reducing the amount of land available for agriculture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib765/aib765-8.pdf |title=Issues In Food Security |format=PDF |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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In other parts of the world, a big effect will be low yields of grain according to the World Food Trade Model, specifically in the low latitude regions where much of the developing world is located. From this the price of grain will rise, along with the developing nations trying to grow the grain. Due to this, every 2–2.5% price hike will increase the number of hungry people by 1%.<ref>[http://www.climate.org/2002/topics/agricul/index.shtml Impacts of Climate Change on Food Security]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> Low crop yields are just one of the problem facing farmers in the low latitudes and tropical regions. The timing and length of the growing seasons, when farmers plant their crops, are going to be changing dramatically, per the USDA, due to unknown changes in soil temperature and moisture conditions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/aib765/aib765-8.pdf |title=Issues In Climate Change |format=PDF |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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=== Children === |
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On 2008-04-29, a [[UNICEF UK]] report found that the world’s poorest and most vulnerable children are being hit the hardest by the impact of [[climate change]]. The report, "Our Climate, Our Children, Our Responsibility: The Implications of Climate Change for the World’s Children," says access to clean water and food supplies will become more difficult, particularly in Africa and Asia.<ref>[http://www.unicef.org.uk/press/news_detail_full_story.asp?news_id=1120 UNICEF UK News:: News item:: The tragic consequences of climate change for the world’s children:: April 29, 2008 00:00]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> |
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==Wheat stem rust== |
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{{Update|date=May 2011}} |
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[[Image:Stripe rust.jpg|thumb|left|Stripe Rust on a wheat stem]] |
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An epidemic of stem rust on wheat caused by race [[Ug99]] which was recently spreading across Africa and into Asia caused major concern. A virulent wheat disease could destroy most of the world’s main wheat crops, leaving millions to starve. The fungus had spread from Africa to [[Iran]], and may already be in [[Pakistan]].<ref>{{cite news|author=Robin McKie and Xan Rice |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2007/apr/22/food.foodanddrink |title=Millions face famine as crop disease rages |work=The Guardian |location=UK |accessdate=November 13, 2011 |date=April 22, 2007}}</ref><ref name = NewSci>{{cite journal | url = http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/mg19425983.700-billions-at-risk-from-wheat-superblight.html |
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|journal = [[New Scientist]] Magazine |title=Billions at risk from wheat super-blight |date=2007-04-03 |
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|accessdate = 2007-04-19 |issue= 2598 |pages = 6–7}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/8112190676ab183b80e80199f821ef93.htm |title=IRAN: Killer fungus threatens wheat production in western areas |publisher=Alertnet.org |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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The [[genetic diversity]] of the [[crop wild relatives]] of wheat can be used to improve modern varieties to be more resistant to rust. In their [[centers of origin]] wild wheat plants are screened for resistance to rust, then their genetic information is analysed and finally wild plants and modern varieties are crossed through means of modern [[plant breeding]] in order to transfer the resistance genes from the wild plants to the modern varieties.<ref>Hanan Sela, University of Haifa, Israel See [http://www.diverseeds.eu/uploads/media/Crop_Wild_Relatives_ver2.mp4 DIVERSEEDS short video]</ref> |
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==Dictatorship and kleptocracy== |
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{{See also|Political corruption}} |
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Nobel Prize-winning economist [[Amartya Sen]] has observed that "there is no such thing as an apolitical food problem." 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. The 20th century is full of examples of governments undermining the food security of their own nations–sometimes intentionally. |
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When governments come to power by force or rigged elections, and not by way of fair and open elections, their base of support is often narrow and built upon [[cronyism]] and [[patronage]]. Under such conditions "The distribution of food within a country is a political issue. Governments in most countries give priority to urban areas, since that is where the most influential and powerful families and enterprises are usually located. The government often neglects subsistence farmers and rural areas in general. The more remote and underdeveloped the area the less likely the government will be to effectively meet its needs. Many agrarian policies, especially the pricing of agricultural commodities, discriminate against rural areas. Governments often keep prices of basic grains at such artificially low levels that subsistence producers cannot accumulate enough capital to make investments to improve their production. Thus, they are effectively prevented from getting out of their precarious situation."<ref>[[Fred Cuny]]–Famine, Conflict, and Response: a Basic Guide; Kumarian Press, 1999.</ref> |
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Further dictators and [[warlord]]s have used food as a political weapon, rewarding their supporters while denying food supplies to areas that oppose their rule. Under such conditions food becomes a currency with which to buy support and famine becomes an effective weapon to be used against the opposition. |
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Governments with strong tendencies towards [[kleptocracy]] can undermine food security even when harvests are good. When government monopolizes trade, farmers may find that they are free to grow cash crops for export, but under penalty of law only able to sell their crops to government buyers at prices far below the world market price. The government then is free to sell their crop on the world market at full price, pocketing the difference. This creates an artificial "[[poverty trap]]" from which even the most hard working and motivated farmers may not escape. |
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When the [[rule of law]] is absent, or [[private property]] is non-existent, farmers have little incentive to improve their productivity. If a farm becomes noticeably more productive than neighboring farms, it may become the target of individuals well connected to the government. Rather than risk being noticed and possibly losing their land, farmers may be content with the perceived safety of mediocrity. |
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As pointed out by [[William Bernstein]] in his book ''The Birth of Plenty'': "Individuals without property are susceptible to starvation, and it is much easier to bend the fearful and hungry to the will of the state. If a [farmer's] property can be arbitrarily threatened by the state, that power will inevitably be employed to intimidate those with divergent political and religious opinions." |
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==Economic approaches== |
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{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2008}} |
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{{POV|date=May 2008}} |
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There are many economic approaches advocated to improve food security in developing countries. Three typical approaches are listed below. The first is typical of what is advocated by most governments and international agencies. The other two are more common to non-governmental organizations (NGO’s). |
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===Westernized view=== |
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Conventional thinking in westernized countries is that maximizing farmers' profits is the surest way of maximizing agricultural production; the higher a farmer’s profit, the greater the effort that will be forthcoming, and the greater the risk the farmer is willing to take. {{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} |
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Place into the hands of farmers the largest number and highest quality tools possible (tools is used here to refer to improved production techniques, improved seeds, secure land tenure, accurate weather forecasts, etc.) However, it is left to the individual farmer to pick and choose which tools to use, and how to use them, as farmers have intimate knowledge of their own land and local conditions. |
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As with other businesses, a percentage of the profits are normally reinvested into the business in the hopes of increasing production, and hence increase future profits. Normally higher profits translate into higher spending on technologies designed to boost production, such as [[drip irrigation]] systems, agriculture education, and [[greenhouse]]s. An increased profit also increases the farmer’s incentive to engage in [[double-cropping]], [[soil]] improvement programs, and expanding usable area. |
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===Food justice=== |
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[[Image:WalktheWorldLogo.jpg|thumb|right|Fight Hunger: Walk the World campaign is a United Nations [[World Food Programme]] initiative.]] |
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An alternative view takes a collective approach to achieve food security. It notes that globally enough food is produced to feed the entire world population at a level adequate to ensure that everyone can be free of hunger and fear of starvation. That no one should live without enough food because of economic constraints or social inequalities is the basic goal. |
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This approach is often referred to as food justice and views food security as a basic human right. It advocates fairer distribution of food, particularly grain crops, as a means of ending chronic hunger and [[malnutrition]]. The core of the Food Justice movement is the belief that what is lacking is not food, but the political will to fairly distribute food regardless of the recipient’s ability to pay. |
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===Food sovereignty=== |
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A third approach is known as [[food sovereignty]]; though it overlaps with food justice on several points, the two are not identical. It 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. They also have the political clout to convert these resources to the exclusive production of [[cash crops]] for sale to [[industrialized nations]] outside of the tropics, and in the process to squeeze the poor off of the more productive lands.<ref name="guardian.co.uk"/> Under this view [[Subsistence farming|subsistence farmers]] are left to cultivate only lands that are so marginal in terms of productivity as to be of no interest to the multinational corporations. Likewise, 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. With several multinational corporations now pushing agricultural technologies on developing countries, technologies that include improved seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides, crop production has become an increasingly analyzed and debated issue. Many communities calling for food sovereignty are protesting the imposition of Western technologies on to their indigenous systems and agency. |
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Those who hold a "food sovereignty" position advocate banning the production of most cash crops in developing nations, thereby leaving the local farmers to concentrate on subsistence agriculture. In addition, they oppose allowing low-cost subsidized food from industrialized nations into developing countries, what is referred to as "import dumping". Import dumping also happens by way of food aid distribution through programs like the USA's "Food for Peace" initiative. |
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==World Food Summit== |
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The [[World Food Summit]] was held in Rome in 1996, with the aim of renewing global commitment to the fight against hunger. The [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] of the United Nations (FAO) called the summit in response to widespread under-nutrition and growing concern about the capacity of agriculture to meet future food needs. The conference produced two key documents, the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit |
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Plan of Action.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fas.usda.gov/icd/summit/basic.html |title=World Food Summit: Basic Information |publisher=Fas.usda.gov |date=2005-02-22 |accessdate=2011-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/w3613e/w3613e00.HTM |title=Rome Declaration and Plan of Action |publisher=Fao.org |accessdate=2011-03-16}}</ref> |
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[[Image:Vallee fertile du Nil a Louxor.jpg|thumb|right|[[Irrigation]] canals have opened dry desert areas of [[Egypt]] to agriculture.]] |
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The Rome Declaration calls for the members of the United Nations to work to halve the number of chronically undernourished people on the Earth by the year 2015. The Plan of Action sets a number of targets for government and non-governmental organizations for achieving food security, at the individual, household, national, regional and global levels. |
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==World Summit on Food Security== |
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The [[World Summit on Food Security]] took place in Rome, Italy, between November 16 and 18, 2009. The decision to convene the summit was taken by the Council of [[FAO]] in June 2009, at the proposal of FAO Director-General Dr [[Jacques Diouf]]. Heads of State and Government attended the summit, which took place at the FAO’s headquarters. |
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==Role of World Bank== |
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1. Global Food Security Program: Launched in April 2010, six countries alongside the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have pledged $925 mn for food security. Till date the program has helped 8 countries, promoting agriculture, research, trade in agriculture etc. |
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2. Also Launched Global Food Crisis Response Program: Given grants to ~40nations for seeds, etc. for improving productivity. |
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3. Also in process of increasing its yearly spending for agriculture to $6–8 bn from earlier 4bn |
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4.Also runs several nutrition program across the world e.g., vitamin A doses for children, school meals atc. |
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==Achieving food security== |
==Achieving food security== |
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"The number of people without enough food to eat on a regular basis remains stubbornly high, at over 800 million, and is not falling significantly. Over 60% of the world's undernourished people live in Asia, and a quarter in Africa. The proportion of people who are hungry, however, is greater in Africa (33%) than Asia (16%). The latest FAO figures indicate that there are 22 countries, 16 of which are in Africa, in which the undernourishment prevalence rate is over 35%."<ref>Food and Agriculture Organization</ref> [[Image:Carrobotte g1.jpg|thumb|right|A liquid manure spreader, equipment that is used to increase [[agricultural productivity]].]] |
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By way of comparison, in one of the largest food producing countries in the world, the United States, approximately one out of six people are "food insecure", including 17 million children, according to the [[U.S. Department of Agriculture]].<ref>The Washington Post, 2009 Nov. 17, "America's Economic Pain Brings Hunger Pangs: USDA Report on Access to Food 'Unsettling,' Obama Says," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/16/AR2009111601598.html?hpid=topnews</ref> Food insecurity is measured in the United States by questions in the Census Bureau's [[Current Population Survey]]. The questions asked are about anxiety that the household budget is inadequate to buy enough food, inadequacy in the quantity or quality of food eaten by adults and children in the household, and instances of reduced food intake or consequences of reduced food intake for adults and for children.<ref>USDA, Food Security Measurement. http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsec/Measurement.htm</ref> A [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] study commissioned by the USDA criticized this measurement and the relationship of "food security" to hunger, adding "it is not clear whether hunger is appropriately identified as the extreme end of the food security scale."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11227.html |title=Measuring Food Insecurity and Hunger: Phase 1 Report |publisher=Nap.edu |accessdate=2011-03-16}}</ref> Since 1960s, the US have been implementing a Food Stamp Program (now called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) to directly target consumers who lack the income to purchase food. According to Tim Josling, a Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, [[Stanford University]], '''food stamps''' or other methods of distribution of purchasing power directly to consumers might fit into the range of international programs under consideration to tackle food insecurity.<ref name="josling">[http://ictsd.org/downloads/2011/12/global-food-stamps-an-idea-worth-considering.pdf Global Food Stamps: An Idea Worth Considering], August 2011, [[ICTSD]], Issue Paper No.36.</ref> |
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In its "The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2003", FAO states that:<ref>[http://www.fao.org/documents/show_cdr.asp?url_file=/docrep/006/j0083e/j0083e00.htm The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2003]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> |
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:'In general the countries that succeeded in reducing hunger were characterised by more rapid economic growth and specifically more rapid growth in their [[agriculture|agricultural sectors]]. They also exhibited slower [[population growth]], lower levels of HIV and higher ranking in the [[Human Development Index]]'. |
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As such, according to FAO, addressing '''agriculture and population growth is vital to achieving food security'''. Other organisations and people (e.g. Peter Singer) have come to this same conclusion, and advocate improvements in agriculture and [[population control]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Pablo Stafforini |url=http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1972----.htm |title=Peter Singer advocating population control |publisher=Utilitarian.net |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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[[United States Agency for International Development|USAID]]<ref>[http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/agriculture/food_security.htm USAID – Food Security<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> proposes several key steps to increasing [[agricultural productivity]] which is in turn key to increasing rural income and reducing food insecurity. They include: |
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* Boosting [[agricultural science]] and technology. Current agricultural yields are insufficient to feed the growing populations. Eventually, the rising agricultural productivity drives economic growth. |
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* Securing property rights and [[access to finance]]. |
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* Enhancing [[human capital]] through education and improved health. |
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* Conflict prevention and resolution mechanisms and democracy and governance based on principles of accountability and transparency in public institutions and the rule of law are basic to reducing vulnerable members of society. |
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The UN Millennium Development Goals are one of the initiatives aimed at achieving food security in the world. In its list of goals, the first Millennium Development Goal states that the UN "is to eradicate extreme hunger and poverty", and that "agricultural productivity is likely to play a key role in this if it is to be reached on time". |
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<blockquote>"Of the eight Millennium Development Goals, eradicating extreme hunger and poverty depends on agriculture the most. (MDG 1 calls for halving hunger and poverty by 2015 in relation to 1990.)</blockquote> |
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Notably, the gathering of wild food plants appears to be an efficient alternative method of subsistence in tropical countries, which may play a role in poverty alleviation.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Claudio O. Delang |title=The role of wild food plants in poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation in tropical countries |journal=Progress in Development Studies |year=2006 |volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=275–286 |doi=10.1191/1464993406ps143oa}}</ref> |
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===The agriculture-hunger-poverty nexus=== |
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Eradicating hunger and poverty requires an understanding of the ways in which these two injustices interconnect. Hunger, and the malnourishment that accompanies it, prevents poor people from escaping poverty because it diminishes their ability to learn, work, and care for themselves and their family members. Food insecurity exists when people are undernourished as a result of the physical unavailability of food, their lack of social or economic access to adequate food, and/or inadequate food utilization.<ref>[http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/humanitarian_assistance/ffp/ffpop1.pdf [[Patrick Webb]] and Beatrice Rogers, Addressing the “In” in Food Insecurity, [[United States Agency for International Development]] Office of Food for Peace, Occasional Paper No.1, Washington, D.C., 2003.</ref> Food-insecure people are those individuals whose food intake falls below their minimum calorie (energy) requirements, as well as those who exhibit physical symptoms caused by energy and nutrient deficiencies resulting from an inadequate or unbalanced diet or from the body's inability to use food effectively because of infection or disease. An alternative view would define the concept of food insecurity as referring only to the consequence of inadequate consumption of nutritious food, considering the physiological utilization of food by the body as being within the domain of nutrition and health. Malnourishment also leads to poor health hence individuals fail to provide for their families. If left unaddressed, hunger sets in motion an array of outcomes that perpetuate malnutrition, reduce the ability of adults to work and to give birth to healthy children, and erode children's ability to learn and lead productive, healthy, and happy lives. This truncation of human development undermines a country's potential for economic development–for generations to come. |
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====Improving agricultural productivity to benefit the rural poor==== |
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There are strong, direct relationships between agricultural productivity, hunger, and [[poverty]]. Three-quarters of the world's poor live in rural areas and make their living from [[agriculture]]. Hunger and child [[malnutrition]] are greater in these areas than in urban areas. Moreover, the higher the proportion of the rural population that obtains its income solely from subsistence farming (without the benefit of pro-poor technologies and access to markets), the higher the incidence of malnutrition. Therefore, improvements in agricultural productivity aimed at small-scale farmers will benefit the rural poor first. [[Food]] and feed crop demand is likely to double in the next 50 years, as the global population approaches nine billion. Growing sufficient food will require us to make changes such as: increasing productivity in areas dependent on [[rainfed agriculture]]; improving [[soil]] fertility management; expanding cropped areas; investing in [[irrigation]]; conducting agricultural trade between countries; and reducing gross food demand by influencing diets and reducing post-harvest losses. |
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According to the [[Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture]], a major study led by the [[International Water Management Institute]], managing rainwater and soil moisture more effectively, and using supplemental and small-scale irrigation, hold the key to helping the greatest number of poor people. It has called for a new era of water investments and policies for upgrading rainfed agriculture that would go beyond controlling field-level soil and water to bring new freshwater sources through better local management of rainfall and runoff.<ref>Molden, D. (Ed). ''Water for food, Water for life: A Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture.'' Earthscan/IWMI, 2007.</ref> Increased agricultural productivity enables farmers to grow more food, which translates into better diets and, under market conditions that offer a level playing field, into higher farm incomes. With more money, farmers are more likely to diversify production and grow higher-value crops, benefiting not only themselves but the economy as a whole."<ref>[http://www.ifpri.org/publication/agriculture-food-security-nutrition-and-millenium-development-goals Agriculture, Food Security, Nutrition and the Millennium Development Goals], 2003–2004 IFPRI Annual Report Essay by Joachim von Braun, M. S. Swaminathan, and Mark W. Rosegrant</ref> |
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Researchers suggest forming an alliance between the emergency food program and CSA Farms, as currently food stamps cannot be used at farmer's markets and places in which food is less processed and grown locally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://communities.mysudbury.ca/Sites/foodsecurity/Food%20Security%20Reports/Evidence%20Based%20Food%20Security%20Strategies.pdf |title=doi:10.1016/j.jada.2004.12.015 |format=PDF |accessdate=2011-03-16}}</ref> |
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===Gender and Food Security=== |
===Gender and Food Security=== |
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Food insecurity tends to disproportionately affect people who are incapable of or denied access to participating in labor, either agricultural, formal, or informal. Gender inequality is a major cause and effect of hunger and poverty. The U.N. estimates that 60 percent of the world’s chronically hungry people are women and girls, 98% of which live in developing nations. |
Food insecurity tends to disproportionately affect people who are incapable of or denied access to participating in labor, either agricultural, formal, or informal. Gender inequality is a major cause and effect of hunger and poverty. The U.N. estimates that 60 percent of the world’s chronically hungry people are women and girls, 98% of which live in developing nations. |
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<ref>[http://one.wfp.org/eb/docs/2009/wfp194044~1.pdf], World Food Programme Gender Policy Report. Rome, 2009.</ref> |
<ref>[http://one.wfp.org/eb/docs/2009/wfp194044~1.pdf], World Food Programme Gender Policy Report. Rome, 2009.</ref> |
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<ref name="The Hunger Project">[http://www.thp.org/learn_more/issues/know_your_world_facts_about_hunger_and_poverty], The Hunger Project: Facts about Hunger and Poverty.</ref> When women have an income, substantial evidence indicates that the income is more likely to be spent on food and children’s needs. Women are generally responsible for food selection and preparation and for the care and feeding of children.<ref>Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook, World Food Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development (2009)</ref> Women farmers represent more than a quarter of the world’s population, comprising on average, 43 per cent of the agricultural |
<ref name="The Hunger Project">[http://www.thp.org/learn_more/issues/know_your_world_facts_about_hunger_and_poverty], The Hunger Project: Facts about Hunger and Poverty.</ref> When women have an income, substantial evidence indicates that the income is more likely to be spent on food and children’s needs. Women are generally responsible for food selection and preparation and for the care and feeding of children.<ref>Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook, World Food Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development (2009)</ref> Women farmers represent more than a quarter of the world’s population, comprising on average, 43 per cent of the agricultural workforce in developing countries, ranging from 20 per cent in Latin America to 50 per cent in Eastern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. However, women have less access than men to agriculture related assets, inputs and services. Had they enjoyed the same access to productive resources as men, women could boost yield by 20-30 per cent; raising the overall agricultural output in developing countries by two and a half to four per cent. This gain in production could lessen the number of hungry people in the world by 12-17 per cent.<ref name="CCAFS">[http://ccafs.cgiar.org/events/13/mar/2012/global-conference-women-agriculture], Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security. Global Conference On Women In Agriculture, 2012.</ref> |
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Women play vital roles in land use, production, processing, distribution, market access, trade |
Women play vital roles in land use, production, processing, distribution, market access, trade, and food availability. They work as unpaid, contributing family workers, self-employed producers, on and off-farm employees, entrepreneurs, traders, and providers of services, and caretakers of children and the elderly. <ref name="CCAFS>[http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/globalcenter/publications/Right%20to%20Food.pdf],Center for Women's Global Leadership: The Right to Food, Gender Equality, and Economic Policy.</ref> |
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As producers, women are often the ones who produce secondary crops for subsistence, such as legumes and vegetables, on more marginal lands. "Control over food crops and poultry or goats (and benefits derived from surpluses of food crops and small farm animals) tended to rest with women in the countries surveyed. However, control over the type of cash crop and livestock (and benefits derived therefrom) tended to rest with men, even where women had made an exceptional and direct contribution to the labour involved." |
As producers, women are often the ones who produce secondary crops for subsistence, such as legumes and vegetables, on more marginal lands. "Control over food crops and poultry or goats (and benefits derived from surpluses of food crops and small farm animals) tended to rest with women in the countries surveyed. However, control over the type of cash crop and livestock (and benefits derived therefrom) tended to rest with men, even where women had made an exceptional and direct contribution to the labour involved." |
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<ref>“Women Farmers: Change and Development Agents”. 2011. Prepared by World Rural Forum with Alexandra Spieldoch for World Conference on Family Farming.</ref> Rural women also have limited access to rural extension services and technology.<ref name="Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook">[http://www.ifad.org/gender/pub/sourcebook/flyer.pdf] Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook: “Investing in Women as Drivers of Agricultural Growth.” 2009. World Bank, FAO, and IFAD.</ref> |
<ref>“Women Farmers: Change and Development Agents”. 2011. Prepared by World Rural Forum with Alexandra Spieldoch for World Conference on Family Farming.</ref> Rural women also have limited access to rural extension services and technology.<ref name="Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook">[http://www.ifad.org/gender/pub/sourcebook/flyer.pdf] Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook: “Investing in Women as Drivers of Agricultural Growth.” 2009. World Bank, FAO, and IFAD.</ref> |
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The challenges that women face in most countries revolve around their access to equal resources as men, including the rights to land ownership, unequal wages, unequal access to credit, technology, education, markets, and government services. Efforts to realize the right to food are being undermined by |
The challenges that women face in most countries revolve around their access to equal resources as men, including the rights to land ownership,<ref name="Oxfam">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_law#Land_rights_and_women]Land Rights and Women, Wikipedia.</ref> |
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unequal wages,<ref name="Oxfam">[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_pay_gap ]Gender Pay Gap, Wikipedia.</ref> unequal access to credit, technology, education, markets, and government services. Efforts to realize the right to food are being undermined by problems such as increased demand, price volatility, climate change characterized by land degradation and water scarcity, competition for land, urbanization, and increased poverty and vulnerability. <ref name="Oxfam">[http://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/growing-a-better-future-010611-en.pdf] Growing a Better Future Report. 2011. Oxfam International.</ref> Individual decisions regarding livelihoods, family planning, migration, agricultural production and political participation, can have positive or negative effects regarding food security which have repercussions beyond the individual's control. |
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A comprehension of the gendered dimensions of food insecurity, which includes family size, household obligations, access to wage-labor, and the social constrictions on productivity and intake, render individuals more capable of making educated decisions regarding their own health and that of their household. Improvement in food security strategies by individuals and households allows more time and resources to be directed towards improving economic situations by investing in improved means of production, attaining further education, and improving other quality of life measures, which collectively improves the status of entire communities. |
A comprehension of the gendered dimensions of food insecurity, which includes family size, household obligations, access to wage-labor, and the social constrictions on productivity and intake, render individuals more capable of making educated decisions regarding their own health and that of their household. Improvement in food security strategies by individuals and households allows more time and resources to be directed towards improving economic situations by investing in improved means of production, attaining further education, and improving other quality of life measures, which collectively improves the status of entire communities. |
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===Gender and Global Food Security Policy=== |
===Gender and Global Food Security Policy=== |
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====Policy Recommendations==== |
====Policy Recommendations==== |
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Speaking on Sept. 19th at a U.N. General Assembly event highlighting women and agriculture, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said “When we liberate the economic potential of women, we elevate the economic performance of communities, nations, and the world.”<ref name="USAID>[http://www.usaid.gov/press/frontlines/fl_nov11/FL_nov11_FOOD_GENDER.html], USAID: Empowering Women to Feed and Lead (November/December, 2001).</ref> |
Speaking on Sept. 19th at a U.N. General Assembly event highlighting women and agriculture, Secretary of State [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]] said “When we liberate the economic potential of women, we elevate the economic performance of communities, nations, and the world.”<ref name="USAID>[http://www.usaid.gov/press/frontlines/fl_nov11/FL_nov11_FOOD_GENDER.html], USAID: Empowering Women to Feed and Lead (November/December, 2001).</ref> |
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A collaborative report by the World Bank, |
A collaborative report by the [[World Bank]], [[Food and Agriculture Organization]], and the [[International Fund for Agricultural Development]] in 2009 concluded that several major policy decisions could be implemented in order to improve food security from a feminist perspective. These policy suggestions include tariffs, subsidies, special safeguard mechanisms, food stocks, commodity exchange regulations, regulating trade with transnational corporations, restricting monopolies, social welfare, research, and innovation in food production and food security strategies. Various governments are implementing programs, such cash transfers, employment guarantees and land titling, that target women.<ref name="CCAFS>[http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu/globalcenter/publications/Right%20to%20Food.pdf],Center for Women's Global Leadership: The Right to Food, Gender Equality, and Economic Policy.</ref> |
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====Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index==== |
====Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index==== |
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The |
The [[United States Agency for International Development]] program, Feed the Future, quotes on their website that “Women’s contributions to agricultural production often go unrecognized. Despite their significant role as agricultural producers, women’s access to land and other key productive resources can be limited, and they rarely have legal control over the land they farm. Reducing gender inequality and recognizing the contribution of women to agriculture is critical to achieving global food security—there is consistent and compelling evidence that when the status of women is improved, agricultural productivity increases, poverty is reduced, and nutrition improves.”<ref name="CCAFS>[http://www.usaid.gov/feedthefuture/FTF_Guide.pdf],USAID Feed the Future Guide (May 2010)</ref> |
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The "Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index" (WEAI) is the first measure to directly capture women's empowerment and inclusion levels in the agricultural sector. The WEAI focuses on five areas: decisions over agricultural production, power over productive resources such as land and livestock, decisions over income, leadership in the community, and time use. Women are considered to be empowered if they have adequate achievements in four of the five areas. It is an aggregate index reported at the country or regional level that is based on individual-level data on men and women within the same households. With such tools, scholars, organizations, and government entities can make more informed decisions regarding gendered food insecurity.<ref>[http://feedthefuture.gov/sites/default/files/resource/files/weai_brochure_2012.pdf], Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index.</ref> |
The "Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index" (WEAI) is the first measure to directly capture women's empowerment and inclusion levels in the agricultural sector. The WEAI focuses on five areas: decisions over agricultural production, power over productive resources such as land and livestock, decisions over income, leadership in the community, and time use. Women are considered to be empowered if they have adequate achievements in four of the five areas. It is an aggregate index reported at the country or regional level that is based on individual-level data on men and women within the same households. With such tools, scholars, organizations, and government entities can make more informed decisions regarding gendered food insecurity.<ref>[http://feedthefuture.gov/sites/default/files/resource/files/weai_brochure_2012.pdf], Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index.</ref> |
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=== Biotechnology for smallholders in the (sub)tropics === |
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The area sown to genetically engineered crops in [[Third world|developing countries]] is rapidly catching-up with the area sown in industrial nations. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), genetically engineered (biotech, GM) crops were grown by approximately 8.5 million farmers in 21 countries in 2005, up from 8.25 million farmers in 17 countries in 2004. The largest increase in biotech crop area in any country in 2005 was in Brazil, provisionally estimated at 44,000 km² (94,000 km² in 2005 compared with 50,000 km² in 2004). India had by far the largest year-on-year proportional increase, with almost a threefold increase from 5,000 km² in 2004 to 13,000 km² in 2005.<ref>http://www.isaaa.org/ ISAAA Briefs 34-2005: Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops: 2005</ref> However, it should be noted that the ISAAA is funded by organisations including prominent agricultural biotechnology corporations, such as Monsanto and Bayer,<ref>ISAAA official website: Donor Support Groups http://www.isaaa.org/inbrief/donors/default.asp</ref> and there have been several challenges made to the accuracy of ISAAA's global figures.<ref>GM Watch 2009: New briefing on ISAAA and its global status reports http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-test/10553-new-briefing-on-isaaa-and-its-global-status-reports</ref> |
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Current high regulatory costs imposed on varieties created by the more modern methods are a significant hurdle for development of genetically engineered crops well suited to developing country farmers by modern genetic methods. Once a new variety is developed, however, seed provides a good vehicle for distribution of improvements in a package that is familiar to the farmer. |
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Currently there are some institutes and research groups that have projects in which biotechnology is shared with contact people in less-developed countries on a non-profit basis. These institutes make use of biotechnological methods that do not involve high research and registration costs, such as conservation and multiplication of [[germplasm]] and [[phytosanitation]]. |
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Apart from genetic engineering, other forms of biotechnology also hold promise for enhancing food security. For instance, [[perennial rice]] is being developed in China, which could dramatically reduce the risk of soil erosion on upland smallholder farms. |
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<!--===Women and food security===--> |
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== Risks to food security == |
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{{further2|[[2007–2008 world food price crisis]]}} |
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=== Population growth === |
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{{further2|[[World population]]}} |
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=== Fossil fuel dependence === |
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{{Further2|[[Agriculture#Agriculture and petroleum|Agriculture and petroleum]] and [[Peak oil#Agricultural effects|Peak oil's effects on agriculture]]}} |
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While agricultural output increased as a result of the [[Green Revolution]], the energy input into the process (that is, the energy that must be expended to produce a crop) has also increased at a greater rate, so that the ratio of crops produced to energy input has decreased over time. Green Revolution techniques also heavily rely on chemical [[fertilizers]], [[pesticides]] and [[herbicides]], some of which must be developed from fossil fuels, making agriculture increasingly reliant on petroleum products. |
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Between 1950 and 1984, as the [[Green Revolution]] transformed agriculture around the globe, world grain production increased by 250%. The energy for the Green Revolution was provided by [[fossil fuels]] in the form of [[fertilizers]] (natural gas), [[pesticides]] (oil), and [[hydrocarbon]] fueled [[irrigation]].<ref>[http://www.energybulletin.net/281.html Eating Fossil Fuels. EnergyBulletin.net]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> |
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David Pimentel, professor of ecology and agriculture at [[Cornell University]], and Mario Giampietro, senior researcher at the National Research Institute on Food and Nutrition (INRAN), place in their study ''Food, Land, Population and the U.S. Economy'' the maximum [[U.S. population]] for a [[sustainability|sustainable economy]] at 200 million. To achieve a sustainable economy and avert disaster, the United States must reduce its population by at least one-third, and [[world population]] will have to be reduced by two-thirds, says the study.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.soilassociation.org/peakoil |title=Peak Oil: the threat to our food security |publisher=Soilassociation.org |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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The authors of this study believe that the mentioned agricultural crisis will only begin to impact us after 2020, and will not become critical until 2050. The oncoming [[peak oil|peaking of global oil]] production (and subsequent decline of production), along with the peak of North American natural gas production will very likely precipitate this agricultural crisis much sooner than expected.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> Geologist [[Dale Allen Pfeiffer]] claims that coming decades could see spiraling food prices without relief and massive [[starvation]] on a global level such as never experienced before.<ref>{{cite web|author=The Oil Drum: Europe |url=http://europe.theoildrum.com/node/2225,Agriculture |title=Meets Peak Oil |publisher=Europe.theoildrum.com |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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===Hybridization, genetic engineering and loss of biodiversity=== |
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In agriculture and [[animal husbandry]], the [[Green Revolution]] popularized the use of conventional [[Hybrid (biology)|hybrid]]ization to increase yield by creating "[[high-yielding varieties]]". Often the handful of hybridized breeds originated in developed countries and were further hybridized with local varieties in the rest of the developing world to create high yield strains resistant to local climate and diseases. Local governments and industry have been pushing hybridization which has resulted in several of the indigenous breeds becoming extinct or threatened. Disuse because of unprofitability and uncontrolled intentional and unintentional cross-pollination and crossbreeding ([[genetic pollution]]), formerly huge gene pools of various wild and indigenous breeds have collapsed causing widespread [[genetic erosion]] and genetic pollution. This has resulted in loss of [[genetic diversity]] and biodiversity as a whole.<ref name="bulletin28">[http://www.farmedia.org/bulletins/bulletin28.html "Genetic Pollution: The Great Genetic Scandal"; ]</ref> |
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A [[genetically modified organism]] (GMO) is an [[organism]] whose [[gene]]tic material has been [[genetic engineering|altered]] using the [[genetic engineering]] techniques generally known as [[recombinant DNA technology]]. Genetically Modified (GM) crops today have become a common source for genetic pollution, not only of wild varieties but also of other domesticated varieties derived from relatively natural hybridization.<ref>{{cite news|last=Pollan |first=Michael |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E6DE143CF93AA35751C1A9679C8B63 |title=The year in ideas: A TO Z.; Genetic Pollution; By Michael Pollan, The New York Times, December 9, 2001 |work=New York Times |date=2001-12-09 |accessdate=2009-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v22/n1/full/nbt0104-29.html |title=Dangerous Liaisons? When Cultivated Plants Mate with Their Wild Relatives; by Norman C. Ellstrand; The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2003; 268 pp. hardcover, $ 65; ISBN 0-8018-7405-X. Book Reviewed in: Hybrids abounding; Nature Biotechnology 22, 29–30 (2004) doi:10.1038/nbt0104-29; Reviewed by: Steven H Strauss & Stephen P DiFazio; 1 Steve Strauss is in the Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-5752, USA. steve.strauss(a)oregonstate.edu; 2 Steve DiFazio is at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Bldg. 1059, PO Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6422 USA. difazios(a)ornl.gov |doi=10.1038/nbt0104-29 |publisher=Nature.com |date=2004-01-01 |accessdate=2009-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/003/X3910E/X3910E00.htm |title="Genetic pollution: Uncontrolled spread of genetic information (frequently referring to transgenes) into the genomes of organisms in which such genes are not present in nature." Zaid, A. et al. 1999. Glossary of biotechnology and genetic engineering. FAO Research and Technology Paper No. 7. ISBN 92-5-104369-8 |publisher=Fao.org |accessdate=2009-06-21}}</ref><ref>[http://plpa.cfans.umn.edu/~neviny/agri1501/definitions.html "Genetic pollution: Uncontrolled escape of genetic information (frequently referring to products of genetic engineering) into the genomes of organisms in the environment where those genes never existed before." Searchable Biotechnology Dictionary. University of Minnesota.], [http://iufro-archive.boku.ac.at/silvavoc/glossary/6_0en.html]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scienzagiovane.unibo.it/English/pollution/2-facets.html |title="Genetic pollution: Living organisms can also be defined as pollutants, when a non-indigenous species (plant or animal) enters a habitat and modifies the existing equilibrium among the organisms of the affected ecosystem (sea, lake, river). Non-indigenous, including transgenic species (GMOs), may bring about a particular version of pollution in the vegetable kingdom: so-called genetic pollution. This term refers to the uncontrolled diffusion of genes (or transgenes) into genomes of plants of the same type or even unrelated species where such genes are not present in nature. For example, a grass modified to resist herbicides could pollinate conventional grass many miles away, creating weeds immune to the most widely used weed-killer, with obvious consequences for crops. Genetic pollution is at the basis of the debate on the use of GMOs in agriculture." The many facets of pollution. Last modified Tue, 20 Jul 2005 |publisher=[[University of Bologna]] |accessdate=2009-06-21}}</ref> |
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Genetic erosion coupled with genetic pollution may be destroying unique genotypes, thereby creating a hidden crisis which could result in a severe threat to our food security. Diverse genetic material could cease to exist which would impact our ability to further hybridize food crops and livestock against more resistant diseases and climatic changes.<ref name="bulletin28" /> |
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===Genetic erosion in agricultural and livestock biodiversity=== |
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{{See also|Genetic erosion|Agricultural biodiversity}} |
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Genetic erosion in agricultural and livestock biodiversity is the loss of genetic diversity, including the loss of individual genes, and the loss of particular combinants of genes (or gene complexes) such as those manifested in locally adapted [[landraces]] of [[domesticated]] animals or plants adapted to the natural environment in which they originated. The term genetic erosion is sometimes used in a narrow sense, such as for the loss of alleles or genes, as well as more broadly, referring to the loss of varieties or even species. The major driving forces behind genetic erosion in crops are: variety replacement, land clearing, [[overexploitation]] of species, population pressure, [[environmental degradation]], [[overgrazing]], policy and changing agricultural systems. |
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The main factor, however, is the replacement of local varieties of domestic plants and animals by high yielding or exotic varieties or species. A large number of varieties can also often be dramatically reduced when commercial varieties (including [[Genetically Modified Organism|GMO]]s) are introduced into traditional farming systems. Many researchers believe that the main problem related to agro-ecosystem management is the general tendency towards genetic and ecological uniformity imposed by the development of modern agriculture. |
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===Intellectual Property Rights=== |
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There is much debate on whether IPRs hurt or harm independent development in terms or agriculture and food production. Hartmut Meyer and Annette von Lossau describe both sides of the issue, while saying "Among scholars, the thesis that the impetus to self-determined development and the protection of intellectual property go hand in hand is disputed – to put it mildly. Many studies have concluded that there is virtually no positive correlation between establishing self-sustained economic growth and ensuring protection of intellectual property rights.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inwent.org/ez/articles/169306/index.en.shtml |title=Dispute over food security |publisher=Inwent.org |accessdate=November 13, 2011}}</ref> |
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===Price setting=== |
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On April 30, 2008 [[Thailand]] announces the project of the creation of the [[Organisation of Rice Exporting Countries]] with the potential to develop into a price-fixing cartel for rice.<ref>[http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/news/stories/200804/s2232076.htm?tab=asia|Radio Australia|April 30, 2008|Mekong nations to form rice price-fixing cartel]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref><ref>[http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/01May2008_news07.php|Bangkok Post|May 1, 2008|PM floats idea of five-nation rice cartel]{{dead link|date=November 2011}}</ref> |
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===Treating food the same as other internationally traded commodities=== |
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On October 23, 2008, [[Associated Press]] reported the following: |
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<blockquote> "Former [[Bill Clinton|President Clinton]] told a U.N. gathering Thursday [Oct 16, 2008] that the global food crisis shows "we all blew it, including me," by treating food crops "like color TVs" instead of as a vital commodity for the world's poor....Clinton criticized decades of policymaking by the [[World Bank]], the [[International Monetary Fund]] and others, encouraged by the U.S., that pressured Africans in particular into dropping government subsidies for fertilizer, improved seed and other farm inputs as a requirement to get aid. Africa's food self-sufficiency declined and food imports rose. Now skyrocketing prices in the international grain trade—on average more than doubling between 2006 and early 2008—have pushed many in poor countries deeper into poverty."<ref name="sfgate.com">{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/10/23/international/i142025D32.DTL |title=`We blew it' on global food, says Bill Clinton |author=Charles J. Hanley |date= October 23, 2008|publisher= Associated Press, [[San Francisco Chronicle]]|accessdate=2010-01-15}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref></blockquote> |
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{{Quotation|Food is not a commodity like others. We should go back to a policy of maximum food self-sufficiency. It is crazy for us to think we can develop countries around the world without increasing their ability to feed themselves.<ref name="sfgate.com"/>|Former US President [[Bill Clinton]]|Speech at United Nations [[World Food Day]], October 16, 2008}} |
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== See also == |
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{{Portal|Sustainable development}} |
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{{Col-begin}}{{Col-2}} |
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* [[Agricultural economics]] |
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* [[Agroecology]] |
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* [[Allotment gardens]] |
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* [[Animal husbandry]] |
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* [[Biodiversity]] |
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* [[Climate change and agriculture]] |
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* [[List of countries and territories by fertility rate|Countries by fertility rate]] |
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* [[Community gardening]] |
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* [[Deficit irrigation]] |
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* [[Diseases of poverty]] |
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* [[Ecological sanitation]] |
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* [[Food choice]] |
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* [[Food vs fuel]] |
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* [[Food rescue]] |
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* [[Food safety]] |
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* [[Food sovereignty]] |
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* [[Food systems]] |
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* [[Garden sharing]] |
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* [[Geography of food]] |
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* [[Green Revolution]] |
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* [[Indian Famine Codes]] |
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* [[Integrated Food Security Phase Classification]] |
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{{Col-break}} |
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* [[International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development]] |
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* [[International development]] |
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* [[Land grabbing]] |
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* [[Land reform]] |
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* [[List of famines]] |
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* [[Local food]] |
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* [[Malawian food crisis]] |
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* [[Natural disaster]] |
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* [[Norman Borlaug]] |
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* [[Nutritional economics]] |
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* [[Overpopulation]] |
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* [[Population control]] |
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* [[Right to food]] |
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* [[Subsistence crisis]] |
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* [[Survivalism]] |
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* [[Sustainable agriculture]] |
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* UN [[High-Level Conference on World Food Security (2008)]] |
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* [[Urban agriculture]] |
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* ''[[World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates]]'' (monthly report) |
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* [[World Food Day]] |
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* [[World population]] |
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* [[2007–2008 world food price crisis]] |
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{{Col-end}} |
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'''Organisations:''' |
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* [[2020 Vision Initiative]] |
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* [[Afrique verte]] |
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* [[Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation]] |
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* [[Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research]] |
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* [[Community Food Security Coalition]] |
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* [[Famine Early Warning Systems Network]] |
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* [[Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations]] |
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* [[Food First]] |
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* [[Global Crop Diversity Trust]] |
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* [[Local Food Plus]] |
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* [[International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development]] |
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* [[International Fund for Agricultural Development]] |
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* [[Rockefeller Foundation]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist|2}} |
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==Sources== |
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* Cox, P. G., S. Mak, G. C. Jahn, and S. Mot. 2001. Impact of technologies on food security and poverty alleviation in Cambodia: designing research processes. pp. 677–684 In S. Peng and B. Hardy [eds.] "Rice Research for Food Security and Poverty Alleviation." Proceeding the International Rice Research Conference, March 31, – April 3, 2000, [[Los Baños, Laguna|Los Baños]], Philippines: [[International Rice Research Institute]]. 692 p. |
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* Singer, H. W. (1997). A global view of food security. ''Agriculture + Rural Development'', 4: 3–6. Technical Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CTA). |
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* von Braun, Joachim; Swaminathan, M. S.; Rosegrant, Mark W. 2004. [http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/books/ar2003/ar2003_essay.htm#download Agriculture, food security, nutrition and the Millennium Development Goals] (Annual Report Essay) Washington, D.C.: [[International Food Policy Research Institute]] (IFPRI) |
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== Further reading == |
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* [http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/books/oc46.htm Biotechnology, Agriculture, and Food Security in Southern Africa] edited by Steven Were Omamo and Klaus von Grebmer (2005) (Brief and Book available) |
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* {{cite journal |author=Brown ME, Funk CC |title=Climate. Food security under climate change |journal=Science |volume=319 |issue=5863 |pages=580–1 |year=2008 |month=February |pmid=18239116 |doi=10.1126/science.1154102 |url=}}. |
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* {{cite journal |author=Lobell DB, Burke MB, Tebaldi C, Mastrandrea MD, Falcon WP, Naylor RL |title=Prioritizing climate change adaptation needs for food security in 2030 |journal=Science |volume=319 |issue=5863 |pages=607–10 |year=2008 |month=February |pmid=18239122 |doi=10.1126/science.1152339 |url=}} |
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* [http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/al936e/al936e00.pdf Introduction to the Basic Concepts of Food Security ] EC-[[Food_and_Agriculture_Organization#Food_security_programmes|FAO Food Security Programme]] (2008) Practical Guide Series |
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* [http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/food-crisis/ebook.aspx The environmental food crisis] A study done by the UN on feeding the world population (2009) |
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* [http://www.ifpri.org/publication/climate-change-impact-agriculture-and-costs-adaptation Climate change: Impact on agriculture and costs of adaptation] A report by the International Food Policy Research Institute that presents research results that quantify the impacts of climate change, assesses the consequences for food security, and estimates the investments that would offset the negative consequences for human well-being. |
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* [http://www.ampleharvest.org/hunger.php ampleharvest.org] |
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* Moseley, W.G. and B.I. Logan. 2005. “Food Security.” In: Wisner, B., C. Toulmin and R. Chitiga (eds). Toward a New Map of Africa. London: [[Earthscan]] Publications. Pp. 133–152. |
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==External links== |
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======================= {{No more links}} =============================--> |
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* [http://www.fao.org/es/ess/faostat/foodsecurity/index_en.htm FAO Food Security Statistics] |
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* [http://www.fao.org/wsfs/world-summit/en/ World Summit on Food Security] |
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* [http://www.fao.org/wfs/index_en.htm The World Food Summit] |
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* [http://km.fao.org/fsn/ The Global Food Security and Nutrition Forum (FSN Forum)] |
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* [http://www.foodsec.org/dl e-learning about Food Security from FAO] |
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* [http://www.fao.org/righttofood/kc/dl_en.htm e-learning about Right to Food] |
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* [http://www.ifpri.org/media/20050811Outlook2025.asp IFPRI Food Security Outlook in Africa to 2025] |
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* [http://www.foodsecurity.org/ Community Food Security Coalition] |
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* [http://topics.developmentgateway.org/foodsecurity Food Security dgCommunity] |
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* [http://uk.oneworld.net/guides/food One World UK – Food Security] |
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* [http://www.merid.org/fs-agbiotech/ Food Security and Ag-Biotech News] |
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*[http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/24/report_global_food_security_and_sovereignty Global Food Security Threatened by Corporate Land Grabs in Poor Countries] – video report by ''[[Democracy Now!]]'' |
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* [http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=116811&fuseaction=topics.event_summary&event_id=201764 Video: Food Security and Its Impact on International Development and HIV Reduction] (October 16, 2006) A [[Woodrow Wilson Center]] event featuring Jordan Dey, [[UNFP]]; William Noble, [[Africare]]; and Suneetha Kadiyala, [[IFPRI]] |
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* [http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/48893/story.htm Biotech Crops Seen Helping to Feed Hungry World] |
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* [http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2008/0708collins.html Hot Commodities, Stuffed Markets, and Empty Bellies What's behind higher food prices?] from [[Dollars & Sense]] July/August 2008 |
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* [http://www.food-security.net Food Crisis Prevention Network website] |
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* [http://www.sustainweb.org/sustainablefood/ Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming] Sustainable Food Guidelines |
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* [http://zunia.org/uploads/media/knowledge/fixed_20_03_2009_Food%20Security%20-%20Middlebrook%20-%20Geopolicity%20Inc%20-%202008.pdf Food Security: A Review of Literature from Ethiopia to India] |
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* [http://www.foodsecurecanada.org/ Food Secure Canada] |
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* [http://www.societaldistress.org/FoodSecurity.aspx VCU Project on Societal Distress Food Security Page] |
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* [http://www.alertnet.org/db/topics/HUNGER.htm?v=in_detail Crisis briefing on food and hunger] from [[Reuters AlertNet]] |
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* [http://www.indigenous-permaculture.net/ Indigenous Permaculture] |
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* [http://www.srl.ag.iastate.edu/ CSRL, Iowa State's cooperative aid program] |
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* [http://uk.oneworld.net/guides/food The OneWorld Guide to Food Security] |
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* [http://www.oaklandinstitute.org/ The Oakland Institute] |
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* [http://www.china-food-security.org/index_m.htm Can China Feed Itself? A System for Evaluation of Policy Options.] |
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* [http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/i2195e/i2195e00.htm Food Security Communications Toolkit from FAO] |
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* [http://cgs.illinois.edu/content/food-security Food Security: Center for Global Studies at the University of Illinois] |
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{{Population}} |
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{{Sustainability}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Food Security}} |
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[[:Category:Food security| ]] |
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[[:Category:Urban agriculture]] |
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[[:Category:Food and the environment]] |
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<references /> |
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[[ar:أمن غذائي]] |
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[[cs:Bezpečnost potravin]] |
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[[de:Ernährungssicherung]] |
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[[es:Seguridad alimentaria]] |
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[[fa:امنیت غذایی]] |
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[[fr:Sécurité alimentaire]] |
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[[gl:Seguridade alimentaria]] |
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[[it:Sicurezza alimentare]] |
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[[he:ביטחון תזונתי]] |
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[[ja:食料安全保障]] |
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[[ru:Продовольственная безопасность]] |
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[[zh:食品安全]] |
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Revision as of 16:12, 2 April 2012
Achieving food security
Gender and Food Security
Food insecurity tends to disproportionately affect people who are incapable of or denied access to participating in labor, either agricultural, formal, or informal. Gender inequality is a major cause and effect of hunger and poverty. The U.N. estimates that 60 percent of the world’s chronically hungry people are women and girls, 98% of which live in developing nations. [1] [2] When women have an income, substantial evidence indicates that the income is more likely to be spent on food and children’s needs. Women are generally responsible for food selection and preparation and for the care and feeding of children.[3] Women farmers represent more than a quarter of the world’s population, comprising on average, 43 per cent of the agricultural workforce in developing countries, ranging from 20 per cent in Latin America to 50 per cent in Eastern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. However, women have less access than men to agriculture related assets, inputs and services. Had they enjoyed the same access to productive resources as men, women could boost yield by 20-30 per cent; raising the overall agricultural output in developing countries by two and a half to four per cent. This gain in production could lessen the number of hungry people in the world by 12-17 per cent.[4]
Women play vital roles in land use, production, processing, distribution, market access, trade, and food availability. They work as unpaid, contributing family workers, self-employed producers, on and off-farm employees, entrepreneurs, traders, and providers of services, and caretakers of children and the elderly. [4]
As producers, women are often the ones who produce secondary crops for subsistence, such as legumes and vegetables, on more marginal lands. "Control over food crops and poultry or goats (and benefits derived from surpluses of food crops and small farm animals) tended to rest with women in the countries surveyed. However, control over the type of cash crop and livestock (and benefits derived therefrom) tended to rest with men, even where women had made an exceptional and direct contribution to the labour involved." [5]
Barriers to Gendered Food Security
Women own less than 20% of agricultural land globally. [6] Rural women also have limited access to rural extension services and technology.[7]
The challenges that women face in most countries revolve around their access to equal resources as men, including the rights to land ownership,[8]
unequal wages,[8] unequal access to credit, technology, education, markets, and government services. Efforts to realize the right to food are being undermined by problems such as increased demand, price volatility, climate change characterized by land degradation and water scarcity, competition for land, urbanization, and increased poverty and vulnerability. [8] Individual decisions regarding livelihoods, family planning, migration, agricultural production and political participation, can have positive or negative effects regarding food security which have repercussions beyond the individual's control.
A comprehension of the gendered dimensions of food insecurity, which includes family size, household obligations, access to wage-labor, and the social constrictions on productivity and intake, render individuals more capable of making educated decisions regarding their own health and that of their household. Improvement in food security strategies by individuals and households allows more time and resources to be directed towards improving economic situations by investing in improved means of production, attaining further education, and improving other quality of life measures, which collectively improves the status of entire communities.
Gender and Global Food Security Policy
Policy Recommendations
Speaking on Sept. 19th at a U.N. General Assembly event highlighting women and agriculture, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said “When we liberate the economic potential of women, we elevate the economic performance of communities, nations, and the world.”[9] A collaborative report by the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development in 2009 concluded that several major policy decisions could be implemented in order to improve food security from a feminist perspective. These policy suggestions include tariffs, subsidies, special safeguard mechanisms, food stocks, commodity exchange regulations, regulating trade with transnational corporations, restricting monopolies, social welfare, research, and innovation in food production and food security strategies. Various governments are implementing programs, such cash transfers, employment guarantees and land titling, that target women.[4]
Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index
The United States Agency for International Development program, Feed the Future, quotes on their website that “Women’s contributions to agricultural production often go unrecognized. Despite their significant role as agricultural producers, women’s access to land and other key productive resources can be limited, and they rarely have legal control over the land they farm. Reducing gender inequality and recognizing the contribution of women to agriculture is critical to achieving global food security—there is consistent and compelling evidence that when the status of women is improved, agricultural productivity increases, poverty is reduced, and nutrition improves.”[4]
The "Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index" (WEAI) is the first measure to directly capture women's empowerment and inclusion levels in the agricultural sector. The WEAI focuses on five areas: decisions over agricultural production, power over productive resources such as land and livestock, decisions over income, leadership in the community, and time use. Women are considered to be empowered if they have adequate achievements in four of the five areas. It is an aggregate index reported at the country or regional level that is based on individual-level data on men and women within the same households. With such tools, scholars, organizations, and government entities can make more informed decisions regarding gendered food insecurity.[10]
References
- ^ [1], World Food Programme Gender Policy Report. Rome, 2009.
- ^ [2], The Hunger Project: Facts about Hunger and Poverty.
- ^ Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook, World Food Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Fund for Agricultural Development (2009)
- ^ a b c d [3], Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security. Global Conference On Women In Agriculture, 2012. Cite error: The named reference "CCAFS" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ Women and Land in Africa: Culture, Religion, and Realizing Women's Rights (2003) David Phillip Publishers, page 26.
- ^ “Women Farmers: Change and Development Agents”. 2011. Prepared by World Rural Forum with Alexandra Spieldoch for World Conference on Family Farming.
- ^ [4] Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook: “Investing in Women as Drivers of Agricultural Growth.” 2009. World Bank, FAO, and IFAD.
- ^ a b c [5]Land Rights and Women, Wikipedia. Cite error: The named reference "Oxfam" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ [6], USAID: Empowering Women to Feed and Lead (November/December, 2001).
- ^ [7], Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index.