Food Security

Food security is defined as the ability of a nation, to provide adequate food for its citizens and food insecurity loosely translated means the inability of a nation to provide food for its citizens.

The ability of a nation to provide sufficient food for its population may be restricted by both internal and external factors for example political instability or other factors that may be beyond its control like the weather and unexpected changes in the climate that lead to crops failing and as a result there is a lack of food or there is insufficient food to go around.

The food that is available must also be nutritious and to some degree able to fulfill the dietary requirements of an average person as opposed to food that while it may fill the belly has little or no dietary significance for example a ton of candy bars. 

A food secure nation is by definition a nation that has enough food that is readily available and that food is not only accessible but also affordable and a food insecure nation is a nation that does not have enough quantities of food that is readily available or the food that is available is not affordable or is beyond the means of a bulk of its population.

The most food secure nations in the world (2017) are, in no particular order, Ireland, the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Australia, and the most food insecure nations in the world (2019, UN) in no particular order, are Yemen, South Sudan, Venezuela, Sudan and Zimbabwe.

Despite the fact that a nation is food secure there is often a certain percentage of the population, often those that live below the poverty line, that go without a meal or more each day and that is due to prevailing socio-economic conditions like income and employment.

However that situation can be remedied by giving those in need free meals, in line with projects that are carried out by charitable and religious organizations, and that reduces the number of people that actually go hungry.

The situation is starkly different in food insecure countries because even if some of these organizations i.e. organizations with a proven track record when it comes to feeding the hungry and the needy, were allowed to give or provide free meals, because many of these organizations are dependent on donors and contributors, something that is more forthcoming in food secure nations than in food insecure nations, and many charitable organizations in food insecure nations, religious or otherwise, are dependent on aid from abroad which may or may not be forthcoming, these organizations despite their ability and know-how may not be able to help.

The situation is further compounded by the fact  that in conflict prone nations, even if food aid was given, the food may not reach those that need it because of ongoing conflicts.  

Food insecurity is also caused by natural disasters for example drought, land degradation, floods or unnatural disasters i.e. disasters that are precipitated by other factors like war and conflict, and food insecurity in countries like Sudan and Yemen has been compounded by both natural and other calamities and that in turn has led to a general lack of food.   

The problem is further aggravated by limited agricultural land or land that is suitable for farming and in order to overcome the shortcomings of not having enough agricultural land, it is worth looking into high yielding crops with a fast turnaround time or GMO’s (genetically modified organisms).  

Copyright © 2020 by Dyarne Jessica Ward