The World
Health Organization (WHO) defined food security, as the World Health Summit in
1996, as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient,
safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.1” The
WHO also stat that food security is dependent upon three pillar: availability
of food, access to that food, and knowledge on proper use of that food.1
When one or more of these pillars are not achieved individuals are at risk of
being food insecure. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
established varying degrees of food insecurity. The first, “low food security,”
is characterized by having “reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet
with little to no indication of reduced intake.2” The second, more
severe is “very low food security.” Which is characterized having multiple
indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.2”
Globally, 870
million, around 15% of the world’s population, is chronically undernourished
and food insecure.3 This
equates to roughly 1 in 8 people, the majority of which live in developing
countries such as Southern Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Eastern Asia. In the
United States in 2012, 14.5% of all households were food insecure. This number
can be further broken down by severity in that of the 14.5% of food insecure
households 8.8% had low food insecure and 5.7% had very low food security.3
In the United States, like developing countries, food insecurity
rates are comparable and trend with poverty rates in that specific
country. Tragically, in these developing
countries the child mortality rate follows this trend as well. While food
insecurity is still a problem in developed countries, children are for the most
part shielded from food insecurity in households. However, this is not the case
in developing countries. In 2012, 6.6 million children under five years of age
died, nearly 18,000 everyday, due to health issues related to undernourishment
such as failure to thrive, and infections.4
What can be
done to reduce these rates of food insecurity globally? One economical approach,
presented in the FAO: The State of Food
Insecurity in the World 2012, highlights three specific steps for
improvement. The first step would entail adding economic growth that will reach
the poor and increase job opportunities.3 The second step would
increase economic incentives aimed at improving diet quality and quantity.3
The final step would involve establishing governmental infrastructure, and
public health services.3
Food is a basic need, required for
proper growth and development, and sustained health of all people. This basic
need must be address before any other issue can be solved in the developing
world. While the solution I highlighted of introducing more economic
infrastructure into needed areas, may not be the best way in solving the issue
of food insecurity, but it is a beginning. It is my belief that all people
should have access to healthy, safe foods. Food security is an issue we all should
be aware and support endeavors to eradicate this problem People must get health
before they can stay healthy.
References:
1. Food Security. (2014, January 1). Retrieved August 26,
2014, from http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/
2. USDA ERS - Food Security in the U.S.: Definitions of Food
Security. (2014, April 14). Retrieved August 26, 2014, from http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/definitions-of-food-security.aspx#.U_0Fz0u4lHg
3. FAO, WFP and IFAD. (2012). The state of Food Insecurity in
the World 2012. Economic growth is necessary but not sufficient to accelerate
reduction of hunger and malnutrition. Rome, FAO.
4. Under-five mortality. (2014, January 1).
Retrieved August 27, 2014, from http://www.who.int/gho/child_health/mortality/mortality_under_five_text/en
It’s interesting that you’ve chosen to write about food insecurity while I have written below about obesity; one would think that they are discrete problems, or that one is the converse of the other, but in actuality they are quite linked. In my research on Mexican perceptions of obesity and overweight, I found that food insecurity in Mexico was one of the reasons that immigrant mothers were unable to identify their children as overweight: 75% of Mexicans report experiencing food insecurity, and as a result, “a chubby child is a healthy child.” Food insecurity taken as a non-global, non-intersectional issue can seem to exist in opposition to obesity, with obesity viewed as hunger’s gluttonous converse. But from an international or intersectional perspective, when immigrant families become food secure, or have access only to high calorie/low nutrition foods, the tendency could be to overshoot to the other end of the spectrum.
ReplyDeleteI have seen this myself living in the developing world (or “The Rest” of the world, as Stuart Hall would refer to the Developing or Third Worlds in lieu of the stratifying lexicon of development), having lived in both a growing rural economy (Venda, South Africa) and a struggling rural economy (Iten, Kenya). In South Africa, rural people had more access to food than in the apartheid era, and as a result, we saw increased hypertension, diabetes, and overweight and obesity. People, especially women, ate a lot, and mostly simple carbohydrates. On the other hand, in Kenya, people were very poor and the children were very skinny. People were food insecure and as a result no one was really worried about obesity as other health issues predominated.
Very nice post Hannah and again,very insightful comments, Jill. Hannah, Can you please explain/ unpack the three FAO recommendations. Are the solutions that straight forward and simple as the report claims?
ReplyDeleteAnd Jill, is being "immigrant", a moderating variable? what other notions could be for "being immigrant"?
The first step (adding economic growth that will reach the poor and increase job opportunities) targets getting monetary resources to those populations in most need. This could happen in several different ways: increase funds to rural farmers, increase funds for job training, or food pantry like establishments. The second (increase economic incentives aimed at improving diet quality and quantity) targets diet quality of vulnerable by supporting healthy habits. In this step rural farmers could be incentivized to grow diverse crops, mothers could be incentivized with additional food when they buy a greater variety at the market. The final step (establishing governmental infrastructure, and public health services), I believe, is the most important. In this set funds would set up governmental organizations like health services, sanitation, and local governments. These services would then in turn take over building the education, agriculture, and job markets.
ReplyDeleteAs with any global health issue, the FAO recommendation is not the only approach. Reduce hunger and poverty are topics that will take years and years to resolve. Additionally, they are topics that can be solved using a variety of strategies.
I like your post on food security. Sub Saharan Africa is one of the hard hit regions of the globe. The region has been struggling with food insecurity in one form or another. Numerous factors might have caused the ongoing condition: infrastructure, unreliable weather patterns, food distribution obstacles, lack of successful local agriculture and inability to mechanize agriculture and provide appropriate irrigation systems. Access to these types of resources and other climate prediction technologies in those developing countries would greatly improve food production and supply for their own people. It should be unacceptable in this century for citizens of the World to be dying of hunger or suffer from food insecurity.
ReplyDeleteFood insecurity or hunger strike the most jeopardized communities which have poverty, that makes this communities goes in a vicious circle between poverty and hunger this will lead to susceptibility of disease and infections outbreak which may complicate the problem more and increases its burden on those communities. The most ones affected by the food insecurity are children, woman and elderly. Food insecurity or hunger needs rabid intervention and easy to apply to save the people, improving conditions will solve the problem on the long run but will not save those who are in need now. Providing improper nutrition some time is as harmful as no food at all. so quality and quantity in right timing is needed for solving the problem.
ReplyDelete