By Phoebe Hill and Alexandra Kicior
I. What is Food Security?
The conversation around world hunger usually focuses on providing enough calories to each person to allow them to live an active life. However, recently a more complex understanding has been embraced by the international community, that of food security. Food security is defined as when “all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”. While this definition can be a bit of a mouthful, it essentially means that solving world hunger requires more than providing enough calories, it requires a holistic approach. This concept breaks down hunger into four elements.
1. Physical availability of food: the presence of food on shop shelves or in gardens and fields. In other words, whether there is food around for people to eat.
2. Economic and physical access to food: the ability to pay for food at a store or get transportation to purchase items. This means that there is food around and people must be able to access it in order to eat.
3. Food utilization: the way human bodies can use food and the way food is used and distributed in the home. In other words, once food is available and acquired, it must be properly used, by the body and in the home, to be nourishing.
4. Stability: the stability of the previous three indicators over time. Food security requires that people have available food, the means to purchase it, a good way of using it, and that all these remain consistent over time.
Food instability can be chronic or transitory. Chronic food instability is a persistence issue, lasting over a long time period whereas transitory food instability comes and goes, often following the seasons as this has a large impact on the availability of food grown from the land. Importantly, food insecurity is not only about the availability of food, but rather access to high quality and nutritious food. While there have been major strides in addressing global food insecurity, it still poses a major challenge today. With issues such as population growth, climate change, and water scarcity, the world agricultural system is struggling to deliver enough food to meet growing demand.
Climate change in particular poses a massive threat to food systems around the world. Biodiversity loss, increased pollution, and extreme weather-related disasters compromise agricultural production are all significantly reducing the yields of major crops. At the same time, the overexploitation of land and the intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides required to meet the ever-rising food demand are destroying entire ecosystems, impacting species populations, and compromising soil fertility, which limits the already restricted amount of food that we can grow. Evidence suggests that in just over six decades, over 35% of arable land has been degraded due to human-induced activities. Ensuring that all communities are food secure requires a comprehensive response to climate change, both measures which help communities adjust to new realities as well as efforts that look to stop global warming from getting any worse.
II. Why is Food Security Important?
Access to quality, nutritious food is fundamental to human survival. When food security is compromised hunger and famine rates tend to increase, particularly in developing countries. Such food scarcity disproportionately harms children, leaving them weak, vulnerable, and less able to fight common diseases. Food insecurity has consequences beyond hunger. In developed countries, it is common for populations experiencing food insecurity to turn towards highly processed foods which tend to be cheaper and more accessible. This can exacerbate chronic health conditions such as obesity and diabetes.
While food is important for fueling the body, there are many more consequences of food insecurity beyond the immediate question of hunger. Secure access to food can have wide-ranging impacts including economic growth and job creation, poverty reduction, trade opportunities, increased global security and stability, and improved health and healthcare. Food insecurity threatens all such factors. In particular, food insecurity has huge economic consequences. Produce scarcity leads to price increases and rising unemployment. Moreover, reduction in income coupled with rising prices can slow down economic growth and lead to further job losses, creating a toxic positive feedback loop.
Finally, food insecurity can create problems at the national and international scale. Rising levels of food insecurity are associated with political instability within countries. Failure to provide consistent, quality food sources can exacerbate social tensions and increase frustration with the government. The mentality of scarcity can cause fighting between and even within different social groups. Moreover, food shortages can exacerbate tensions between countries as they compete over limited resources.
III. Geography and Food Security
It is important to consider the critical role that geographers play in supporting food security, particularly through the use of mapping and GIS. GIS refers to a special computer software which allows geographers to make accurate and interesting maps that display data about places. In 2014, Wing Cheung, a professor of geography and environmental studies at Palomar College in San Diego, California, met with representatives of local nonprofit organizations to discuss how GIS could help solve food insecurity and minimize food waste. In particular, he realized that GIS could be a very useful tool in understanding the nature and extent of food insecurity in his area. In partnership with the San Diego Food System Alliance, Cheung was able to obtain weekly –and eventually annual – solid waste data for local businesses.
This data was then visualized as point data on a map based on state land-use codes and the quantity of wasted food generated at that location. Having this information in GIS helps local cities address the state’s mandate to plan and reduce/redirect food waste. Instead of throwing away perfectly good food, a new plan could allow this food to be brought to those who most needed it. Over the years, Palomar College students have used various GIS applications to process and analyze new data from local government agencies, school districts, and other community agencies in the region.
This map shows total food waste from 2019 in tons, mapped by location.
This map shows the locations of San Diego Food Bank partners, their proximity to transit stops, and the amount of food assistance they provide annually.
Beyond measuring food insecurity in particular regions, mapping can be used to highlight the current and projected impacts of climate change on food production and crop yields. Climate change phenomena around the world are impacting food security in profound ways, with some regions experiencing these impacts more than others. Biodiversity loss, increased pollution, and extreme weather-related disasters compromise agricultural production, significantly reducing the yields of major crops. Evidence suggests that in just over 6 decades, over 35% of arable land has been degraded due to human-induced activities. At the same time, the overexploitation of land and the intensive use of fertilizers and pesticides required to meet the ever-rising food demand are destroying entire ecosystems, impacting species populations, and compromising soil fertility, which limits the already restricted amount of food that we can grow. These impacts can be mapped by people around the world.
Some examples include:
IV. How can you help?
Professional geographers are not the only people that can help address food insecurity. Students like you can participate in supporting food on a local level and at the same time help contribute to global efforts. Ways you can contribute include volunteering at a local food pantry, advocating for the funding of your school’s food bank, starting a fundraising campaign, hosting food drives, and spreading awareness through social media and other school-wide outlets. Any money raised can go to campus food pantries, community food pantries, or students with food insecurity.
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