The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Food insecurity is a serious problem all around the world, in both developed and developing countries. It is a big global issue that the United Nations has specifically directed one of its 17 goals for sustainable development (SDGs) towards the efforts to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.” Ever since the late twentieth century, the world population has continued to grow at a rapid rate. With the evolving farming technology coupled with increasing globalization, malnutrition and a lack of access to food continues to persist.
To address this issue, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) was created, as a part of the United Nations, in 1974. Its mandate is “to eradicate hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition.”
Hunger and Food Insecurity
The FAO defines hunger as “an uncomfortable or painful physical sensation caused by insufficient consumption of dietary energy.” Hunger is very often chronic, and it prevents the individual from living a “normal, active and healthy life.”
Food insecurity describes a situation, where a person “lacks regular access to enough safe and nutritious food” in their life. Different levels of food insecurity occur, ranging from mild (e.g. experiencing uncertainty about access to food in the future) to severe (e.g. running out of food altogether for a day or more) food insecurity.
It should be noted that food insecurity dramatically increases the risk of the individual experiencing hunger. Many falling on the moderate side of food insecurity choose to eat fast food, leading to a higher risk of obesity, from the “highly-processed foods that are energy-dense, high in saturated fats, sugars and salt.”
Indicators to Monitor Hunger and Food Insecurity
The FAO uses the PoU (Prevalence of Undernourishment), and the Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity in the population statistics to monitor the progress in combating hunger and food insecurity worldwide.
Through data, the FAO has reported a sharp rise in global hunger during the coronavirus pandemic, while staying steadily at a high rate into 2023. In 2023, the number of undernourished people is approximately 757.2 million, compared to 581.3 million in 2019. It is clear that, just like decades and centuries ago, food insecurity ties in with the individual’s income and ability to gain a better Standard of Living. With unemployment rising in the past years in many countries, it is also clear that unemployment contributes to the increasing undernourishment around the world.
Household Food Insecurity in Canada
The government of Canada also monitors food insecurity levels in Canada. However, data from Statistics Canada show that the household food insecurity prevalence “was slightly lower and stable during the COVID-19 pandemic years,” but that it “increased to 15.6% in 2022.” It describes the level of food insecurity as correlating with the levels of “consumer price inflation.” Similarly, in many other countries experiencing high inflation, food insecurity and hunger levels are also expected to be higher.
Ways of Combating Food Insecurity
From an individual’s perspective, our options include organizing or supporting food drives, donating to charities/government organizations around the world that are working to come up with these solutions, or reducing food waste. Combating food insecurity is especially important in our modern-day world. Even as society has generally improved in its ability to offer individuals a better Standard of Living, food insecurity, an issue that can even be described as originating back in ancient times, is still affecting the world today.