Food Security

The ability of people to access sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.

How is food security defined according to the United Nations Committee on World Food Security?

"food security is defined as meaning that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life."

What is another element of food security?

"The availability of food irrespective of class, gender or region is another element of food security."

Can food security be traced back to ancient times?

"There is evidence of food security being a concern many thousands of years ago, with central authorities in ancient China and ancient Egypt being known to release food from storage in times of famine."

How was food security defined at the 1974 World Food Conference?

"food security is defined as the 'availability at all times of adequate, nourishing, diverse, balanced and moderate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and prices'."

When did the concept of food security include demand and access issues?

"Later definitions added demand and access issues to the definition."

How was food security defined at the first World Food Summit in 1996?

"food security 'exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.'"

What is household food security?

"household food security is considered to exist when all members, at all times, have access to enough food for an active, healthy life."

How is food insecurity defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)?

"Food insecurity, on the other hand, is defined by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a situation of 'limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways'."

What does food security incorporate in terms of future disruptions?

"Food security incorporates a measure of resilience to future disruption or unavailability of critical food supply due to various risk factors including droughts, shipping disruptions, fuel shortages, economic instability, and wars."

What are the four pillars of food security according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)?

"The four pillars of food security as availability, access, utilization, and stability."

When was the Right to Food recognized by the United Nations (UN)?

"The United Nations (UN) recognized the Right to Food in the Declaration of Human Rights in 1948."

How has the concept of food security evolved?

"The concept of food security has evolved to recognize the centrality of agency and sustainability, along with the four other dimensions of availability, access, utilization, and stability."

Which global policy aims to reduce hunger and poverty?

"The main global policy to reduce hunger and poverty is in the Sustainable Development Goals. In particular Goal 2: Zero Hunger sets globally agreed targets to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030."

What warning did the International Monetary Fund issue in September 2022?

"The International Monetary Fund cautioned in September 2022 that 'the impact of increasing import costs for food and fertilizer for those extremely vulnerable to food insecurity will add $9 billion to their balance of payments pressures - in 2022 and 2023.'"

How would increasing import costs affect countries' foreign reserves?

"This would deplete countries' foreign reserves as well as their capacity to pay for food and fertilizer imports." (Note: The remaining questions are for you to formulate based on the provided paragraph.)