Table of Contents
Abstract
The aim of this essay writing is to enhance the understanding of global food security and what factors that affect to the conditions of food security. This essay also include what aspect needs to be improved in order to develop food security nowadays. The method I am using in writing this essay is descriptive essay. According to some sources I have read, food security is really important to be noticed especially in global level. Global food security is important to see whether a country needs to improve or maintain something for their food security. Thus, in this paper I will explain about some factors that food security is affected by, such as food system, nutrition and climate change. However, those factors also have their own challenges that need to be overcome and some other impacts they give toward the four basis of food security. in this issue, the International Organization would also take part in avoiding food insecurity and improving global food security.
Key Words: Global Food Security, Food System, Nutrition, Climate Change, International Organization
Introdaction
Food security is about the ability of every human being physically, economically, and socially to gain access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to accommodate their dietary plans and food preferences in order to get a healthy life. The conditions of food security nowadays are affected from so many factors such as food system, nutrition, and climate change that would contribute in either the development of food security or retreat of food security that will lead to the global food insecurity. There are also four basis of food security, which are availability, accessibility, utilizations and stability. These four basis would help finding every country’s food security conditions.
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The conditions of food system are affecting the decisions of every human being on their dietary plans, nutritional status and the sustainability of food system. The amount of adequate food consumed by human also measures the conditions of food system nowadays since it is every human being’s right to gain adequate foods.
Another thing that affects the conditions of food security nowadays is nutrition. Nutrition is the most concerning one. The concern of nutrition of food security includes malnutrition and hunger that would rapidly escalates into a more critical conditions if it doesn’t being overcome soon. This condition could bring the set back of global food security. However, to overcome this issue, agricultural sector must play roles in improving nutrition and food security.
However, climate change also plays important role in global food security where it is actually the root cause of food insecurity. Climate change is a major challenge for global food security specially in dryland such as Africa and Middle East. It also gives potential impact on the four basis of food security. In this issue, International Organization takes part to overcome and avoid food insecurity and also develop the sustainability of food security.
This essay I am writing is important to be discussed because global food security gives major impacts on human being’s condition and how they would be able to survive to gain adequate food. Hence, global food security is also important to understand global food security index so that we could find out which country needs to be improved and what aspects each country should maintain or develop.
Body Part
Food Security
When we are talking about food security, the most important thing we should look after is about the way to obtain the existence of food security. There are four basis of food security that would help obtaining the existence of food security which are availability, accessibility, utilizations, and stability. These four basis would eventually find the conditions of every country’s food security conditions. However, we shall remember that there are so many factors that would either encourage the development of food security or retreat the development itself. That is why food security is not only involve the policies made by the government but also every human being that exist and their behavior both in household and individual level.
Food System
There are more things that are affecting the conditions of global food security today. The first one would be food system. Food system is effecting the decisions of every human being in on their dietary plans, nutritional status and the sustainability in three dimensions: economics; social; and environment. There are also three elements of food system which are food supply chain; food environment; and consumer behavior.
The food supply chain includes all food activities starting from the production of food to the consumption of the food that also includes production, storage, distributions etc. These activities eventually influence the availability and accessibility and how they are produced and consumed. Another element of food supply would be the food environment which indicate to how consumer engage with the food system to gain and consume food. Someone’s affordability is also the key elements of the food environment that influence food choice and diets. The last element of food supply would be the consumer behavior which shows the way consumer make choices either at household or individual level. Other than that, the consumer behavior is influenced by their personal preference that comes from their taste preference and cultural background.
Another thing needs to be paid attention would be food system vulnerability when one or more of the basis of food security –food availability, accessibility, utilization and stability- is in an insecure or uncertain condition. Food availability is driven by the conditions of the quantities of the produced, stored, and processed food. This conditions consider the importance of international trade and domestic production to make sure that the country has sufficient food supply and to determine the adequacy of a household’s food supply balanced by domestic market. Whilst food accessibility is a measure of human’s ability to gain access to food. However, the availability of adequate food in this case does not ensure that every person can gain or consume the food before they get the access to it through their entitlements. The other food supply vulnerability is food utilization which is the way how a person uses the food they consumed and how they are able to protect the main nutrient. Food utilization also determine the value of food nutrition in order to reach a good standard for food to be consumed. The last food system vulnerability is food stability that is determined by the availability and access to food that should maintain the mechanism of food security to avoid food insecurity.
Nutrition
Aside from food system, nutrition would also be another thing that is affecting the conditions of food security since every human being has a right to gain adequate food. The concern of the nutrition in food security would be malnutrition (obesity, overweight, etc.) and hunger that would be rapidly escalate into a more critical conditions if there are no things done to overcome this issue. This concern would actually inhibit the development of global food security. however, to overcome nutritional issue, hunger and malnutrition won’t be able to be overcome by economic growth.
In order to improve food security and nutrition, agricultural development plays a major role since it is the source of income for most people who live in poverty. That is why over many years, based on many countries, agricultural development and economy growth are important to improve food security and nutrition. however, the powerful engine to the development of agriculture would be the livestock sector which drive the major economic, social and environmental changes in food system.
Climate Change
Another factor that contributes to the conditions of food security would be climate change which is the root cause of food insecurity. Hence, climate change should be acknowledged to have contribution and effect on the condition of food security. Besides, climate change is also a major challenge of food security especially its effect on drylands in Africa and Middle East which will give significant impacts on water availability that would inhibit the crops productions. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries are also sensitive when it comes to climate. Climate will affect and risk the production process due to natural resources exploitations, land degradations and depletion of natural resources. Other than that, climate change also affecting livestock system by reducing the quality and quantity of feed for livestock, giving livestock extreme climate, dissemination of disease and water availability for livestock.
At some points, climate change also gives potential impact to four basis of food security. the first one would be the impact of climate change on food availability which is also going to affect the production of food and agricultural commodities that involves. Some research says that most impact from climate change would be on agricultural production especially crops. International trade also takes part in food availability seeing that due to the changes in climatic conditions some areas would be needing more food because they can’t produce food in drought season. Besides food availability, climate change also gives potential impact on food access. Food allocation is usually through markets and non-markets distribution mechanism that will determine whether people would have sufficient food. People’s access to gain sufficient food through markets would be determined by someone’s affordability. While through non market mechanism, climate change gives impact on food production which mostly done by household. It gives impact by reducing the food availability in some allocations. On the other hand, climate change also gives potential impact on food utilization. In this case, there is usually an association between food insecurity and malnutrition since some people are unable to get an adequate food that requires nutrition. thus, climate change actually affects nutritional status due to water scarcity even though this impact happens indirectly. Climate change will cause patterns of pests and disease that would emerge toward plants, animal, human and would give risk to food security and human health. The last one that climate change affects would be on food stability. Climate change is affecting the maintenance of the continuity of food supply knowing that some productions are seasonal. Thus, this is seen as a challenge since it could bring food insecurity and food emergencies.
International Organizations Involvement
To overcome food insecurity, Committee in World Food Security in CFS session provides framework that stakeholder can use in developing national policies, programmes, and regulations which address the investment in agriculture and food system activity. United Nations also gives approach to support the sustainable of food and nutrition security:
“The UCFA summary presents ten key principles for action: twin-tracks to food and nutrition security; the need for a comprehensive approach; smallholders, particularly women, at the centre of actions; increased focus on resilience of household livelihoods; more and better investments in food and nutrition security; importance of open and well-functioning markets and trade; the value of multi-stakeholder and multi-sectorial partnerships; sustained political commitment and good governance; strategies led by countries with regional support; and accountability for results”
Conclusion
In conclude, global food security is still important to notice since it is related and give impact to every human being in the world. Global food security is not always about taking care of the food that is ready to be consumed by people but also how this food can be gained, how human can get access to gain adequate food, and how every country’s food security condition is different. There are some aspects that each country needs to improve so that food insecurity will not happen to their country.
Global Food Security must be noticed when it includes all human activities in gaining proper food since it is every human’s right to consume adequate food. This global food security also helps country to determine their own policy and food system in order to get sustainable food consumption, such as how they should improve in agricultural sector and livestock sector.
In order to overcome or develop the conditions of food global food security, there are some International Organization such as United Nations that takes part in maintaining and developing food security whether with nutrition, food system, and the sustainability of food security. some International platform also take part in avoiding food insecurity such as Committee of World Food Security.
However, I believe global food security does not only have to be taken care by government or even International Relation. Every human being is also responsible to contribute into the development of global food security event though it only come from one small actions.
Bibliography
- Committee on World Food Security. 2017. “Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition.”
- Food and Agicultural Organization. 2008. “Climate Change and Food Security : A Framework Document”. Rome.
- HLPE. 2017. “Nutrition and Food Systems.”
- HLPE. 2016. “Sustainable Agricultural Development for Food Security and Nutrition: What Roles For Livestock?.”
