What is food insecurity and how to fight it?

Along with economic, social, climatic and political changes food insecurity By 2030 it has started to grow again, eliminating the possibility of reducing or eliminating hunger, malnutrition, and even the possibility of food security.

These include lack or difficulty in accessing food, reduced purchasing power, obtaining the minimum amount of food necessary to sustain life and health, and uncertainty about whether to make a new purchase before this food is depleted. of the factors that characterize food insecuritycan be permanent or temporary.

The challenges are as many and as plural as the cultures that exist on the planet. In these challenges, already complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of malnourished people worldwide has increased from 8.4% in 2019 to 9.9% in 2020.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), at least 768 million people went hungry in 2020, an increase of at least 118 million people compared to the previous year.

What causes food insecurity?

triggering factors food insecurity is diverse. According to Feeding America, social problems such as unemployment, poverty, low income, lack of adequate housing, chronic illness and access to health care, and racism can be counted.

In Brazil, more specifically, factors such as piped water supply, territoriality, gender and skin color of the person responsible, as well as the presence or absence of children in the family nucleus, indicate greater or lesser risk. food insecurityAccording to the 2nd National Survey on Food Insecurity in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Brazil conducted by the Brazilian Food Sovereignty and Security Research Network (PENSSAN).

How to fight Food Insecurity?

ways to fight food insecurity are diverse and should be analyzed in the context of the country. But in this panorama, FAO talks about 6 alternatives to transform food systems:

• Integrate humanitarian, development and peacebuilding policies in conflict-affected areas.
• Increase climate adaptation in all food systems.
• Strengthening the adaptation of those most vulnerable to economic hardship.
• Intervene in food supply chains to reduce the cost of nutritious foods.
• Tackle poverty and structural inequalities by ensuring that interventions are inclusive and favor the economically disadvantaged.
• Strengthen food environments and change consumer behavior to promote dietary patterns that have positive impacts on human health and the environment.

Within these proposed actions, FAO seeks to work continuously to ensure access to quality and sufficient food, encouraging people to have a better quality of life through transforming food systems, reducing production costs and through food and social education.

However, these actions are indicative and exemplary. As noted earlier, the cultural, social or economic conditions and contexts in which at-risk populations are included deserve individualized curation to more positively tackle food insecurity and create alternatives for better outcomes.

this food insecurity This is a serious and urgent issue that needs to be analyzed, discussed and resolved, preventing these rates from becoming more alarming and affecting more lives in the coming years. Access to quality food is an inalienable human right.