FOOD SECURITY: HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION (Term Paper Sample)

FOOD SECURITY: HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION CPS334 28TH JUNE 2019 Introduction The right to adequate food is a long standing and legally binding international human right that is viewed as human dignity (FAO, 2014b). However, this right to adequate food is far from being achieved even though a number of nations have developed and implemented national policies and programs that aim at fulfilling this right (FAO, 2014b). The international law recognizes the importance of food security, because without food human beings seize to exist. According to FAO (2003) grain production is the main food security indicator therefore a nation’s food security level is determined by their level of grain production in comparison to the leading countries production such as US, China and India. Concept of Food Security Food security not only touches on the daily ability of an individual to acquire enough food but also to seek sustainable food source with nutritional value (FAO, 2003). According to World Bank (2015) “the world needs a food system that can feed every person, everywhere, at all times with nutritious and affordable diet, delivered in a sustainable way; so as to reduce the 800 million people who are going to bed hungry every night and those suffering from malnutrition.’ The most widely accepted definition of food security is given by FAO in 2003. FAO defines food security as “the condition in which all people, at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preference for an active and healthy life.” From this definition food security touches on the accessibility, availability, stability and nutritional value of food (Bonaventura, 2014). Food security is a multidimensional phenomenon in that on the physical aspect it incorporates nutritional balance, while the social touches on food preferences that are determined culturally, the economic points to the need to have income to buy food that one may not be able to produce and the political aspects is based on the sustainability of a state (Bonaventura, 2014). Brown (2011) asserts that food shortage could bring down individual governments and also global civilization. He points out that this is possible in that a continuous deterioration of food security will increase the failure of a state hence the national government loses its monopoly on power, and law and order begin to disintegrate. According to Brown the end result of this is that a country becomes dangerous even for food relief workers and programs of food aid are halted. Brown’s argument on the effect of food shortage is valid basing on the case of Somalia where the government has failed to provide its people with personal and food security. The Islamist militant group in Somalia has been blocking humanitarian assistance from reaching vulnerable populations to the extent that they burn down trucks carrying food reliefs in regions like Bakool (Daily Nation, 2016a). However, Brown (2011) contents that there is a new kind of food shortage where food products are being used to produce crop-based automotive fuels. He argues that if the food value of grain is less than its fuel value, the market will move the grain into the energy economy. This double demand is leading to a competition between cars and people for the grain supply. This is a characteristic of the US and Brown asserts that it is a misguided effort of reducing dependence on foreign oil by substituting it with grain base fuels since it is generating global food insecurity. According to Kingsbury (2007) one quarter of the US corn harvest is diverted towards fuel generation. The argument here is based on the fact that US is the number one food aid donor in terms of grains, therefore their farmers opting to grow their crops for fuel production is raising a lot of concerns since with time the US will no longer be able to produce grain for its population, fuel production and also food relief. However, this should be seen as a wake up call for the food insecure countries where they need to start seeking for agricultural investment instead of food relief so as to increase their food produce and become self-reliant on their own produce. Brown (2011) further argues that the continuing failure to deal with environmental defects is undermining the world food economy. He identifies the most important environmental declines as falling water tables, soil erosion and raising temperatures. “The effects of global warming such as shortage of freshwater, raising temperature and soil erosion are making it increasingly hard to expand world’s grain supply fast enough to keep up with demand. This raises a concern because the world needs to feed a growing population” (World Bank, 2015). Brown identifies falling water tables as the most immediate threat because millions of the world’s irrigation systems are pumping water out of underground sources faster than rainfall can recharge them, for example in the big grain producers like India. In as far as failures to address environmental declines are concern in food shortage Brown is right. This is so because environmental effects on food shortages not only affects the current generation but also compromises the ability of the future generation to take care of their needs hence decreasing the future developmental potential of society. This implies that there is the need to adopt environmental friendly practices such as reusing, reducing and recycling, and minimize use of exhaustible resources. Moreover, Brown asses that “a dangerous politics of food scarcity is coming to play.” This is evident in that states are acting in their self interest when it comes to national food security. Brown gives an example of Russia and Argentina in 2007 when they banned their exports in hopes of increasing locally available food supplies hence bringing down food prices domestically. According to Brown such initiatives are creating panic in importing nations who end up relying on what is then left of the world’s exportable grain which definitely fetches a higher price. Brown further argues that spreading hunger in many poor countries is beginning to break down social order and causing political instability. He gives the example of how eighty three trucks carrying grain in Sudan in 2008 were hijacked before reaching the Darfur relief camps. Every state is driven by its interest for survival, protection and provision for its people. Failures to achieve this, hungry people take to the streets and take matters into their own hands causing chaos and disorder hence available food is not delivered in a sustainable way. On the other hand Shelburne (2011) argues that over the past years grain production has not kept up with demand yet the world population is heading towards 9.1million by 2050. Shelburne asserts that the solution towards food security will need to come through higher yields and points out that Sub-Saharan Africa is one place where yields could increase dramatically through agricultural good seeds and fertilizers. She further argues that agricultural investment in developing nations such as Africa maybe the world’s best option for keeping food plenty and cheap hence allowing the continent to feed the world and save itself through reduction of poverty levels. However, Shelburne contents that the problem arises in the continent’s long history of corruption, poor infrastructure and lack of market access. Africa has a high potential of being productive but due absence of good governance this is undermined. Absence of good governance induces faulty policies hence governments fail to provide safety nets for their farmers in the global market (Salih, 1994). Poor infrastructure increases cost of production and thus the domestic prices of food increase therefore forcing the people to go for food imports that are cheap due to subsidized initiatives by the developed nations. Both Brown and Shelburne have valid arguments on the issue of food security. However, they fail to identify globalization, gender inequality and high prevalence of diseases as also key plays in food insecurity. Nyangito (2003) argues that through globalization, the liberalized trade has led to an increase of imports of food stuff hence reducing market for domestic food products that are a source of livelihood for majority of people. Hence people lack a source of income to even afford these imported goods. High prevalence of diseases such as HIV/AIDs and malaria has reduced the availability of human resource in the agriculture sector (Mwaniki, 2006). For example the case of Southern Africa where rapid spread of the HIV/AIDs in the 2000s eroded nutritional status and caused a reduction in human resource availability in domestic labor (Clay, 2002). Furthermore, according to the World Bank (2015) gender inequality has diminished the role of women in food production. World Bank asserts that the right to land ownership and access to inputs by women has caused women to be marginalized in the fight against hunger, poverty and malnutrition because their labor and ability is not being utilized in achieving food security. Food security as a global issue Food security seized being an individual issue and become a global concern when the right to food was viewed as human dignity (Clay, 2002). Food security is a challenge to all nations and due to emerging trends the efforts to achieve food security should be an initiative that seeks the participation of all global actors. This is why global institutions have formulated agencies such as FAO, to monitor food security levels in the world and through these monitoring initiatives there is provision of statistical reports that guide planning for the governments. Also causes and effects of food insecurity affect all countries; for example climate change does not pick areas to influence therefore it touches on all territories. Achi...