world food problems essay

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World Food Problems

The world produces enough food and agricultural products that are more than sufficient to satisfy the great demand, at least for many decades ahead of it. However, the world is still faced with a serious crisis for food. People worldwide have been affected in one way or another by a shortage of food, especially caused by climate change. The main objective of this essay is to explore the food situation in the world and critically analyze the root causes of food insecurity worldwide and the efforts made to deal with food shortages and issues arising from poor food management.

Current World Food Situation

Currently, the world food situation is being defined by some new driving forces. These include climate change, globalization, urbanization, energy prices, and income growth, as they are responsible for transforming food production, consumption, and markets. According to FAO, there is a possible “food price shock” if the current prices continue to soar. Food shortage and high prices led to riots in more than 30 countries in 2008. The current food situation does not look very promising in several countries, especially caused by floods or droughts (Environment News Service and Maffeo).

The security of food in the world depends on the available food supply, the income of the targeted population, accessibility of food, food consumption rate, as well as the amount that can be stocked for future use. Data from a recent conference show that about nine hundred million people lack enough food and some literary starving, with those malnourished approximated at two billion. There is a call for continuous innovation in the food production industry to meet the rising global demand for food. If the crop area and traditional methods remain the same, then food production will be deficient compared to the needs by 2050. There must be a strategy to increase global food production by about 25% and more to feed nine billion people by 2050 using the same land area.

There has been a decreasing trend of consumer confidence in safety based on consuming foods that have been genetically modified. Extensive legislation meant to monitor marketing tactics since biotechnology became prominent.  This is because of claims that resistant or tolerant genetically modified maize causes many health problems. However, some criticize this claim, arguing that those associating health and environmental problems with GM technology base their claims on poor science. Moreover, the lack of adequate nutrition in large cities has led to the deaths of children from diseases like diarrhea. It also hinders proper brain and body development, which irreversibly limits children’s ability to grow, learn, and become productive adults (Maffeo).

Causes of World Food Problem

The available water currently decreases at an alarming rate. This warns that there will not be enough water on the agricultural land needed to produce enough food to feed the population of 9 billion people by 2050. Also, food prices have skyrocketed in the past few years, making it difficult for average earners to afford a three-course meal. These effects are witnessed in developing countries that rely heavily on imported food, such as North Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. Biotechnology, which has been identified to be a major solution to the food crisis, is also a major cause of the looming problem. Rising demand for protein-heavy food will lead to 505 increases in food demand by 2030 due to supply constraints in developing countries.

Despite laying the blame for health problems on biotechnology, there are also many disadvantages associated with the lack of technology. This can be food loss and waste especially in undeveloped countries which cannot afford the resources to acquire proper or adequate harvesting techniques. The food practices in developing and undeveloped countries show a loss or a waste of almost one-third of food meant for human consumption. It is evident in the U.S. that allowing GM use will benefit massive food production, although public health will be at stake. For instance, GMOs have been relentlessly blamed for $190 billion in medical expenditure for obesity (Maffeo). In addition, the diversion of grains for other purposes, such as biofuel, which is non-food, is on the increase. This reduces both the amount of food and also drives increased price volatility.

Technology in Food Production

Many assumptions that increased agricultural and food production can remedy world food shortages. However, with the introduction of agricultural technology, there is greater production if land and financial resources are available. The latest issue of the American Medical Association (AMA) resolution denies scientific justification for bioengineered food’s special labeling. AMA argues that genetically engineered (GE) species of crops developed from recombinant DNA are not more dangerous than traditional plant crops. This view has been supported by the World Health Organization, European Commission, and Food and Agricultural Organization of the U.N., among many other non-governmental organizations and National Science Academies. In November 2012, Californians will go on the ballot concerning the law to mandate labeling cigarette-like food derived from genetically engineered plants. Proponents demand consumers make informed choices on the food they eat. To drum up support, they promise a technology subject to “Frankenfoods” demagoguery, provoking fear (Sexton).

In 2003, it was declared inquiry by a research academy representing 140 countries that during that time, genetically modified foods (GMOs) were not safe for consumption. California can tolerate only about 0.5% of the genetically modified composition in a GE-free food. With this high standard of purity, farmers will have to incur a greater cost for separate equipment to produce GE plant crops to avoid contamination of other operations that are non-GE. With the high cost of contamination, farmers will stop production of GE crops, discouraging scientists’ efforts in agricultural biotechnology research. If firms in GE’s most aggressive country shelve their potential innovations, which provide life-saving solutions, then there will be diminished consumer choices due to a hike in food prices (Sexton).

Introducing new technologies will only impact the increase of food and agricultural production if appropriate technology evolves within the available framework of agricultural production methods. This is achieved by analyzing the operation of traditional and social institutions and economic systems. Using modern and intensive technologies to maximize yields has one difficulty: There must be imported capital, a very scarce resource in impoverished countries. As a result, despite a registered growth in the produce from agriculture, most of it will be used to pay for the imported capital. Hence, the imported technology is insufficient, but there are costs to be met besides alleviating hunger.

Through technology, a greater volume of food produced leads to food affordability so that the masses can access it and also allow safe consumption of all kinds of food. This is an advantage, especially for remote areas where refrigeration is unimportant. Due to the sale of high-volume production, it is easier to afford processes for food preservation, such as vacuuming. Poor farmers can be helped by providing them with knowledge such as drip irrigation and soil management. This also includes working hard with researchers to provide new seed varieties to improve their yield (Maffeo).

Remedy for World Food Problems

Scientists warn of a catastrophic food shortage unless the world switches to a vegetarian diet. This will involve using technology to increase water supply in a climatically unpredictable world.  Protein-rich foods from animals require a greater amount of water than vegetarian food. International Water Management Institute (IWMI) suggested that farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia invest in their agricultural sector using simple technology and small pumps instead of trying to develop expensive and large-scale irrigation projects (Sexton).

Technology has made an effort to improve the content of nutrients in stable crops, which will help eliminate malnutrition prevalent in developing countries. This technology is meant to produce extreme climate-tolerant field crops supporting life in some of the world’s poorest countries (Sexton). It is time for low-income countries to upscale their production and marketing through proper organization and diversification of their small resources. For developed countries such as the U.S., unable to produce cheap food at higher volumes to meet the food demand, companies produce versions formulated to compensate for this lack (Maffeo).

Innovations in Food Production Technology

The agricultural sector is undergoing a significant transformation, driven by the need to sustainably meet the growing global food demand. Innovations in food production technology are at the forefront of this transformation, offering solutions to increase yield, enhance nutritional value, reduce environmental impact, and improve food security. This chapter explores some of the most promising technological advancements and their potential to reshape the future of food production.

Key Technological Innovations

Precision Agriculture: Utilizes GPS technology, IoT devices, and data analytics to optimize crop yields and reduce waste. This approach allows for precise application of water, fertilizers, and pesticides, enhancing efficiency and sustainability.

Vertical Farming: Involves growing crops in stacked layers, often in controlled environments. This method significantly reduces land use and water consumption and allows for year-round production in urban settings.

CRISPR/Cas9 Gene Editing: Offers a revolutionary approach to crop improvement, allowing for precise genetic modifications to enhance yield, nutritional value, and resilience to pests and climate change.

Aquaponics and Hydroponics: Soil-less farming techniques that combine aquaculture with plant cultivation, using less water and space than traditional farming methods and enabling local food production in non-arable regions.

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics: AI and robotics are being used to automate harvesting, weeding, and planting tasks. These technologies improve efficiency, reduce labor costs, and can operate in challenging conditions for human workers.

Blockchain technology is being applied to enhance transparency and traceability in the food supply chain, ensuring food safety and reducing fraud and waste.

The Impact of Technological Innovations

These innovations are increasing the efficiency and sustainability of food production and making farming more resilient to challenges such as climate change, pests, and diseases. By leveraging technology, farmers can produce more food with fewer resources, reducing agriculture’s environmental footprint and contributing to global food security.

Global Food Security Index

The Global Food Security Index (GFSI) is a comprehensive tool developed to assess the state of food security in countries worldwide. It evaluates the core issues of affordability, availability, quality, and food safety across a spectrum of economies. By analyzing these dimensions, the GFSI provides insights into the vulnerabilities and strengths of global food systems, guiding policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders in the formulation of strategies to improve food security.

Understanding the GFSI

The GFSI is structured around three primary pillars:

Affordability: This pillar measures the ability of consumers to purchase food, the presence of policies that support consumers’ capability to buy food, and the level of price volatility.

Availability: This assesses the sufficiency of the national food supply, the risk of supply disruption, the existence of infrastructure to facilitate food transport, and the presence of policies to promote crop and livestock production.

Quality and Safety: This evaluates the variety and nutritional value of average diets, as well as the safety and wholesomeness of food.

Each of these pillars is critical for understanding the multifaceted nature of food security and provides a basis for targeted interventions to address specific challenges.

Trends and Insights

Analysis of the GFSI reveals several global trends. For instance, countries with strong economies and stable political systems generally score higher on the index, reflecting the importance of economic and political stability in ensuring food security. However, even high-scoring countries face challenges such as obesity, food waste, and the environmental impact of agricultural practices.

In contrast, countries with lower scores often struggle with issues related to economic access to food, agricultural productivity, and infrastructural deficiencies. These insights underscore the need for a holistic approach to food security, encompassing economic development, sustainable agriculture, and equitable food distribution.

The Global Food Security Index offers valuable insights into the complex issue of food security. By dissecting the components of affordability, availability, quality, and safety, the GFSI highlights areas where countries can focus their efforts to improve. It is a call to action for governments, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to collaborate in addressing the root causes of food insecurity. Achieving global food security requires a concerted, multifaceted approach that simultaneously addresses economic, social, and environmental challenges.

World food problems are as diverse as their solutions. The main causes of these problems are surging population growth, decreasing land for crops, lack of resources and technology sufficient to deal with food deficit, and poor methods of consumption. The problems partly contribute to starvation, poor physical health, and poverty. To curb the current trend of these problems, scientists are working to improve technology and increase food production as well as provide solutions to the negative impacts of poor food management.

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Future of Food: Exploring Challenges to Global Food Systems

Mahak Agrawal

Food is fuel to human existence, and in the evolution of human settlements, food— its production, availability, demand and supply — and food systems have steered the development, expansion and decline of human settlements.

In the 21st century, global food systems face dual challenges of increasing food demand while competing for resources — such as land, water, and energy — that affect food supply. In context of climate change and unpredictable shocks, such as a global pandemic, the need for resiliency in global food systems has become more pressing than ever.

With the globalization of food systems in 1950s, the global food production and associated trade has witnessed a sustained growth, and continues to be driven by advancements in transport and communications, reduction in trade barriers and agricultural tariffs. But, the effectiveness of global food system is undermined by two key challenges: waste and nutrition.

Food wastage is common across all stages of the food chain. Nearly 13.8% of food is lost in supply chains — from harvesting to transport to storage to processing. However, limited research and scientific understanding of price elasticity of food waste makes it tough to evaluate how food waste can be reduced with pricing strategy.

When food is wasted, so are the energy, land, and resources that were used to create it . Nearly 23% of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions between 2007-2016 were derived from agriculture, forestry and other land uses. Apart from cultivation and livestock rearing, agriculture also adds emissions through land clearance for cultivation. Overfishing, soil erosion, and depletion and deterioration of aquifers threaten food security. At the same time, food production faces increasing risks from climate change — particularly droughts, increasing frequency of storms, and other extreme weather events.

The world has made significant progress in reducing hunger in the past 50 years. Yet there are nearly 800 million people without access to adequate food. Additionally, two billion people are affected by hidden hunger wherein people lack key micronutrients such as iron, zinc, vitamin A and iodine. Apart from nutrient deficiency, approximately two billion people are overweight and affected by chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases.

In essence, the global food system is inadequate in delivering the changing and increasing demands of the human population. The system requires an upgrade that takes into account the social-cultural interactions, changing diets, increasing wealth and wealth gap, finite resources, challenges of inequitable access, and the needs of the disadvantaged who spend the greatest proportion of their income on food. To feed the projected 10 billion people by 2050, it is essential to increase and stabilize global food trade and simultaneously align the food demand and supply chains across different geographies and at various scales of space and time.

Back in 1798, Thomas Robert Malthus, in his essay on the principle of population, concluded that “ the power of population is so superior to the power of the earth to produce subsistence for man, that premature death must come in some shape or other visit the human race .” Malthus projected that short-term gains in living standards would eventually be undermined as human population growth outstripped food production, thereby pushing back living standards towards subsistence.

Malthus’ projections were based on a model where population grew geometrically, while food production increased arithmetically. While Malthus emphasized the importance of land in population-food production dynamics, he understated the role of technology in augmenting total production and family planning in reducing fertility rates. Nonetheless, one cannot banish the Malthusian specter; food production and population are closely intertwined. This close relationship, however, is also affected by changing and improving diets in developing countries and biofuel production — factors that increase the global demand for food and feed.

Around the world, enough food is produced to feed the planet and provide 3,000 calories of nutritious food to each human being every day. In the story of global food systems once defined by starvation and death to now feeding the world, there have been a few ratchets — technologies and innovations that helped the human species transition from hunters and gatherers to shoppers in a supermarket . While some of these ratchets have helped improve and expand the global food systems, some create new opportunities for environmental damage.

To sum it up, the future of global food systems is strongly interlinked to the planning, management and development of sustainable, equitable and healthy food systems delivering food and nutrition security for all. A bundle of interventions and stimulus packages are needed at both the supply and demand ends to feed the world in the present as well as the future — sustainably, within the planetary boundaries defining a safe operating space for humanity. It requires an intersectoral policy analysis, multi-stakeholder engagement — involving farms, retailers, food processors, technology providers, financial institutions, government agencies, consumers — and interdisciplinary actions.

This blog post is based on an independent study — Future of Food: Examining the supply-demand chains feeding the world — led by Mahak Agrawal in fall 2020 under the guidance of Steven Cohen.

Mahak Agrawal is a medical candidate turned urban planner, exploring innovative, implementable, impactful solutions for pressing urban-regional challenges in her diverse works. Presently, she is studying environmental science and policy at Columbia University as a Shardashish Interschool Fellow and SIPA Environmental Fellow. In different capacities, Mahak has worked with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Town and Country Planning Organization-Government of India, Institute of Transport Economics, Oslo. In 2019, she founded Spatial Perspectives as an initiative that uses the power of digital storytelling and open data to dismantle myths and faulty perspectives associated with spaces around the world. In her spare time, Mahak creates sustainable artwork to tell tales of environmental crisis.

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Is There a Global Food Shortage? What’s Causing Hunger, Famine and Rising Food Costs Around the World

Conflict, economic shocks, climate change and soaring prices for food and fertilizer are all combining in a perfect storm to create a hunger crisis of unprecedented proportions. Right now, in some of the hungriest places around the world, there just isn’t enough food to feed the population. Does that mean there is a global food shortage? And if so, is there anything we can do to stop it?

What Are Food Shortages?

First, let’s take a look at what food shortages are.  A food shortage happens when an area, country or region does not have enough food – or enough nutritious food – for its population. Typically, a food shortage happens because of production issues where not enough food is grown or imported to meet a population’s energy and nutrient requirements.

Food shortages can be chronic or acute. An acute food shortage is one that occurs suddenly, while chronic shortages go on month after month or year after year. Extreme climate or price shocks usually trigger acute shortages, while chronic shortages tend to happen in more low-income and/or war-torn countries where systems have broken down.

Food shortages can also spread locally : When political insecurity grows or frequent climate-related disasters hit, food can become scarce in multiple areas of a country or region. But there is no food shortage happening globally .

Why We Don’t Have a Global Food Shortage

There is no global food shortage because we produce more than enough food to feed everyone in the world. We produce so much food globally yet one – third of it – 1.3 billion tons – is wasted. According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) , all that wasted food is enough to feed 1.26 billion people: almost twice the number of undernourished people across the globe.

How Food Waste Drives Hunger

So, if there’s enough food for everyone in the world, why do some countries face food shortages? It’s mostly due to a lack of access to food, technology and resilient food production systems.

What Causes Food Shortages Around the World?

Some countries and regions can’t provide enough food for their people. Why does this happen?

Without enough:

• People with skills like scientists, farmers, and logistics and transport experts who uphold efficient food systems
• Financial capital
• And environmental resources like arable land and water needed to grow food,

a country may be unable to provide enough food for its people.

In low-income countries especially, a lack of resources can also lead to high rates of food loss during the early stages of growth, harvest and storage. For example, poor storage can lead to infestations or mold that ruin food before it can be eaten.

Or, a country might produce or be able to import enough food for its population but shocks like climate disasters or political upheaval prevent the equitable distribution of food to vulnerable or isolated communities. Those communities then lose access to food and can experience a shortage. And bigger disruptors, like war, can stop trade or destroy food systems entirely.

Let’s take a closer look at some of those disrupting factors:

Conflict is one of the main, and most devastating, drivers of hunger. It’s one that’s pushed 139 million civilians to the most extreme levels of hunger imaginable. Wars can trigger food shortages by destroying infrastructure and damaging food supply chains.

The current conflict in Ukraine, for example, has destroyed farmland and critical infrastructure, killed livestock and disrupted vital supply chains. Today, one in three Ukrainians are facing hunger. The war has also disrupted food production globally as the country was once considered a breadbasket of the world, producing enough food to feed 400 million people a year – much of it going to famine-stricken regions like the Horn of Africa. But with Ukraine’s Black Sea ports blocked because of the war, grain shipments vital for international food assistance could not reach people around the world facing hunger. The closure of these key ports also damaged Ukraine’s economy and increased food prices globally.

Around the world, conflict starves people: Decades of fighting have caused chronic food shortages across Afghanistan . Conflict in Ethiopia has destroyed sustainable food production. And the civil war in Yemen has put communities through nearly a decade of violence, poverty and chronic hunger.

Learn more about hunger and conflict.

Climate Shocks

While conflict is the #1 cause of hunger in the world, climate shocks are the second.

Climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of natural disasters. These disasters disrupt food production and distribution by destroying agricultural land, roads, and infrastructure. Climate-related disasters are most devastating for vulnerable, low-income regions that don’t have the resources or capacity to recover before the next disaster hits. What does this look like?

Extreme weather events in South and Central America continue to destroy crops and reduce food supply and reserves, with nearly 8 million people (many small-scale farmers) affected in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua — also known as “ The Dry Corridor .” Climate change has caused Lake Chad in Africa to shrink by 90% , making water supplies – and consequently food supplies – scarce for families and farmers. The recent floods in Libya severely disrupted the food supply chain in and around the city of Derna. This made it hard for tens of thousands of people to access food in the wake of the disaster.

More than 80% of the world’s hungriest people live in disaster-prone countries . Climate shocks make them hungrier.

Learn more about climate change and hunger.

Economic Shocks

Events within or outside a country can cause a shock to its economic systems, which can trigger skyrocketing food prices and prevent food trade.

For example, the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy has been devastating: Since the outbreak in 2020, the number of people facing severe hunger has increased by about 150 million. COVID-19 lockdown measures disproportionately affected small-scale farmers, sellers and traders. Quarantines and travel restrictions disrupted supply deliveries and caused food prices to spike, making food too expensive for millions.

Learn more about COVID-19’s impact on global hunger.

Another example is the economic meltdown that started in Sri Lanka in 2021. Fueled by mounting government debt and a lack of foreign reserves, the economic crisis triggered food shortages and rising prices which pushed more families into poverty and hunger.

Related Article:

How can we stop and prevent food shortages.

Thankfully, there’s plenty we can do as a global community to keep food shortages from further devastating people’s lives. Here are some solutions the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is implementing with great success on the frontlines of hunger, and how you can help.

Food as a Tool for Peace

We know that food scarcity can be a result of conflict, but it can also cause conflict and unrest. A recent World Food Program USA report shows that food-related conflict happens when a group of people is motivated to participate in violent or non-violent conflict because they lack access to safe, nutritious food.

By ensuring people have access to adequate food and sustainable food systems, we can prevent conflict from arising or worsening. As the recipient of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for our work, the U.N. World Food Programme is there before, during and after war to help families survive and recover. Each year, we reach over 150 million people with critical food and nutrition assistance.

Climate Resilience

Every day, we help communities around the world become more resilient to climate shocks. We provide food to people in exchange for their work on community infrastructure assets like bridges, roads, schools and irrigation systems. We’re implementing tech solutions and innovations – from hydroponics to satellite imagery – to help people withstand climate shocks. We also help communities restore degraded land and diversify their crops. One project in South Sudan increased agricultural land by 27% in just two years to a size of 15,000 football fields.

By helping communities to better withstand and quickly recover from climate disasters, we help prevent disaster-induced food shortages.

Social Safety Nets

Social safety nets help protect the most vulnerable people and can help mitigate devastating economic shocks. We work directly with governments to strengthen food systems across vulnerable regions. We protect children around the world through our school meals program and ensure they have nutritious food each day. And we empower refugees to make their own food purchasing decisions through direct cash transfers or food vouchers. Around the world, the U.N. World Food Programme ensures people – including children and refugees – have access to food when crises hit and destroy food supplies.

Food Loss Prevention

The U.N. World Food Programme’s proven methods, tools and equipment help prevent food loss during production and distribution for local farmers and food distributors around the world. For example, farmers in Africa lose about 40% of all the food they harvest due to insects, pests and mold. By providing them with air-tight silos and bags, we helped farmers reduce food loss from 40% to 2%. Limiting food loss increases the food supply and helps prevent shortages in the future.

Conflict, the climate crisis, economic shocks and skyrocketing costs are all driving the global hunger crisis – and food shortages – around the world. But as you can see, there is plenty we can do to keep more people from falling into hunger.

Join us by donating today to help us make sure every family has enough food to survive.

Donate to Send Food to Hungry People

Related stories.

Food waste: a global problem that undermines healthy diets

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A lack of food, hunger and malnutrition affect every country in the world, the UN said on Tuesday, in an urgent appeal for action to reduce the amount of food that’s wasted.

 The call comes as the Food and Agriculture Organization ( FAO ) said that 17 per cent of all food available to consumers in 2019, ended up being thrown away.

An additional 132 million people face food and nutrition insecurity today because of the COVID-19 pandemic, FAO said, ahead of the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste , on Wednesday 29 September.

Global problem

The problem of food waste is a global one and not limited to wealthy nations alone, said Nancy Aburto, Deputy Director of FAO’s Food and Nutrition Division Economic and Social Development Stream, speaking at a press conference in Geneva.

“Food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition are impacting every country in the world and no country is unaffected; 811 million people suffer hunger, two billion suffer micronutrient deficiencies – that’s vitamin and mineral deficiencies - and millions of children suffer stunting and wasting, deadly forms of under-nutrition.”

The FAO official warned that the high cost of “healthy” diets, meant that they were now “out of reach” of every region in the world, including Europe.

She also said that more countries needed to embrace innovation to reduce waste, such as new packaging that can prolong the shelf-life of many foods, while smartphone apps can bring consumers closer to producers, reducing the time between harvest and plate.

Repercussions of food waste

Reducing food loss and waste would improve agri-food systems and help towards achieving food security, food safety and food quality, all while delivering on nutritional outcomes.

According to FAO, it would also contribute “significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as pressure on land and water resources”.

With less than nine years left to reach Sustainable Development Goal ( SDG ) 12 on ensuring sustainable consumption, and target 12.3 to halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels, there is an urgent need to accelerate action, up to the 2030 deadline.

Takeaways for action:

• Reducing food loss and waste, strengthens the sustainability of food systems and improves planetary health.
• Increasing the efficiency of food systems and reducing food loss and waste, requires investment in innovation, technologies and infrastructure.
• Composting food waste is better than sending it to a landfill, but preventing waste in the first place, lessens its impact on the environment.
• Maximizing the positive impacts of reducing food loss and waste, requires good governance and human capital development.

However, this requires national and local authorities along with businesses and individuals to prioritize actions in this direction and contribute to restoring and improving agri-food systems.

Fruit and veg

And with just three months to go, during this International Year of Fruits and Vegetables , FAO has reminded that produce provides human nutrition and food security while working to achieve the SDGs.

“In the current health crisis we are facing around the world, promoting healthy diets to strengthen our immune systems is especially appropriate”, FAO chief QU Dongyu said , kicking off the year last December.

He also noted that  food loss and waste  in the fruits and vegetables

sector remain a problem with considerable consequences, pointing out that “innovative technologies and approaches are of critical importance”, as they can help maintain safety and quality, “increasing the shelf life of fresh produce items and preserving their high nutritional value”.

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The World’s Food Problems’ Solving Essay

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Food problems are very evident mostly in developing countries which are still unstable politically and mostly economically. Majority of the people in these countries suffer from starvation and at the long run even die out of this prolonged hunger. Most of these developing countries are found in Africa. Unlike these developing countries in Africa that are suffering from food problems, the developed countries rarely encounter such problems. There are many factors that contribute to these food shortages but the main cause in the developing nations is the unstable political structures (Southgate 2007).

The political stability of a given country determines its governance. Therefore, if the governance of a particular country is poor then its people suffer. The governance of many developing countries is unstable and that is why its people are experiencing food problems. For instance, these governments have not yet advanced in terms of technology in the agricultural sector. This leads to low yields of the farm products in the entire country that eventually leads to food shortage since the little food produced cannot match the growing population. In developed countries there are stable governments that have really advanced in their level of technology in all sectors of the economy where agricultural sector is one of them. The agricultural sector in these countries is performing very well and the farmers in these respective countries are able to engage in mass production of food products. When there is mass production of food products in a given country, automatically the prices of those food products become cheaper and hence becoming affordable to every citizen of the country.

The other major reason why there is a problem of food mostly in the developing countries is because there is high unemployment rate that is making them unable to purchase the food that is available in the market places. Only a few individuals who are at least financially stable can purchase these products and they find it hard to share their acquired food because they only find enough to keep them and their respective families. This problem would be solved well if the governments of these respective countries could try their best to create jobs for their respective citizens mostly those that do have families they are supporting. When the parents of a family are jobless they automatically cause their children to suffer food problems and other problems that are related to their lack of employment such as decent housing, clothing and basic education. The government of these respective countries can even give their unemployed citizens financial supports to start their own business if they find that the jobs in their countries are scarce and cannot manage to employ all of its citizens. When these individuals open their own businesses, they will at least earn a leaving out of it which will reduce the food problems that they are undergoing in their respective families (Knight 2012).

The other factor that has led to the food problems in these developing countries is the natural calamities such as the drought. Natural calamities are almost impossible to be prevented but scientists have been in the business of trying to find ways of how they can control these natural calamities such as drought by even advising the governments to encourage citizens to plant more trees so that they can get some rain to solve this problem. Trees are scientifically believed that they do help to generate rain in a particular region because they act as catchments for water. The developing countries are reluctant to this fact and instead of them planting more trees some of the greedy and selfish people are cutting down the trees for commercial purposes not caring that they are affecting the future of their respective country at large (Lester 2008).

The government of the developed countries have formulated laws that punish harshly anyone who is found cutting down trees without prior consent from the government and hence they are enjoying the benefits that come from the trees that include rain and even fresh environment. The agricultural sectors all over the world depend highly on water and hence if there are no rains they have to suffer or forced to find alternative ways of getting water to irrigate their farms. As earlier mentioned, if the governments of these particular countries do not have advanced technology in the agricultural sector, then they will lack an alternative if they are faced by a natural calamity such as the drought (Lincoln 1998)

The other issue that is leading to food problems in the developing countries is the over growing population as it is making it impossible for the government to afford high quality care for the entire citizens. When the population of a country increases, there are some associated problems that will automatically arise such as increase in the level of unemployment which leads to food problems in the developing countries. In addition the agricultural products that are being produced cannot be sufficient to satisfy the big population in that particular country and this creates food shortage that leads to increase in the prices of the agricultural products hence becoming unaffordable to the poor in that country (Lester 2008).

Other problems are also associated with the food problems in the developing countries that include low level of education and health. People are not able to find time to go to school but rather look for ways that they can obtain their daily bread which in the long run leads to unemployment since they lack the qualifications needed in the major economic sectors in the country. Furthermore, the health of the people of these developing countries that are experiencing food problems is at risk because there are those major diseases that are associated with lack of food that are leading to high mortality rate. It is the high time that the developed countries came to the aid of these developing countries to offer them with food support and also advise them how they can solve these food problems (Lester 2011).

They should educate them to conserve their environment always, plant trees, have family planning, and develop entrepreneurial skills instead of them remaining unemployed. By this they will be helping the developing countries to deal with their cause reason for food problems and not just the problem. In the long run they will be in a position to support themselves and even other developing countries that may still be suffering from the food problems. The united nations have been in this business of solving the food problems in the developing countries but on their own they cannot effectively and efficiently be able to solve it. That is why there are non governmental organizations that are being formed to help solve this food crisis such as the Red Cross. If all this parties that we have discussed above can unite their efforts in support of developing countries then food problems will come to an end (Grigg 1993).

Grigg, D 1993, The world food problem , Blackwell, Oxford.

Knight, E. 2012, How to solve the world’s trickiest problems , Black Inc, California.

Lester, B 2008, Creating new jobs , Earth Training Institute, California.

Lester, B 2008, Mobilizing to save civilization , Earth Policy Institute, California.

Lester, B 2011, The new geopolitics of food , Foreign Policy, Washington.

Lincoln, S 1998, The ultimate resource to Princeton , Princeton University Press, New York.

Southgate, D 2007, The world food economy , Blackwell, Oxford.

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Recognizing and tackling a global food crisis

Globally, over 200 million people are facing emergency and famine conditions.

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This year, acute food insecurity is projected to reach a new peak, surpassing the food crisis experienced in 2007-2008. A combination of factors—including greater poverty and supply chain disruptions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, rising inflation, and high commodity prices—has increased food and nutrition insecurity. This is a multifaceted crisis, affecting access to and availability of food, with long-term consequences for health and productivity. The World Bank has scaled up its efforts to bolster food security, reduce risks, and strengthen food systems over the short and long term. Urgent action is needed across governments and multilateral partners to avert a severe and prolonged food crisis.

Declining food access and availability, with high risks

For most countries, domestic food prices have risen sharply in 2022, compromising access to food—particularly for low-income households, who spend the majority of their incomes on food and are especially vulnerable to food price increases. Higher food inflation followed a sharp spike in global food commodity prices, exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. Average global wheat, maize, and rice prices were respectively 18 percent, 27 percent, and 10 percent higher in October 2022 relative to October 2021.

At the same time, food availability is declining. For the first time in a decade, global cereal production will fall in 2022 relative to 2021. More countries are relying on existing food stocks and reserves to fill the gap, raising the risk if the current crisis persists. And rising energy and fertilizer prices—key inputs to produce food—threaten production for the next season, especially in net fertilizer-importing countries and regions like East Africa.

These trends are already affecting health. Stunting and wasting in children, and anaemia in pregnant women, are increasing as households are less able to include sufficient nutrition in their diets. A recent World Bank survey indicated that 42 percent of households across all countries covered were unable to eat healthy or nutritious food in the previous 30 days. These health effects carry long-term consequences for the ability to learn and work, and therefore escape poverty.

Globally, food security is under threat beyond just the immediate crisis. Growing public debt burdens, currency depreciation, higher inflation, increasing interest rates, and the rising risk of a global recession may compound access to and availability of food, especially for importing countries. At the same time, the agricultural food sector is both vulnerable and a contributor to climate change, responsible for one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions. And agricultural productivity growth is not staying ahead of the impacts of climate change, contributing to more food-related shocks. For example, an unprecedented multi-season drought has worsened food insecurity in the Horn of Africa, with Somalia on the verge of famine.

Managing the crisis and preparing for the future

The World Bank is responding to this escalating crisis with four areas of actions: (i) supporting production and producers, (ii) facilitating increased trade in food and production inputs, (iii) supporting vulnerable households, and (iv) investing in sustainable food security. It has made over $26 billion available for short- and long-term food security interventions in 69 countries, including active interventions in 22 of the 24 hunger hotspots identified as countries with the most pressing needs by the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Programme. Since April 2022, the World Bank has disbursed $8.1 billion, approximately evenly split between crisis response and long-term resilience projects. In the short term, projects like the Emergency Project to Combat the Food Crisis in Cameroon will provide 98,490 beneficiaries with emergency food and nutrition assistance with support from the World Food Programme. In addition to supporting vulnerable households, governments of food-exporting countries can improve global food security by limiting measures like export bans and stockpiling of food. In the longer term, governments can make an enormous difference by repurposing public spending on agricultural policies and support for a more resilient and sustainable food system that directly improves health, economies, and the planet.

These actions and newly released funding underline the scale of the crisis. Timely, coordinated, and sustained action through partnerships such as the Global Alliance on Food Security can maximize the impact of new policies and funding, and mitigate the scale of the crisis. The time to act is now.

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• GLOBAL PROBLEMS

The global food problem consists of the lack of food provision for the Earth’s population. It manifests itself primarily in the poorest countries of the Third World and is currently aggravating as their populations grow. The total number of people suffering from a lack of food is over one billion people worldwide. The fact is that population growth outpaces agricultural production and the development of agricultural technologies. However, according to some estimates even the existing level of agrarian and cattle breeding methods would allow us to feed over ten billion people provided these methods use available resources rationally, and there is a just distribution system in place for the resulting products.

According to WHO (World Health Organization) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), human daily norm should be 2,400 – 2,500 kilocalories, while other estimates give a higher figure: 2,700 – 2,800 kilocalories. Undernourishment is visible when a person consumes less than 1,800 kilocalories, while starvation comes when their daily norm drops below the critical mark of 1,000 kilocalories a day.

Lack of food and its poor quality cause a negative impact on people’s health, labour force quality, and productivity, i.e. it prevents economic growth. This also causes social and political tension and conflicts both in the regions suffering from food problems and the global world.

The global food problem has the following contradictions:

• Food production in terms of output, quality and efficiency is unevenly spread over different world regions;
• On the whole, in terms of scale, food production worldwide formally meets the current world’s requirements;
• Food production is lacking in places where food shortages are felt the most;
• There is no shortage of land worldwide theoretically suitable for food production to feed even between 14 and 33 billion people; at same time, fertile soil is being destroyed in cultivated land and industrial areas;
• Over 1 billion people suffer from starvation and undernourishment worldwide and approximately 1,6 billion people from overeating and obesity.

The many years of experience of the UN, the Red Cross and other international charitable institutions, and substantial food aid do not solve the food problems of poor countries, because they address symptoms rather than the cause. Special food and charitable programmes, however numerous they may be, have a one-off character. It is not correct either to rely on the resources of industrialized nations. We must: address the poorest countries’ scientific-technical and industrial-economic backwardness factors; uproot the barbarically unjust system of benefit distribution; and stimulate the abandoning of archaic forms of agriculture in favor of scientifically sound and technologically modern methods.

It would be incorrect to approach the food problem without taking into account other global problems: political, economic, energy, environmental, social and demographic.

We invite users of this website to discuss food problems, analyze and evaluate them and find ways of resolving them.

Ending hunger

What is hunger.

Hunger is discomfort or pain caused by a lack of food. It is different from food insecurity, which means lack of regular access to safe and nutritious food for proper development and an active and healthy life.

Across the globe in 2024, as many as 309 million people are facing acute levels of food insecurity  in the 72 countries with WFP operations and where data is available. The World Food Programme (WFP) works to reach zero hunger by 2030, a target agreed by governments under the Sustainable Development Agenda and specifically Sustainable Development Goal 2 .

Hunger stats

• 42.3 million people in 'emergency' or worse levels of hunger
• 45 countries where these people live
• 150 million people WFP aims to reach in 2024

What are the causes of hunger?

Conflict is the primary cause of today's hunger crisis, driving people away from their land and livelihoods, disrupting markets, increasing food prices and destroying critical developmental gains. Its devastating impact can be seen across hunger hotspots including Palestine, Sudan , Syria , Yemen and Ukraine.   

Climate emergencies  such as floods, droughts and heatwaves also significantly contribute by destroying lives, livelihoods and crops, while degrading soils and damaging infrastructure and agricultural assets. 

Economic inequalities exacerbate hunger. When food prices rise due to struggling economies and external factors – for example the war in Ukraine – the poorest people struggle even more to put nutritious food on the table. Additionally, around 30 per cent of global  food production is lost or wasted every year,  with lack of access to technology and markets causing significant losses for many farmers.

What are the effects of hunger?

Diets poor in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients affect the health and life prospects of millions of people. The worst affected are children, with long-term consequences for their physical and mental development. Malnourished children are up to 12 times more likely to die than a healthy child.   Malnutrition slows economic growth,  perpetuates poverty, impacts children's education and adults workforce skills with dire consequences for countries' human capital and future development.  

As part of a vicious cycle, hunger can also fuel conflict as well as vice-versa.  People forced from their land may be vying with others for scarce resources, especially in areas where poverty and inequality are already present. 

Definition of famine

• 2 people per 10,000 die from starvation, or disease + malnutrition
• 20% of households face extreme food shortages
• 30% of children suffer from acute malnutrition

When does hunger become famine?

Famine is the most severe form of food insecurity. It can be declared when malnutrition is widespread, and people have started dying of starvation through lack of access to sufficient, nutritious food. Among the most vulnerable groups are internally displaced people and refugees caught between the frontlines of hunger, many of whom are totally dependent on food assistance for their survival.

How WFP tackles hunger: cause by cause

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Essay on world food crisis (with diagrams and tables).

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Essay on World Food Crisis!

Socrates said that the best sauce for food is hunger. Today, as in the age of Socrates, there is no lack of hunger sauce. There is widespread concern about the relationship between population and food supply throughout the world. Numerous actions have been proposed. Jean Mayer, the famed nutritionist, holds that a 10 per cent decrease in meat consumption by Americans would release enough grain to feed 60 million people.

The concern about the relationship between population and the food supply is not new. Sir Thomas Malthus predicted in 1798 that population would continu­ally increase faster than the food supply, causing chronic food shortages. Today, in much of Asia, Africa and Latin America the food problem looms large. The prospect of world famine is held before us with hundreds of millions of people starving.

The world food crisis is caused primarily because of unequal distribution. Enough food is available to provide at least 4.3 pounds of food per person per day world­wide. The problem, therefore, is not of production but clearly of access and dis­tribution.

The average calories available (2807 per person per day) exceed aver­age requirements (2511 per person per day) worldwide. The other reasons of food shortage cited are population explosion and numerous other reasons like war, droughts, floods, earthquakes, and the like.

India has a serious hunger problem which gets worse each day. Only a few years ago, the food situation appeared fairly bright. There was an agricultural boom, with food production doubling from 1950 to 1970. Yields increased, stocks of food were built up, and India produced more food than it consumed as weather and technology contributed to bumper yields in a Green Revolution. Today, however, the hunger problem in India commands the world’s attention.

There are two kinds of food insufficiency:

Undernourishment and Malnutrition. Both of these are global problems.

(1) Undernourishment:

Undernourishment occurs when the body does not consume enough food or enough calories to support its needs. As a result, the body begins to break down its own stored fats and proteins.

Like malnutrition – the result of a diet that is lacking in certain nutrients (such as protein or vitamins) – undernourishment is common in poor countries. Both lead to a reduction in mental and physical efficiency, a lowering of resistance to disease in general, and often to deficiency diseases such as beriberi or anemia. In the developing world, lack of adequate food is a common cause of death.

In 1996, an estimated 195 million children under the age of five were under­nourished in the world. Undernourishment is not just a problem of the develop­ing world only. There were an estimated 12 million children eating inadequately in the USA in 1992. According to UN figures there were 200 million Africans suffering from undernourishment in 1996.

Millions of people, including 6 million children under the age of five, die each year as a result of hunger. Of these millions, relatively few are the victims of Famines. Far more die unnoticed, killed by the effects of chronic hunger and malnutrition, a “covert famine” that stunts their development, saps their strength and cripples their immune systems.

The Fig. 2.5 below shows the scale of undernourishment.

(2) Malnourishment:

Malnourishment is the lack of the minimum amount of fluids, proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, minerals and other nutri­ents essential for sound health and growth.

Faulty nutrition may result from poor diet, lack of appetite or abnormal absorption of nutrients from the gastrointestinal tract. Whether in their mildest or most severe form, the consequences of poor nutrition and health result in a reduction in overall well- being and quality of life, and in the levels of development of human potential.

Malnutri­tion can result in productivity and economic losses, as adults afflicted by nutritional and related disorders are unable to work; edu­cation losses, as children are too weakened or sickly to attend school or to learn prop­erly; health care costs of caring for those suf­fering from nutrition-related illnesses; and costs to society of caring for those who are disabled and, in some circumstances, their families as well.

Malnourished children who survive childhood thus face diminished futures as adults with compromised abilities, productivity and health. This loss of human potential is all the more tragic in societies with little economic capac­ity for therapeutic and rehabilitative measures, and has the unfortunate effect 01 worsening their economic plights.

By one reckoning the worldwide loss of social productivity associated with four overlapping types of malnutrition — nutritional stunting and wasting iodine deficiency disorders and deficiencies of iron and vitamin A — amounted to al­most 46 million years of productive, disability-free life.

With an aim to produce more, intensive irrigation involved as part of the agri­cultural technology following the Green Revolution has resulted in soil alkalin­ity and depletion of soil micronutrients. Efforts at correcting this through peri­odic soil testing and soil repletion have been tardy. Depletion of soil iodine is part of this problem and is reflected in the diminished content of iodine in foods and water.

Hunger hotspots:

As of July 2003, 36 countries around the world faced serious food emergencies requiring international food assistance. The causes of these food shortages were varied and complex. All the countries affected in 2003 had experienced food emergencies for at least two consecutive years. Many had been plagued by se­vere food shortages for a decade or longer.

In southern Africa, food production has started to recover from the severe drought that reduced harvests by as much as 50 percent in 2001/2002. But several coun­tries in the region still face severe shortages and all must contend with the long-term impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Further to the north, pre-famine conditions have been reported in Eritrea and parts of Ethiopia, where crops have withered, livestock are dying from lack of water and grazing, and millions of people need emergency food aid. Several Asian countries have also been fac­ing the effects of harsh weather, including drought and unusually cold snows winters in Mongolia.

Although drought and other natural disasters remain the common causes of food emergencies, an increasing proportion are now human-induced in several countries in Central and West Africa, civil strife has disrupted both food pro­duction and access to food.

Even developments in international commodity markets can trigger food crises in countries that depend heavily on agricultural exports or food imports. The collapse of coffee prices has been a major cause of increased food insecurity in Central America.

Overall, conflict and economic problems were cited as the main cause of more than 35 percent of food emergencies during 1992-2003. The recurrence and per­sistence of emergencies highlights a number of countries that could be consid­ered as “food emergency hotspots”.

Thirty-three countries experienced food emer­gencies during more than half the years of the 17-year period between 1986 and 2003. Many conflict-induced complex emergencies are persistent and turn into long-term crises. Eight countries suffered emergencies during 15 or more years during 1986-2003. War or civil strife was a major factor in all eight.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — World Food Crisis — World Hunger: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions

World Hunger: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions

• Categories: Hunger World Food Crisis

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Words: 541 |

Published: Jan 29, 2024

Words: 541 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

Table of contents

Causes of world hunger, the consequences of world hunger, potential solutions to world hunger, overpopulation and limited resources, poverty and unequal distribution of resources, effects on human health, social and economic implications, improve agricultural practices, address underlying causes of poverty.

• World Food Programme, & International Fund for Agricutural Development. (2020). “2020 Global Report on Food Crises.” United Nations Publications.
• Kaye, B.L. (2009). “The Impact of Poverty on Education.” Electronic Journal for Inclusive Education, 2(5).
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2015). “Addressing Poverty and Well-being.” OECD Publishing.

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The Food Problems in the World and their Solutions

This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.

Food problems are currently affecting the world greatly.

Causes of Food Problems:

The main causes of food problems are:

# Lack of management

# Wastage of food

# Climate changes

# Overuse of resources

# Conflicts

> Lack of Management :

Many people say the world has enough food for everyone then why nearly 10% of the world's population go to their bed hungry? Why the mothers have to face the hunger of their children? Why the children are killed because of hunger issues?

Let me answer you all these questions. The people have to face hunger just because of the lack of management. The policy makers are not working efficiently. There is dishonesty everywhere. If the people want to help the needy, it can't reach them due to selfishness of the society.

> Wastage of Food:

About 900 million tons of food are wasted annually just because people are unaware of how the food that they are wasting can help the people. There is lack of education and ethics. Particularly at the wedding events, parties at local as well as higher levels, people take food more than they need and in the end waste it.

> Climate Change :

Climate change has become an important issue in the 21st century. Due to human activities, greenhouse effect and global warming rising in the world which is causing rise in temperature. Moreover, glaciers are melting at a greater rate so there are more chances of floods in low-lying coastal areas. Summers are increased and winters are reduced in most communities which led to shortage of food.

> Overuse of Resources :

In overpopulated regions of world, fertile lands are used again and again in order to feed the entire community. When the resources are overused it leads to infertility of land which is a serious threat.

>Conflicts :

When there are conflicts everywhere, the social instability is increasing. When a war happens, it doesn't only affect the countries that are involve in war but the whole world. Like the recent, Russia- Ukraine War has become in news. Both Russia and Ukraine have a great importance in agricultural world. Their involvement in war has disturbed the whole world. The price of basic necessities hike so much these days which are unaffordable for many people.

> Poverty:

About 11.6% and 37.9 million people are living their life below poverty line. They are unable to eat properly because they can't afford it.

The food problem is the root cause of many other problems:

# Child Labor

# Child marraiges

# Lack of education

And many more.

> Child labor:

The people who are living their lives below poverty line, they make their children to work in the young age just to get them feeded. Child labor is itself very intense problem. The children who are the future of the world are being involved in labor instead of education.

> Child Marraige:

When the people have nothing to eat, they feel helpless and get their children especially daughters got marraige in young ages.Child marraiges causes social instability.

> Lack of Education:

Education is one of the basic necessities now-a-days. Education is the right of every child. When the parents have nothing to get their children feeded, how can they provide them education. We all know that education is the keys to progressive World. Without education, we can't make the world secure. Lack of education also leads to crimes which are scars on the society.

Solutions to Food Problems:

With the modernity of World, there are alse some solutions to these food problems.

# By introducing the cheap foods as per the concept of Single-cell protein.

# By making the correct policies

# By sharing the food

# By not wasting the food

# By reducing the activities that are causing climate change

# By controlling the population rate

# By saving the resourses

# By making highly effective storage systems

# By living with peace

# By normalizing the Simple activities

# By Hardwork to earn more

# By creating awareness among people

# By Helping others

# By providing education

# By providing more opportunities for jobs

If we can't stand against our problems, then sorry to say we will remain in the same position. We are the ones that create problems and we have to be the ones that solve problems. At this stage, we can acheive this milestone by hardwork and unity,because unity makes the nations powerful. It is indeed, "Unity is Strength"

Let us be unite to help our people in the need of hour. Lets be there for our lovely people. Lets make this world worth living. Lets do something for ourselves and for our next generations.

"So Powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole world "

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• > Volume 72 Issue 1
• > Food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions

Article contents

The food sustainability challenge, addressing the food sustainability challenge: three perspectives, food sustainability: problems, perspectives and solutions.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 January 2013

The global food system makes a significant contribution to climate changing greenhouse gas emissions with all stages in the supply chain, from agricultural production through processing, distribution, retailing, home food preparation and waste, playing a part. It also gives rise to other major environmental impacts, including biodiversity loss and water extraction and pollution. Policy makers are increasingly aware of the need to address these concerns, but at the same time they are faced with a growing burden of food security and nutrition-related problems, and tasked with ensuring that there is enough food to meet the needs of a growing global population. In short, more people need to be fed better, with less environmental impact. How might this be achieved? Broadly, three main ‘takes’ or perspectives, on the issues and their interactions, appear to be emerging. Depending on one's view point, the problem can be conceptualised as a production challenge, in which case there is a need to change how food is produced by improving the unit efficiency of food production; a consumption challenge, which requires changes to the dietary drivers that determine food production; or a socio-economic challenge, which requires changes in how the food system is governed. This paper considers these perspectives in turn, their implications for nutrition and climate change, and their strengths and weaknesses. Finally, an argument is made for a reorientation of policy thinking which uses the insights provided by all three perspectives, rather than, as is the situation today, privileging one over the other.

greenhouse gas

Food is essential to our survival, yet its production is undermining the environment upon which this survival is based. Clean air and water, healthy soils, the presence of a diverse range of other living species and a climate to which we are adapted, collectively constitute our life-support system. They are essential to our survival as a species. However, numerous studies have shown that the food supply chain is jeopardising their functioning: it is a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), unsustainable water extraction and pollution, deforestation and biodiversity loss. All these effects have major, and negative, consequences for human well-being ( 1 ) .

At the same time the food system appears not to be especially successful at performing its primary function: feeding people effectively. Some eat too much and suffer the health consequences thereof, while others go hungry. Many more suffer from the hidden hunger of micronutrient deficiencies. Compounding the problems of unsustainability and nutritional imbalance are population growth, meaning more mouths to feed, and changing climatic and environmental conditions which will make food production increasingly difficult and unpredictable in coming years.

The challenge is clear, if monumental. On the one hand, we are faced with the urgent need to address the major environmental consequences of our current systems of food production, while adapting to those same consequences. On the other, and in the context of these environmental constraints, policy makers are tasked with developing food provisioning systems that ensure that world's growing population has access to enough of the right kind of food to meet their nutritional needs. The challenge in short, is as follows: how to make food production more environmentally sustainable and resilient while feeding more people more effectively?

A problem as multifaceted as this elicits a very broad range of suggestions as to the way forward. It is argued here that broadly three ‘frames’ or perspectives on the issues are emerging, through which the options are considered and solutions proposed. The purpose here is to describe these perspectives, examine how each engages with the nutritional aspect of the food sustainability challenge and consider how things would look, nutritionally speaking, under each perspective, were it to dominate the policy agenda and future activity. It is shown that much hinges on stakeholders’ different approaches to livestock and to meat and dairy consumption. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses found within these perspectives are assessed and an argument made for a reorientation of policy thinking which uses the insights provided by all three perspectives, rather than, as is the situation today, privileging one over the other.

First, however, to provide context and a few numbers, a brief summary of the food sustainability problem is provided as follows.

Food and its environmental impacts

For many policy makers, climate change is the major environmental problem we face, and here the food system's contribution is considerable. Estimates find that the food system as a whole contributes between 15 and 28 % to overall GHG emissions in developed countries, with all stages in the supply chain, from agricultural production through processing, distribution, retailing, home food preparation and waste, playing a part ( Reference Garnett 2 ) . Agricultural production makes the single largest contribution to overall impacts, accounting for nearly half of food-related GHG emissions in developed countries and more (in relative terms) in developing regions where post-harvest supply chains are less developed. While the direct impacts of farming (from CH 4 and N 2 O emissions) contribute around 10–12 % of global emissions ( Reference Smith, Martino, Cai, Metz, Davidson, Bosch, Dave and Meyer 3 ) , there are also indirect impacts to consider. Agriculturally induced deforestation causes the release of CO 2 into the atmosphere, and taking this into account adds a further 6–17 % to agriculture's share of the burden. Once all direct and indirect impacts are summed, agriculture's contribution to the global emissions total has been estimated to account for as much as 30 % ( Reference Bellarby, Foereid and Hastings 4 ) ( Fig. 1 ).

Fig. 1. (colour online) Source: Bellarby et al. ( Reference Bellarby, Foereid and Hastings 4 ) .

In addition to CO 2 release, agriculturally induced deforestation is the main cause of biodiversity loss worldwide. It is also responsible for 70–80 % of all human water withdrawals (water scarcity is becoming more widespread in many parts of the world) and is a significant cause of water pollution ( Reference Jägerskog and Jønch Clausen 5 ) . The use of fertilisers, manure and N-fixing legumes have disrupted global N and P cycles, with negative impacts on water quality, aquatic ecosystems and marine fisheries ( Reference Foley, Ramankutty and Brauman 6 ) .

Not all foods make an equal contribution to these linked problems of climate, biodiversity loss, resource depletion and pollution. Numerous assessments of individual food products find that meat and dairy products carry a disproportionately high environmental burden, with GHG emissions a particular concern ( Reference Williams, Audsley and Sandars 7 – Reference Westhoek, Rood and van den Berg 10 ) . Global estimates suggest that livestock production accounts for about 12–18 % of global GHG emissions ( 11 , 12 ) and about half of the food system's total impacts, more when land use change impacts are included ( Reference Audsley, Brander and Chatterton 13 ) . Since consumption of these foods is high in developed nations, growing rapidly in industrialising, and starting to increase among urban consumers in low income countries, their contribution is set to rise.

Livestock farming is responsible for other environmental impacts too. The sector uses 70 % of agricultural land overall and a third of arable land, and as such plays a leading role in CO 2 release and biodiversity loss from deforestation. For example, cattle ranching and soya production (grown for animal feed) are the key drivers of deforestation in the fragile Amazon region ( Reference McAlpine, Etter and Fearnside 14 , Reference Nepstad, Soares-Filho and Merry 15 ) . Livestock are also the largest source of water pollution in the agricultural sector and a major user of finite irrigation water; much of the anticipated increase in irrigation water in coming years will be attributable to increasing production of animal feed to meet rising demand for livestock products ( 12 , 16 ) .

The impacts of livestock farming, and agriculture in general, are a consequence of the way farming is practised both in the developed and the developing worlds. They reflect both the problems associated with wealth and excess; and of poverty and insufficiency. Thus the high-input–high output industrial agriculture found in the wealthier countries has enabled and fostered excessive use of environmentally damaging non-renewable inputs and has made possible diets high in resource- and GHG-intensive foods such as meat and dairy products. At the same time, the farming practices of the world's poorest peoples are characterised by insufficiency: by a lack of agricultural inputs, irrigation water and land. This ‘malnourishment’ of the land gives rise to soil degradation, while attempts to compensate for low yields may trigger further land clearance; or, where additional land is not available, population pressures on existing land.

The nutrition food security challenge

The environmental problems caused both by excess and insufficiency are played out in the nutritional arena too. Globally about 35 % of adults are overweight, with half a billion of them obese ( 17 ) . Obesity is affecting people at ever younger ages: today 43 million preschool children or nearly 7 % of all under fives, are overweight ( 18 ) . Obesity and its attendant health consequences are, moreover, no longer only rich world problems. The majority of overweight and obese people today are citizens of low and middle income countries, largely living in urban areas, and many of them are poor. Thus while a quarter of deaths in developed countries are attributable to diet and physical inactivity-related risks, they are linked to 18 % of deaths low- and middle-income countries; many more people in absolute terms ( 19 ) .

The causes of obesity are multifaceted ( 20 ) , but energy rich diets combined with sedentary lifestyles are major risk factors. Today's agricultural system has increased access for many to energy- and fat-dense foods; these include not just high sugar processed foods and vegetable oils but also, critically, GHG-intensive meat and dairy products ( Reference Popkin and Gordon-Larsen 21 – Reference Zhai, Wang and Du 23 ) . It is worth noting the link between vegetable oils and livestock farming: oilseeds are grown both for their oil fraction and for the oilseed cake that is used as animal feed. The synergistic relationship between these two production patterns may help increase availability of both, so ratcheting up consumption.

Coexistent with ill health caused by excess consumption, about 850 million people are undernourished; their diets lack sufficient energy ( Reference Swinburn, Sacks and Hall 24 , 25 ) . A total of 3·5 million children under five die each year from under nutrition ( Reference Black, Allen and Bhutta 26 ) . An even greater proportion of people worldwide, including many who are overweight, have diets that are imbalanced, and lack the right mix of essential nutrients for healthy development, such as vitamin A, folate, Fe and Ca. For example, approximately one-third of the world's preschool-age population is estimated to be vitamin A deficient; up to 50 % in Africa and South-East Asia. Ca deficiency is the main cause of rickets in many parts of the world. An estimated 35–80 % of children in countries such as Turkey, India, Egypt, China, Libya and Lebanon are vitamin D deficient. Anaemia, much of it Fe-deficiency related, affects about 25 % of the global population, including 47 % of preschool children and one in two pregnant women, with the prevalence much higher in Africa ( 18 , 26 – 28 ) .

It should be noted that the food system (agriculture in particular) affects not only people's nutritional status but also other aspects of their health too. Millions of people worldwide suffer from environmental health problems arising from agrochemicals (pesticides and fertilisers) and other pollutants in ground water (such as manure); from livestock-related zoonoses and food-borne pathogens; from water-borne diseases such as malaria that are linked to agricultural water use; and exposed to a wide range of agricultural occupational health hazards, from respiratory diseases to accidents, UV radiation and mental health problems. Poor health status due to other factors in turn undermines people's ability to absorb the nutrients available in food, which further increases their vulnerability to disease. Poor people, particularly those who are most marginalised, are most likely to be affected by the negative health effects of food production ( Reference Hawkes and Ruel 29 ) .

What can be done to address the problem of food system sustainability? The solutions proposed very much depend upon how the problem is conceptualised, and broadly speaking three main ‘takes’ or perspectives, on the issues and their interactions, appear to be emerging. One perspective places emphasis on the negative consequences of food production; through this framing, there is a need to address these impacts by developing farming and post-harvest supply chain approaches that cause less damage. A second highlights the consumption patterns that drive production of high-impact foods, such as meat and dairy products; the way forward is therefore to seek to try and alter these. And a third picks out the problem of inequality, the coexistence of excess with insufficiency, that characterises both the environmental damage caused by production and the health problems linked to consumption, arguing for a more equitable food system.

To summarise, depending on one's view point, the problem can be conceptualised as a production challenge, in which case there is a need to change how food is produced by improving the unit efficiency of food production, termed here the ‘production efficiency’ perspective; a consumption challenge, which requires changes to the dietary drivers that determine food production (and may also include a focus on population growth) and ‘demand restraint’; or a socio-economic challenge, which requires changes in how the food system is governed i.e. ‘food system transformation.’

Many observers recognise that the problem requires a multifaceted approach and it would be simplistic to divide them into separate camps. However, there are certainly differences of emphasis: stakeholders tend to feel more comfortable with one framing of the problem over the other, and argue for action accordingly. These different emphases in turn reflect divergent beliefs about the role of technology and the potential it holds to address the problems we face; the extent to which it is possible to alter human behaviours; and the malleability of global institutions and the global economy. More fundamentally, however, which frame stakeholders choose to privilege will reflect their different visions of what sustainability actually ‘looks’ like, based on deeper ethical and aesthetic convictions in relation to our role in the natural world, the nature of human progress, definitions of freedom and ultimately what constitutes the ‘good life’.

The section that follows describes these different perspectives, investigates the implications for nutrition and explores some of the underpinning values driving these three approaches.

The production challenge: improve efficiency

The challenge is conceptualised as follows: the human population is growing and urbanising; we are increasingly becoming net consumers and a dwindling proportion of the world's people will be engaged in farming in coming years, at least as their main activity. As incomes rise, people's food preferences are changing, with demand for meat and dairy foods on the rise. To meet this demand, food production may need to rise by as much as 60–110 % by 2050 overall ( Reference Conforti 30 – 32 ) . At the same time, environmental damage caused by food production (both direct impacts and those related to deforestation) needs to be reduced.

More food must therefore be produced to feed urban consumers on existing farmland in ways that do not incur excessive environmental costs. Technological innovations and managerial changes are seen as key to reducing environmental impacts and increasing supply. For agriculture, the main strategies include: measures to improve efficiency such as the precise matching of inputs (fertilisers, water and pesticides) to outputs (plant or livestock requirements); technologies to recover energy from agricultural ‘waste’ (such as anaerobic digestion); and farming practices that sequester carbon in soils ( 33 , Reference Shafer, Walthall and Franzluebbers 34 ) . Post harvest, emissions can be reduced through the development of refrigeration, manufacturing and transport technologies that are more energy efficient or based on renewable energy sources. Waste is minimised through better inventory management, by modifying packaging and portion sizes and through other approaches that either prolong the shelf life of foods or help consumers reduce food waste in other ways ( 35 ) .

This perspective currently dominates the discourse on food sustainability. Its ‘more for less’ agenda constitutes the main, albeit not the only, focus of concern for governments ( 36 ) and for food industry actors such as agricultural input businesses, farming unions, manufacturers and retailers ( 37 , 38 ) . Demand projections are based on assumptions about income growth and its relationship with demand for certain foods, particularly meat ( 32 ) and there is little expectation that such demand could be significantly influenced or moderated. For some, moves towards moderation may pose a threat, given the economic importance of livestock and their nutritional value ( 39 , 40 ) .

While the other dimensions of food security (access, utilisation and stability over time) ( 41 ) and the quality of food are also recognised as important, in practice relatively less attention is paid to these other concerns.

As regards the nutritional quality of what is being produced: the task of agriculture is to supply the commodities that the market demands, based on the laws of supply and demand that in turn reflect individual consumer choices. Nutritional objectives can be met through other means, retrospectively as it were. For example, just as environmental efficiencies can be achieved through more optimised farming practices, so ‘health efficiencies’ can be secured through product reformulations that deliver foods similar in taste to the originals but lower in fat, sugar or salt, or with enhanced nutrition (prebiotics, n -3 fatty acids). Portion resizing can also reduce energy intakes per unit. Supported by appropriate information such as labelling, the consumer is then free to choose the healthier option without fundamentally needing to change their diet ( 42 – 44 ) . Physical activity is also promoted as a way to address the demand side of the energy balance, while pharmaceutical approaches may also be considered ( Reference Caveny, Caveney and Somaratne 45 , Reference Halpern, Oliveira and Faria 46 ) .

The high GHG intensity of meat and dairy products, and their association through complex health pathways with various negative health outcomes are recognised (although importantly the health benefits of animal products are also emphasised). However, both environmental and health concerns, from this perspective, can be addressed through technological means. Breeding, feeding and housing strategies, together with research into ways of inhibiting methane emissions from ruminant livestock, can reduce the per unit environmental footprint of meat and dairy production ( Reference Shafer, Walthall and Franzluebbers 34 , 47 ) . The corollary, nutritional approach is to provide consumers with meat that is leaner and dairy products that are lower in fat (through animal breeding and feeding strategies, or by removing the fat after production) and to encourage people to choose these foods over higher fat options. Such an approach offers the promise of providing consumers with essential micronutrients (Fe, Ca, Zn and so forth) without the ‘downsides’ of fat and energy ( 48 – Reference Wyness, Weichselbaum and O'Connor 50 ) .

In low income contexts, increased production of all foods can help address the problem of hunger caused by energy deficiencies and the need to produce ‘more food’ is sometimes considered as a moral imperative by farming interests. The importance of meat and dairy foods to consumers in low income countries, where diets are often grain based and lacking in diversity, is underlined. In addition to increased livestock production, post harvest food fortification and supplementation as well as biofortification (breeding crops higher in target nutrients) offer routes to addressing micronutrient deficiencies, with the food industry playing a key role ( 51 , 52 ) . Biofortification is considered particularly promising: while initial research investment costs are high, ex ante assessments suggest their cost effectiveness in addressing deficiencies is even greater ( Reference Meenakshi, Johnson and Manyong 53 ) .

To summarise: this is a globalised, ‘macro’ vision of a food system, and, of all the three perspectives, is the one most in keeping with current economic and political trends. It addresses the food security–environmental challenge primarily as an urban-oriented supply side problem. Market signals suggest that people want Western-style food that is convenient to prepare, often processed and reliant on sophisticated supply chains, and that includes substantial quantities of animal products. Since this is the ‘problem’, the solution is to deliver what people apparently want in ways that have lower negative impacts.

Globalised systems of production and distribution and larger food industry players, from agri-business to multinational manufacturers and retailers, can meet demand for food at lower environmental cost since they offer not just economies but also ecologies of scale ( Reference Schlich and Fleissner 54 ) . Efficient production of economically important commodities can also reduce the unit cost of food, making it more affordable, thus helping combat the problem of absolute hunger.

This perspective also sees a key role for the food industry in providing foods that meet current preferences at less ‘cost’ to health or that even positively enhance health, both in the developed and developing world. Fortification, biofortification, supplementation and an increase in low cost livestock production will improve the nutrient density of the foods available, while obesity can be addressed through product reformulations, information, and medical interventions where appropriate. Less attention is paid to the concept of dietary diversity, except in so far as increases in meat production will, for some, increase the range of foods consumed.

Consumers are rational beings who can make decisions based on the weighting of different preferences. Their choices should not be proscribed; consumption patterns should not be influenced by ‘nanny statist’ regulations and such like. While efforts are made to improve the environmental and health profile of foods through the approaches outlined earlier, consumer choice in relation to these foods i.e. how much of them they eat, is not a subject for consideration.

There a strong strand of optimism underlying this approach: it presents a positive vision of human ingenuity and of our ability to develop technological solutions to our problems. There is also a strong belief in freedom and individual agency, defined as the primacy of consumer choice, manifested through the workings of the market. Freedom is the freedom to consume, to attain a better life defined in terms of increased material possessions and more of the foods currently consumed in the developed world.

However, the efficiency vision may also be upheld by those with a less democratic orientation. Powerful interest groups may support this perspective because it reinforces existing power structures. Others may support the efficiency approach because they are essentially pessimistic about human nature: human subjects are incapable of restraining their desires and current socio-political inequities are entrenched and immutable. All that can be done is to shave away at the problem through technological improvements.

The consumption challenge: demand restraint

In a second framing of the food sustainability challenge, the end point in the supply chain, the consumer, becomes the focus of concern. Central to this perspective lies the conviction that excessive consumption, particularly of high-impact foods such as meat and dairy products, is a leading cause of the environmental crisis we face. Technological improvements alone will not be able to address the problem.

This view is shared by many within the animal welfare and environmental movements ( 55 – 57 ) . These stakeholders base their arguments on academic studies that argue, to varying degrees, for demand restraint ( Reference Foley, Ramankutty and Brauman 6 , Reference Williams, Audsley and Sandars 7 , Reference Audsley, Brander and Chatterton 13 , Reference Goodland 58 – Reference Garnett 61 ) .

For example, one study concludes that if consumption is not curbed globally, then given current dietary trends in demand, agricultural emissions are set to rise even when a broad range of production-side mitigation measures are deployed ( Reference Popp, Lotze-Campen and Bodirsky 62 ) . Another argues that by 2050, livestock sector growth could push the planet to the point where humanity's biological existence is threatened. It concludes that per capita meat consumption in 2050 may therefore need to be between 20 and 40 % of what it is today ( Reference Pelletier and Tyedmers 63 ) .

While demand may need to be restrained for environmental reasons, this perspective also highlights research finding that reduced consumption of livestock products would actually benefit health ( Reference Friel, Dangour and Garnett 64 ) . Unlike the production efficiency framing, the demand restraint perspective very explicitly links the health and environmental agendas, often viewing the relationship as synergistic. Thus, the GHG intensity of livestock farming is presented in tandem with arguments that excessive meat and dairy consumption undermines health. Support for this position is found from studies (generally undertaken in developed countries and in urban areas) finding an association between diets rich in animal products (specifically red and processed meat) and various negative health outcomes ( 65 – Reference Pan, Sun and Bernstein 67 ) .

Demand restraint stakeholders argue that largely plant-based diets are healthier, citing studies showing that people who eat fewer animal products, and vegetarians, are often healthier across a range of indicators, although the reasons for this may be complex; for example, they tend to be more health conscious in general ( Reference Millward and Garnett 68 ) . They also cite studies showing that plant-based diets can supply an adequate balance of key nutrients at lower GHG ‘cost’ than meat-dominated diets ( 69 – Reference Edwards and Roberts 72 ) . It has also been argued that how much as well as what kind of food people eat also has environmental relevance; obesity carries an environmental cost. For example, studies conclude that a reduction in obesity could yield environmental benefits through the following main pathways: less consumption means that less food (especially livestock) production is needed; reduced passenger weight reduces the amount of energy required to fuel vehicles; and finally, less food is wasted since less food is produced overall (wasted food represents a waste of embedded emissions) ( Reference Edwards and Roberts 72 , Reference Michaelowa and Dransfeld 73 ) . Measures to address the problem could yield both environmental and health dividends.

Notably, while this perspective strongly emphasises the diet-related chronic diseases that are associated with animal products and widespread in many parts of the world (particularly cities), ( Reference Popkin 74 ) it focuses less on the ongoing problem of hunger and micronutrient deficiencies that still affect millions of poor people worldwide, especially in rural communities. Importantly, the context for studies comparing vegetarians or low-meat eaters with their high meat-eating counterparts, is one where citizens typically have access to a diverse range of plant-based foods including vegetables, fruits, legumes and meals specifically formulated for vegetarians. The situation is very different in low income developing countries: diets are often monotonous and lack diversity. The positive nutrients found in animal products such as Ca, Fe and Zn, are often of critical importance, particularly to children ( Reference Dror and Allen 75 ) while livestock can support livelihoods in other ways, with beneficial consequences for health (discussed later). Hence the health–environment synergies obtainable from reduced animal product consumption are highly context dependent. Much depends on what else is, or is not, being eaten and advocates of the demand restraint perspective do not, as yet, have a coherent vision of what a ‘healthy sustainable’ diet looks like in very low income settings.

Finally, much is made, by restraint advocates, of the point that there is enough food in the world to feed everyone, in contrast to the ‘more food’ emphasis in the efficiency perspective. The challenge is therefore to address inequitable and resource-intensive consumption patterns ( 76 ) , a view developed further in the third perspective, later, but a sophisticated analysis of how structural inequalities might be addressed is lacking. Nor is it clear as to what mechanisms are needed to alter behaviour, apart from some preliminary advocacy of health- or livestock-related taxes ( Reference Mytton, Clarke and Rayner 77 , Reference Wirsenius, Hedenus and Mohlin 78 ) . Both these gaps reflect the lack of attention that this perspective has received from within the mainstream research and policy community. There are signs, however, that this may change. Increasingly, generally cautious international observers, including the United Nations Development Programme ( 79 ) , the United Nations Environment Programme ( Reference Hertwich, van der Voet and Suh 80 ) the Convention on Biodiversity ( 81 ) and the UK Government's Foresight Programme ( 82 ) some of whom are more traditionally ‘productionist’ in their views ( 83 ) , are starting to recognise that consumption issues merit further consideration.

Thus, for the demand restraint perspective, the ‘problem’ reframed is a demand-side one. The efficiency perspective's use of technology to, on the one hand, provide people with the food they want at lower environmental cost and then, on the other, to remove the nutrients from those foods that are causing them harm, is seen as overly complex. A simpler, holistic solution would be to reduce production and associated consumption of the animal products that are causing damage both to health and the environment. A world dominated by this perspective would therefore see a much reduced role for livestock production in agricultural systems and a greater emphasis on producing a diverse range of plant based foods. Land previously used to grow livestock feed would be set to producing grains and other plant foods for human subjects, while grazing land could be left to rewild or afforested ( Reference Goodland and Anhang 84 ) . Production could be dominated either by larger industry players or by smallholders (the perspective lacks specificity here, reflecting its overwhelming consumption focus). Dietary patterns would be re-oriented through fiscal and regulatory measures such as taxes and subsidies on certain foods, and perhaps even bans on some, or on certain farming practices such as intensive livestock production.

The values underpinning this demand restraint perspective are varied. For some, the conclusion that demand needs to be moderated is simply the inescapable conclusion to be drawn from the data: without reductions in livestock consumption and associated consumption, the mitigation figures simply do not add up. However, others may have a more overtly moral agenda: greed, the perceived insatiability of human desire itself, is the core issue. Freedom is, by this framing, defined as freedom from the ills of consumption. Thus, for many demand restraint advocates their vision of a good life is one that explicitly challenges the status quo, with its emphasis on consumption and growth.

For some too, technological approaches to reducing environmental impact may themselves be problematic: technologies such as genetic modification are ‘part of the problem’ rather than, as for the efficiency perspective, a solution. Technology is being used to broach ‘natural’ limits, whereas the priority should be to respect these limits by shrinking the space which human subjects take up within it. Concerns around animal rights and animal welfare are often added to the mix; stakeholders may reject the industrialised farming that is being advocated as a way of improving the environmental unit efficiency of production or, more fundamentally, even the idea of killing animals for food.

The socio-economic challenge: improve governance

The production efficiency focuses on changing patterns of production; the demand restraint perspective on excessive consumption. The food system transformation perspective considers both production and consumption in terms of the relationships among actors in the food system, interpreting the problem as one of ‘imbalance.’ The concern lies not just with production, and not just with consumption: it is the outcome of unequal relationships between and among producers and consumers, across and within countries and communities. This inequality gives rise to the twin problems of excess and insufficiency that are played out both in the environment (over- as well as under-application of agricultural inputs) and in health (obesity and hunger). The problems we face are thus socio-economic rather than simply technical or a consequence of individual decisions: they are the outcome of the dynamic interactions among natural, technological, behavioural and economic systems.

Within this perspective can be found a broad spectrum of opinions, some more radical than others in their analysis of the problems and vision of the solutions. Some adopt a macro perspective, focusing on trading relations between nations, while others are concerned with local contexts. For all, though, the central argument here is that food system sustainability can only be achieved by changing the socio-economic governance of the food system. A full spectrum of interventions will be needed, including ‘hard’ measures such as regulations and fiscal instruments, as well as ‘soft’ approaches such as voluntary agreements, awareness raising and education ( 82 , 85 – Reference Lang 87 ) .

Since food sustainability problems are rooted in imbalances and inequities, a focus on increasing production on its own is unlikely to improve food security. Hunger today is not a consequence of insufficient supply but of in sufficient access; poor people cannot afford to eat adequately ( Reference Sen 88 ) . While some increase in production may be needed, the requirement depends on context: it is necessary to increase production in particular regions, in relation to particular consumers and particular producers, but not everywhere.

This framing of these issues is markedly more rural-centric than the other two perspectives which are essentially concerned with the supply-side needs and consumption patterns of urban populations. The system transformation perspective is focused to a far greater extent on low income rural populations in developing countries, the poorest of the poor.

It also places strong emphasis on all four key dimensions of food security ( 41 ) . Unlike the efficiency perspective it privileges not just the ‘technical’ supply of nutrients but also the requirements of accessibility (incorporating affordability), utilisation (local environmental conditions and pre-existing health status) and the stability of these factors over time. Differing from the demand perspective too, it emphasises that nutritional outcomes are not just the consequence of what foods are or are not consumed, but also of who produces them, where and for whom. Thus, an argument is often made for altering the terms of trade between nations, and particularly for ending subsidies paid out to food producers in developed countries. For low-income countries, the focus is on production to improve self-sufficiency and on fostering intra-regional trading.

Many within this perspective advocate a central role for smallholders (particularly women) in farming a diverse range of indigenous crops and livestock breeds for local markets ( 86 , 89 ) . More localised, diverse systems are seen as better able to deliver the full range of micronutrients needed for good health than global supply chains which produce and distribute a simplified range of processed, energy- and fat-dense commodities ( Reference Toledo and Burlingame 90 , 91 ) however fortified. Moreover, these systems of provisioning (encompassing all food chain stages and actors rather than just the technical act of production) generate income for smallholders, who can then spend their earnings on food or on other essentials, including health care and education, fostering a positive cycle of health and development ( Reference De Schutter 92 ) .

The development of institutional and social capacity through the creation of local food provisioning systems is seen as critical; it is the key to good nutrition and human well-being. Fortification and biofortification strategies are supply-side approaches that may have a role, but the larger challenge is to address the inequality inherent in the food system which gives rise to these fundamental problems of dietary simplification and inadequacy ( Reference Johns and Eyzaguirre 93 ) . Similarly, the activities of ‘big food’ to address micronutrient deficiencies through public–private partnerships are often treated with suspicion for this perspective because they are seen as perpetuating power imbalances: destroying local production, undermining local relationships and provisioning systems, eroding local food cultures and selling processed foods, whose processing is cynically designed to increase the profits of the companies themselves ( Reference Nestle 94 , 95 ) .

As to the nutritional role of meat and dairy products: the framing here differs from the other perspectives in that it looks beyond nutrition to consider the role that livestock plays in the livelihoods of poor people, and the effect that this in turn has upon health. The nutritional contribution that livestock provide for people in low-income countries is not necessarily a simple relationship along the lines of ‘more production equals better nutrition.’ Health outcomes are mediated through impacts of livestock production on household incomes and the knock-on effects of income generation on health generally, for example on people's ability to pay for health care or education, both of which have independent positive effects on health. In other words, the system transformation approach urges a more complex understanding of agri-health linkages ( Reference Hawkes and Ruel 29 ) .

As regards the environment, many within this perspective argue for organic or ‘agro-ecological’ approaches as these generally incorporate social objectives around principles of fairness and are assumed to be more environmentally benign ( Reference Toledo and Burlingame 90 , Reference Fischer, Batáry and Bawa 96 ) . The latter assumption has, however, been challenged since yields from these systems tend to be lower, meaning that more land is needed for a given volume of food production. This in turn has implications for CO 2 release and biodiversity loss ( Reference Phalan, Onial and Balmford 97 , Reference Burney, Davis and Lobell 98 ) . Moreover, the environmental implications of a scaling up of smallholder production are not given much consideration: while an increase in small-scale livestock production may benefit local communities, it will nevertheless generate GHG emissions and other environmental impacts. Similarly, while greater production and access to local indigenous foods may offer benefits for smallholder livelihoods and people's health, consumers may nevertheless choose to reject these foods in favour of mass marketed, processed products.

In conclusion, the priority for this perspective is to alter the terms of trade between nations, between producers, and between producers and consumers. There is a stronger emphasis on fair trade between nations, greater self-sufficiency, and on the development of local food systems and markets producing a diverse range of nutritious foods. More support is advocated for rural development, with agriculture a central plank in this agenda. Food consumption is more closely linked to what regions are able to produce and there is greater diversity, across the world, in local food cultures. Greater regulation of multinational corporations is needed, together with a greater role for publicly supported research and development, agricultural extension and other initiatives. Freedom, for this perspective, is freedom from injustice.

This perspective shares the redistributive morality of the demand restraint perspective but perhaps goes further in its assumption that the ‘underdog’ is somehow inherently more likely to farm and consume within environmental limits; an assumption that is certainly open to challenge. It can romanticise the small scale and local, failing to subject these systems to the same critical scrutiny as it does to commercial systems. Thus, while emphasis on improving rural livelihoods at one level reflects pragmatic recognition of how millions of people live today, for many within this perspective, agrarianism is perhaps synonymous with the good life. Both well-being and sustainability are achieved through the harmonious integration of human subjects with nature through rural living and yet people are flocking in their millions to the cities in the hope of a better life.

Each of these three frames on the food sustainability problem has insights to offer, as well as weaknesses and inconsistencies. These may sometimes go unrecognised by stakeholders, who are too immersed in a particular frame to recognise its shortfalls or the merits of an alternative approach. Entrenched positions, ongoing disagreements, and inaction are the result.

A key strength of the efficiency perspective is its pragmatism. It focuses attention on what can be done now, through better technologies and good management, to address immediate nutritional and environmental problems. It injects a much needed optimism into the discussion on food. However, its equation of more food with greater food security is too simplistic, as is its assumption that increases in the unit efficiency of production will compensate for the environmental impacts of increased demand. The effects of product reformulations and so forth on obesity are unclear; such approaches may simply entrench patterns of over-consumption that drive further environmental damage. While in some ways, the efficiency approach suggests a highly democratic vision, a better material life for more people, its implementation may have the effect of strengthening existing power relations in the supply chain that perpetuate inequalities.

The value of the demand restraint approach lies in its emphasis on the need for absolute rather than just relative reductions in emissions; on highlighting the role of consumption patterns on environmental impacts, and on the need to address environmental and nutritional problems together. These together represent important challenges to the production efficiency approach. However, it can lack nuance in its approach to livestock, while the problem of undernutrition in low-income countries requires far more attention. If environmental sustainability is only possible in a situation of severely reduced livestock production, then we need to consider carefully what systems of food production are needed to deliver such low impact, healthy diets and what policies are needed to effect the necessary changes.

The food system transformation offers a necessary critique both of the efficiency and demand restraint perspectives. It focuses on the structures, systems and relationships that underpin food production and consumption, highlighting the way that unequal power relations influence both environmental and health outcomes. However, it can at time romanticise smallholder production and while this perspective is good at identifying the complex nature of food system interactions, this very complexity makes it difficult to identify specific ways forward.

Policy makers are starting to recognise that the ‘reality’ is a composite of perspectives ( 82 ) and, as emphasised earlier, these framings do not represent ideological positions (at least for most people) but rather inclinations or tendencies that stakeholders manifest when discussing the food problem. Most institutions or individuals will not adopt one perspective alone, to the exclusion of the others.

This said, within most mainstream circles the production efficiency approach still tends to overwhelm the others. Far too little attention is paid to the nutritional quality of what people consume, to the potential that dietary changes can play in addressing health and environmental problems together, or the inequities in the food system.

This imbalance needs to be addressed. The priority for the future is a nutrition-driven food system that sits within environmental limits. This will certainly require efforts to increase the environmental efficiency of food production. However, this approach on its own will not deliver a sustainable food system. Equal attention needs to be paid to issues raised by the other framings. How can demand for foods with high environmental impact be moderated and the supply and consumption of more diverse plant-based foods increased? How can we develop systems of governance that deliver on production and consumption objectives while promoting fairness and justice? These are politically far more challenging. To address them demands a broad interdisciplinary research effort, drawing upon the skills of nutritionists, social scientists, the international development community and economists. It is essential, too, to pay more attention to the values that different stakeholders bring to the debate on food sustainability. These are the source of much disagreement and miscommunication; but by identifying values that are common among apparently very different stakeholders it may be possible to resolve some differences and make progress.

Acknowledgements

The author declares no conflicts of interest. T. Garnett's work at the Food Climate Research Network is supported by a grant from the Climate Change Agriculture and Food Programme of the CGIAR and the Oxford Martin Programme for the Future of Food.

Fig. 1. (colour online) Source: Bellarby et al. ( 4 ) .

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• Volume 72, Issue 1
• Tara Garnett (a1)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0029665112002947

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Global food crisis: 5 things you need to know

You have probably heard about the global food crisis that is affecting millions of people worldwide. But what are the main drivers of this global food insecurity? What countries are affected? And how is the EU helping?

Here are 5 key things you need to know about the current global food crisis and the EU’s humanitarian response.

1. The number of people who require food assistance is at a record high, with more than 200 million people acutely food insecure

There are currently at least 205 million people acutely food insecure and in need of urgent assistance ( Global Report on Food Crises 2022 mid-year update).This is the highest level on record, and double the figure of 2016.

This is why we are substantially stepping up our EU humanitarian food assistance , with approximately €770 million allocated for food and nutrition assistance in 2022 so far. We work to ensure access to safe and nutritious food for the most hungry and vulnerable people affected by the global food crisis.

Since 2010, the EU has been rolling out its humanitarian policy on food assistance . Our funding has helped over 100 million people lacking access to food.

In 2021, 25% of the EU’s annual humanitarian aid budget was used to provide emergency food assistance and nutrition. In 2022, the share is likely to be even higher, given the severity and scale of the current food crises. This makes the EU one of the major donors in this area.

2. The main drivers of food insecurity are conflict, economic shocks, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic

The current levels of food insecurity are a result of a number of converging shocks.

Since the first publication of the Global Report on Food Crises, conflict/insecurity remained the first driver of food insecurity globally.

Economic downturns are another relevant factor contributing to higher food insecurity. The world is still suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, including on supply chains, inflation and purchasing power.

In addition, climate events such as drought and floods continue to hinder availability of and access to food for many people.

Some examples are the drought in the Horn of Africa or the recent floods in Pakistan , where the EU has stepped up its food assistance to help those left with no access to safe and nutritious food.

In 2022, food insecurity has been exacerbated by the direct effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the global economy, including on food prices, global supply of grains as well as on the price of energy and fertilizers.

3. Russia’s war against Ukraine is exacerbating global food insecurity

Russia’s war against Ukraine came at a time when the world had not yet recovered from the impacts of COVID-19 on the economy.

The Russian invasion has caused a spike in food prices, as Russian troops systematically occupied and shelled Ukrainian arable land and agricultural equipment. Both Russia and Ukraine are major food exporters: together, they are responsible for 1/3 of the global cereal supply, 80% of global sunflower oil, and 30% of wheat exports.

Even though prices have recently been decreasing thanks to the EU Solidarity Lanes Initiative and the Black Sea Grain Initiative, they remain around 7% higher than before the war and markets are still highly volatile.

The war is also having an adverse impact on the prices of energy and fertilisers, whose increase continues to exert an upward pressure on the prices of food

Low-income countries with already high levels of food insecurity and highly depend on grain and oil imports from Russia and Ukraine are suffering disproportionately from the effects of this war.

The timely and effective delivery of humanitarian assistance is at risk due to the simultaneous and sudden increase in needs and operational costs caused by the war in Ukraine. UN agencies are warning of a worsening situation in the next couple of years.

While we continue to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine (including for food and nutrition assistance), the global food crisis remains a priority for the EU.

In June we adopted a comprehensive Team Europe Global Food Security Response, committing the EU and its Member States to coordinated action against food insecurity.

Our response is backed by a financial package of over €7.7 billion until 2024. This will be further complemented by the Team Europe response from our Member States. 

4. 6 countries are at risk of famine

The latest Hunger Hotspot report published in September, reports that the following 6 countries are at risk of famine: Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Kenya, the Sahel region, the Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic remain of very high concern. In the latest edition, the alert is extended to the Central African Republic and Pakistan.

In Afghanistan, 93% of people did not have enough food to eat in March. EU humanitarian funding supports the World Food Programme to organise food distributions, along with midday snacks for children at school or malnutrition prevention and treatment for mothers and children.

We don’t forget the hunger crisis in the Sahel . Never have so many millions of people faced starvation in the region where Nigeria is located. The EU is providing emergency food and nutrition assistance to protect the most vulnerable.

In Ethiopia, the drought is causing water scarcity and food insecurity. It is already considered the worst drought in a generation, with increasing malnutrition rates among children and displacement of people searching for food.

In Somalia, it is estimated that already this month, famine will become a reality. Due to the drought, millions of people are facing starvation and death. At least 7.1 million people are experiencing the food crisis in the country. The EU is providing €61.5 million in humanitarian funding for projects on food and nutrition assistance, as well as other intervention areas.

In the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan, the EU is implementing a 3-year project to prevent malnutrition and provide life-saving aid to those already malnourished.

In Yemen , millions of people are destitute and hungry, and half of the population is food insecure. Our cash assistance is helping them buy the food they need.

5. The EU is at the forefront of the fight against global hunger

The EU is one of the main donors of humanitarian assistance, including for emergency food and nutrition aid. The EU provides the most vulnerable people with essential and nutritious food items during critical times. Our support is targeted and context-specific, depending on the needs of specific groups, such as children under 5 years old.

A significant part of our food assistance is provided in the form of cash transfers. This is because sometimes there is enough food in shops and markets, but the victims of disasters do not have money to purchase it.

When this happens, the EU prefers helping vulnerable people get access to the food they need by giving them money to buy it. This is often more efficient and effective than shipping sacks of rice or flour across the globe.

In addition, the EU has just announced €600 million of European Development Fund to finance immediate food aid, production and resilience of food systems in the most vulnerable countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific. Out of this amount, €150 million is for humanitarian aid to deliver emergency food assistance.

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World Food Problem - Free Essay Examples and Topic Ideas

The world food problem refers to the issue of insufficient food supply to meet the growing global population’s needs. It is caused by various factors such as crop failure, extreme weather conditions, war, and conflicts. The problem is exacerbated by poverty and inequality, which limit access to food for many people. The food problem has severe consequences, including malnutrition, hunger, and starvation. Addressing this issue requires a combination of strategies, including increasing food production, improving distribution systems, addressing inequality, and investing in sustainable farming practices.

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• Agricultural Studies

Sample Essay Paper on Issues Related to World Food Problems

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Concerns about issues related to world food problem started in early 1970s but has remained unresolved to date. During the early 1970s, concern was much about the prices and supplies of world foods; however, that shifted to hunger and individual access of foods. Apart from hunger and access of food, currently there are many issues related to global food problem that are being discussed from many different quarters and the solutions are yet to be found. Some of the issues include (1) hunger and malnutrition, (2) the impact of climate change, (3) green revolution, (4) water scarcity and groundwater depletion, (5) contrasting perspectives on biotechnology, (6) the rising human populations, (7) scarcity of land, (8) industrial sugar and sweeteners, and (9) markets among others. This paper discusses some of these issues through an interdisciplinary lens.

Hunger and malnutrition

Hunger and malnutrition is one of the key issues associated with world food problems. Currently in the world, especially from developing countries in Africa and Asia, majority of people suffer from hunger and malnutrition: in each case, majority of the group affected by hunger and malnutrition are children: as the world population grows geometrically, greater pressure is put on food production and distribution which has led to hunger and malnutrition in some areas. According to a 2014 statistics by World Bank, about two billion people are malnourished, which represent a double increase in less than 40 years. The statistics further indicates that more 90 million people in China are malnourished due to lack of sufficient food (Horton, Harold, and Juan 89).

In Minnesota, United States of America, approximately one out of six children belongsto households affected by insecure foods. Fortunately the federal state runs a nutritional program; however, only 20% of effected children are enrolled for this program. In Africa, the situation is worse as many children die annually due to hunger and malnutrition. Hunger and malnutrition in the world is caused by a combination of many factors including low income, insufficient food production, as well as inadequate distribution of food across the world (World Health Organization 78).

The impact of climate change

Climate change increases the risk of world food problems through extreme weather events as well as long-term and gradual climate risks: these two processes acerbate the risks of hunger and malnutrition. Climate change increases the intensity and frequency of various disastrous events such as floods, droughts as well as storms which subsequently causes adverse effects on food production and distribution. In addition, disasters caused by climate change have great potential of destroying critical agricultural infrastructures, crops as well as key community assets thereby deteriorating the overall food insecurity (Schmidhuber and Francesco 99).

Climate change also contributes to the long term effects of world food problems: it causes the sea level to rise thereby affecting the agricultural productivity and livelihood of river deltas and coastal areas. As climate change accelerates the glacial melting, the quantity and availability of water alters thereby directly affectingglobal food production. In addition, the melting of polar glaciers also results in unprecedented changes in weather patterns, including flooding and droughts. In the long term, it is estimated that climate change will have greatest effects on the global food supply and distribution: many people will suffer from hunger and malnutrition due to low agricultural productivity resulting from changes in weather patterns. Due to lack of technological investments, agricultural practice in developing countries of Africa and Asia will suffer greatly from climate change because these countries have limited ability to control weather events linked to climate change that affects their agricultural activities (Schmidhuber and Francesco 79).

Green revolution

Green revolution was a period of increased crop production especially in developing countries achieved as a result of better agricultural techniques: it started in early 1960s. During this period, better fertilizers and pesticides were developed which led to increase crop productions across the world. Green revolution started with the work of scientist Norm Borlaug whose work on selective breeding and crossbreeding led to improvement of agricultural production: during that time, new synthetic herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers were developed which led to drastic increase in global food production.

Even though green revolution led to increased crop production in other developing countries, it was not successful in Africa because of numerous problems such as widespread corruption, lack of government will, poor infrastructure, and availability of water for irrigation. The fact that green revolution is not worldwide is a major issue associated with global food problems. For instance, it spreads agricultural technologies which have not been tested and implemented in industrialized nations. They include technologies such as modern pesticides, irrigation, and, synthetic nitrogen fertilizer, which might have potential effects on soils and crop (Evenson and Douglas 66).

Another issue of green revolution that is directly relation to global food problem is the rising costs that many farmers have to incur. The technique is associated with increased use of pesticides, fertilizers and irrigation system which increases the cost of agricultural production thus reducing the profitability of farmers. In addition, green revolution is affected by the huge problem of widespread commercialization and organizational market share. Sees are patented and they are becoming more expensive to farmers in developing countries. Lastly, the use of synthetic herbicides and chemical fertilizers interfered with the environment by increasing erosion and pollution (Evenson and Douglas 46).

Water scarcity and groundwater depletion

Generally, the world is experiencing rapid rise in water scarcity to meet both industrial and agricultural needs: it affects almost every country. In addition, there is increasing difficulties in obtaining sources of fresh water thus leading to water stress. Water scarcity is greatly caused by climate change and depletion of available sources including groundwater reservoirs. Water scarcity and depletion of groundwater has led to a rise in droughts, which makes agricultural activities very difficult in most countries. Surface water bodies such as lakes, rivers, reservoirs, wetlands store less than 1% of total global freshwater. Water scarcity and groundwater depletion greatly affects agriculture because it is the largest user of freshwater globally, accounting for about 70% of total consumption.

In United States and other countries, the volume of groundwater is steadily decreasing in response to pumping and other human activities. The depletion fop groundwater is associated with negative effects such as drying up of wells, deterioration of water quality, land subsidence, increased pumping costs, and reduction of water in lakes and streams among others. It is estimated that about 20% of the total world’s population resides in areas affected by water scarcity and in such areas, it is difficult for agriculture to thrive and the production of foods is significantly limited. In overall, the water scarcity and groundwater depletion greatly contribute to the global food problems (Seckler Randolph 102).

Contrasting perspectives on biotechnology

Recent technological advancements led to significant improvement of biotechnology over the last 2 to 3 years culminating in the commercial mass production of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) food products. Mass production of GMO food products started in 1996 with maize, cotton, and soybeans in United States and by 4 years later there were more than 600 varieties of genetically modified plants in United States. Other countries that followed suit with mass production of GMO food products include Argentina, Canada, France, Spain, China, South Africa, Australia, and Brazil.

In 2014, GMO crops reached 35% of global commercial market value. Despite this rapid increase, several controversies have emergence over the use of GMO food products to an extent that many regions have contrasting perspectives on the issue: while other supports GMO foods other detest it citing various health issues among other reasons. In this case, various issues relating to health, ethics and economics are at stake in the conflict rage between consumers and commercial interests. Despite the commercial interest, researchers are more concerned with the safety of GMO food products as well as the ethics of its usage and most of them have openly criticized agribusinesses for choosing profits at the expense of potential health hazards (Frewer et al 37).

The contrasting perspectives on biotechnology have resulted in different approaches to the regulation of GMO products across regions such as United States and Europe. With respect to the international trading system, the different regulation policies have impacts that directly affect other countries, thus making dialogue difficult to achieve and widening the conflicting views. For instance, while Obama sign a bill that requires labeling of GMO products, other countries have not acted in a similar manner (Frewer et al 67).

The rising human populations

The ability of a country to feed its citizens depends on three factors namely availability of arable land, population pressure and accessible water. The global population of human beings has more than doubled within the last century alone, which puts pressure on the world food production and distribution. It is projected that the world population will reach nine billion by the year 2050; the more people there are the more food is needed to feed them. In addition the more people the increased pressure on the available arable land and water resources. The current level of food production is undermined by the increasing human population by causing problems such as shrinking landholdings, unequal land distribution, deepening rural poverty, and rising land degradation among others.

According to statistics by United Nations, the world population is increasing by 250 000 people eachsingle day, a  situation that looks less promising in terms of sustainable food problem. The largest increase in population occurs in poor countries that have food problems. In essence, if population growth rate is not controlled, then the world as a whole might not be able to feed its citizens in the coming years. To feed the current high population, then the world need to increase its food production; however, some countries are incapacitated in terms of their ability to increase food production (Boserup et al 88).

Scarcity of land

The increase in world population greatly puts pressure on the size of arable land: the arable land become less and less. Apart from residential purposes, most of the arable lands are now used for other different human investments and development projects, which contribute to insufficient food production levels: this is a huge problem in developing countries which still depends on the traditional methods of crop production. In developing countries such as Africa, more than 5% of formerly arable land has been lost due to soil erosion and water degradation (Boserup et al 45).

Another problem associated with land scarcity is the fragmentation: the available arable land is continuously being fragmented in order to accommodate the growing number of human dependents. This had led to continue decrease on the available size of land for agricultural purpose. Land fragmentation has direct effects on the world food production as it reduces the quantity that each country or region can produce. In addition, land fragmentation has turned majority of arable land into part-time farms hence cannot produce enough to create significant impact on global food production.

Industrial sugar and sweeteners

In the 21 st century, production and use of industrial sugar and sweeteners increased significantly especially with the evolution of retail supermarket chains and stores.  Within the last four decades, the production of industrial food products changed significantly with a remarkable increase in sugar additives. Currently, majority of food products sold in supermarkets such as snacks have sugar additives. As this trend increase, the level of sugar consumption has tremendously increased due to consumption of these industrial food products.

The increase in sugar consumption is associated with many bad health effects such as obesity. In United States of America and other European countries, many people are suffering from obesity simply due to consumption of industrial food products. In United States, the federal has considered imposing high taxes on sugary drinks so as to significantly reduce their consumption and thereby obesity. While food manufactures are driven by profits, there is a general concern over the increased usage of industrial sugars and sweeteners especially with its effects on human health (Daily et al 45).

Market plays a significant role in the world food problems: the access and distribution of market affects both small and commercial farmers. The global market serves an important role of bringing together all information, products, people as well as resources so as to establish an environment that promote growth. Currently, the global food and agricultural marketsare not efficient thus they do not promote growth and sustainability. In most countries across, the market is affected by inefficient physical infrastructure, government regulations, as well as inadequate education, which leads to poor quality standards in food production and distribution across the world. Despite the rapidly changing agricultural environment, the world experiences greater concentration of market power in few countries especially in Europe and North America. These conditions are limiting fair trade and efficiency of global food production and distribution: farers in developing countries are not receiving fair price for their agricultural produce (Lang and Michael 212).

The paper discussed some issues related to world food problems through an interdisciplinary lens. The major issues related to world food problems are hunger and malnutrition, the impact of climate change, green revolution, water scarcity and groundwater depletion, contrasting perspectives on biotechnology, the rising human populations, scarcity of land, markets, and industrial sugar and sweeteners. These issues are interrelated and they collectively affect the ability of the world to feed itself. Even though sustainable solution has not been found, many organizations and independent researchers are working on the future of the world’s food system. At the moment, the greatest international debate and concern is how to produce sufficient amount of food and distributed it rightly all over the world (Johnson et al 218).

Boserup, Ester, et al. “Population and technological change: A study of long-term trends.”  International Journal of Health Services  13.1 (1983): 15-31.

Daily, Gretchen, et al. “Food production, population growth, and the environment.”  Science  281.5381 (1998): 1291-1292.

Evenson, Robert E., and Douglas Gollin. “Assessing the impact of the Green Revolution, 1960 to 2000.”  Science  300.5620 (2003): 758-762.

Frewer, Lynn, et al. “Societal aspects of genetically modified foods.”  Food and Chemical Toxicology  42.7 (2004): 1181-1193.

Horton, Sue, Harold Alderman, and Juan A. Rivera. The challenge of hunger and malnutrition . Copenhagen Consensus, 2008. Print.

Johnson, Justin Andrew, et al. “Global Food Demand and Carbon-Preserving Cropland Expansion under Varying Levels of Intensification.”  Land Economics  92.4 (2016): 579-592.

Lang, Tim, and Michael Heasman.  Food wars: The global battle for mouths, minds and markets . Routledge, 2015. Print.

Schmidhuber, Josef, and Francesco N. Tubiello. “Global food security under climate change.”  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences  104.50 (2007): 19703-19708.

Seckler, David, Randolph Barker, and Upali Amarasinghe. “Water scarcity in the twenty-first century.”  International Journal of Water Resources Development  15.1-2 (1999): 29-42.

World Health Organization. “Nutrition for health and development: a global agenda for combating malnutrition.” (2000).

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• Movie Review Sample
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