Food Security and Insecurity
This lesson examines the concept of food security, its four pillars, the causes and consequences of food insecurity, and the global efforts to address hunger. Understanding food security is essential for AQA A-Level Geography Paper 2 content on resource security.
Defining Food Security
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines food security as existing when:
"All people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life." — World Food Summit, 1996
The Four Pillars of Food Security
| Pillar | Definition | Key Factors |
|---|
| Availability | Sufficient quantities of food are available consistently | Domestic production, imports, food aid, food stocks |
| Access | People have adequate resources to obtain appropriate foods | Income, prices, transport infrastructure, market access |
| Utilisation | Food is properly used through adequate diet, clean water, sanitation, and healthcare | Nutrition knowledge, food preparation, water quality, healthcare |
| Stability | The other three pillars are reliable over time | Political stability, economic stability, climate variability, conflict |
All four pillars must be satisfied simultaneously for food security to exist. A country may produce enough food (availability) but if it is unevenly distributed (access), or if people lack clean water to prepare it safely (utilisation), or if supplies are disrupted by conflict (stability), food insecurity persists.
Measuring Food Insecurity
The Global Hunger Index (GHI)
The Global Hunger Index combines four indicators to produce a score on a 100-point scale:
- Undernourishment: proportion of the population with insufficient caloric intake
- Child wasting: proportion of children under 5 with low weight for height (acute undernutrition)
- Child stunting: proportion of children under 5 with low height for age (chronic undernutrition)
- Child mortality: mortality rate of children under 5
| GHI Score | Severity |
|---|
| ≤ 9.9 | Low |
| 10.0–19.9 | Moderate |
| 20.0–34.9 | Serious |
| 35.0–49.9 | Alarming |
| ≥ 50.0 | Extremely alarming |
In 2023, the countries with the highest GHI scores included Central African Republic, Madagascar, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Yemen.
Other Measures
- Prevalence of Undernourishment (PoU): percentage of population whose food intake is insufficient — approximately 735 million people globally in 2022 (FAO)
- Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES): survey-based measure of access to food
- Minimum Dietary Energy Requirement (MDER): caloric threshold below which a person is considered undernourished
Causes of Food Insecurity
1. Poverty
- Poverty is the single most important cause of food insecurity
- Approximately 700 million people live in extreme poverty (below $2.15 per day)
- The poor spend a higher proportion of income on food (often 50–80%)
- Poverty limits access to land, inputs, credit, and markets
- Urban poverty: slum dwellers often lack cooking facilities and clean water
2. Conflict and Political Instability
- In 2023, conflict was the primary driver of food insecurity for approximately 117 million people (Global Report on Food Crises)
- War disrupts food production, markets, and supply chains
- Displacement prevents farming and access to food sources
- Conflict is used as a weapon: siege warfare, destruction of crops, blockades
- Examples: Yemen, South Sudan, Syria, Ethiopia (Tigray), Sudan
3. Climate Change and Extreme Weather
- Droughts reduce crop yields and kill livestock
- Floods destroy harvests and contaminate water supplies
- Rising temperatures shift growing zones and increase pest and disease pressure
- Changing rainfall patterns make traditional farming calendars unreliable
- Sea-level rise threatens coastal agricultural land (e.g., Bangladesh)
- The IPCC estimates that climate change could reduce global crop yields by 2–6% per decade
4. Economic Factors
- Food price volatility: the 2007–2008 food price crisis pushed an estimated 100 million people into poverty
- Currency devaluation increases the cost of imported food
- Trade policies: export bans, tariffs, and subsidies distort markets
- Speculation on commodity markets drives price spikes
- Debt: heavily indebted countries cannot invest in agriculture
5. Environmental Degradation
- Soil degradation: the UN estimates that 52% of agricultural land is moderately or severely degraded
- Water scarcity: agriculture accounts for approximately 70% of global freshwater withdrawals
- Deforestation: removes productive land and disrupts hydrological cycles
- Overfishing: reduces protein availability for coastal communities
- Biodiversity loss: reduces the resilience of food systems
6. Population Growth
- Global population is projected to reach approximately 9.7 billion by 2050
- The FAO estimates that food production must increase by approximately 60% by 2050 to feed this population
- Population growth is fastest in regions already facing food insecurity (sub-Saharan Africa)
The Concept of Famine
A famine is declared when three specific criteria are met (IPC Phase 5):
- At least 20% of households face extreme food gaps
- The prevalence of acute malnutrition exceeds 30%
- The crude death rate exceeds 2 per 10,000 per day
Famine Early Warning