Food Security and

Sustainability- Introduction
Cecile Obeid, Ph.D. (c)
Food Security
• Food security: availability of and adequate access to sufficient,
affordable, safe, nutritious food at all times in order to maintain a
healthy and active life
• Food security analysts look at the combination of 3 main elements:
• Food availability: Food must be available in sufficient quantities
and on a consistent basis. This includes stock and production in a
given area and the capacity to bring in food from elsewhere.
• Food access: People must be able to regularly obtain adequate
quantities of food, whether through purchase, home production,
trade etc...
• Food utilization: Consumed food must have a positive nutritional
impact on people. This also entails cooking, storage and hygiene
practices, individuals’ health, and feeding practices within the
household.
Food Sustainability
• A sustainable food system is a food system that delivers food and nutrition
security for all in such a way that it enhances the environmental, economic,
and social health of a particular place.
• Moreover, the environmental, economic, and social bases to generate food
security for future generations are not compromised.
• Sustainable agriculture is regenerative and self-sustaining. It produces its
own inputs (fertilizer, feed) and manages its outputs (crop, waste, manure)
in a closed loop cycle.
• It contributes to soil fertility, clean water systems, biodiversity and other
ecosystem services, rather than depleting them.
• A sustainable food system is climate-smart and simultaneously increases
agricultural productivity, enhances climate resilience, and reduces
greenhouse gases in agriculture.
 Future Challenges for Feeding the World
World Population Projected Caloric Acreage Under Cultivation
(Billions of People) Consumption (Billions of Acres)
7 (Trillions Kcal/d)
4
30 3.44 3.56 3.6
6 27 3.5
5 25 3
20
4 20 2.5
15 14 2
3
1.5
2 10
1
1 5
0.5
0 0 0
1960 1970 1980 1990 2010 1990 2015 2050 1960 1990 2000
 Despite Progress, Many Remain Hungry
350

300
1990-92
Malnourished People

250 Increasing
2014-16
Number of

(Millions)

200

150

100
Increasing
50

0
South Asia SSA SE Asia LAC MENA

• Prevalence of hunger declined from 19% to 11% (1990-2015).

• However, 795 million people remain hungry globally!
FAO 2015
Zero Hunger Challenge
• The Zero Hunger Challenge was launched by United Nations
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2012.
• Part of the 2030 Agenda
• It reflects 5 elements, which taken together, can end hunger,
eliminate all forms of malnutrition, and build food systems.
❖All food systems are sustainable: from production to consumption.
❖An end to rural poverty: double small-scale producer incomes &
productivity.
❖Adapt all food systems to eliminate loss or waste of food.
❖Access adequate food and healthy diets, for all people, all year
round.
❖An end to malnutrition in all its forms.
Pathways to Zero Hunger, Zero Hunger Challenge, United Nations
Zero Hunger Challenge
• How is the 2030 Agenda implemented?
• In September 2015, the 193 Member States of the United Nations adopted
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of 17 aspirational
objectives which will guide the actions of governments, international
agencies, civil society and other institutions over the next 15 years (2016-
2030).
• The ambitious 2030 Agenda is a global vision for people, for the planet,
and for long-term prosperity.
• The 17 SDGs integrate the three dimensions of sustainable development
– economic, social and environmental – with closely interwoven targets.
• The SDGs are universal for all countries. The 2030 Agenda is as relevant
to developed as it is to developing nations.
Zero Hunger Challenge, United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs)
End poverty in all its forms Ensure inclusive and quality
everywhere. education for all and
Almost 80% of poor people promote lifelong learning.
live in rural areas. Nutritious food is critical to
learning.

End hunger, achieve food

Achieve gender equality and
security and enhanced
empower all women and girls.
nutrition, and promote
Women produce 1/2 the
sustainable agriculture.
world’s food but have much
We produce food for
less access to land.
everyone, yet almost 800
million go hungry.
Ensure access to water and
Good health starts with sanitation for all. Sustainable
nutrition. agriculture has the potential
to address water scarcity.
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs)
Ensure access to affordable,
reliable, and sustainable
energy for all. Land reforms can give
Modern food systems are fairer access to rural land.
heavily dependent on fossil
fuels.

Agricultural growth in low- Make cities inclusive, safe,

income economies can resilient and sustainable.
reduce poverty by half. Rural investment can prevent
unmanageable urbanization.

Build resilient infrastructure,

promote sustainable Ensure sustainable
industrialization, and foster consumption and
innovation. production patterns.
Agriculture accounts for 1/4 1/3 of the food we produce
of GDP in developing is lost or wasted.
countries.
Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs)
Take urgent action to combat Promote just and peaceful
climate change and its impacts. societies.
Agriculture is key in responding Ending hunger can
to climate change. contribute greatly to peace
and stability.

Conserve and sustainably use Revitalize the global

the oceans, seas, and marine partnership for sustainable
resources. development.
Fish gives 3 billion people Partnerships help raise the
20% of daily animal protein. voice of the hungry.

Sustainably manage forests, combat

desertification, stop and reverse land
degradation, halt biodiversity loss.
Forests contain over 80% of the
world’s terrestrial biodiversity.
SDG 2: End Hunger and
Malnutrition

End hunger, achieve food security and enhanced

nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.
We produce food for everyone, yet around 800 million
people go hungry.
SDG 2: End Hunger and
Malnutrition
• SDG 2 aims to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition by 2030.
• It also commits to universal access to safe, nutritious, and
sufficient food at all times of the year.
• This will require:
• Sustainable food production systems
• Equal access to land
• Markets and international cooperation
• Technology to boost agricultural productivity
SDG 2: End Hunger and
Malnutrition
• The fight against hunger has progressed over the past 15 years.
• Globally, the prevalence of hunger has declined, from 15%
according to figures for 2000-2002, to 11% according to figures
for 2014-2016.
• However, over 790 million people worldwide remain hungry and
lack regular access to adequate amounts of dietary energy.
• If current trends continue, the ‘zero hunger’ target will be largely
missed by 2030.
• Many countries that failed to reach the target have faced natural
and human-induced disasters or political instability.
SDG 2: End Hunger and
Malnutrition
• Globally, in 2014, nearly 1 in 4 children under the age of 5, an
estimated total of 159 million children, had stunted growth.
• Stunting:
• Inadequate height for age
• An indicator of the cumulative effects of undernutrition and
infection
• Another aspect of child malnutrition is the growing amount of
children who are overweight, a problem affecting nearly every
region.
• Globally, the number of children under the age of 5 who are
overweight is growing.
Conclusion
• Ending hunger and malnutrition relies heavily on sustainable food
production systems and resilient agricultural practices.
• Diversity in livestock breeds is crucial for agriculture and food
production since it allows for the raising of farm animals in a wide
range of environments and provides the basis for diverse
products and services.
• A sustainable food system also increases agricultural productivity
and improves climate resilience.