What food security means
Definition
Food security
Having enough safe food to feed a population.
- Food security means having enough safe food to feed a population.
- A country has food security when its people can reliably get the food they need.
- Several factors threaten food security around the world.
Key Idea
Food security is threatened whenever the demand for food rises or the ability to produce it falls.
Factors affecting food security
- A rising population and birth rate means more people to feed from the same amount of land.
- Changing diets in wealthier countries use up scarce food resources that are transported around the world.
- New pests and pathogens can destroy crops and farm animals.
- Environmental changes, such as drought, reduce how much food can be grown and can cause famine.
- The rising cost of farming inputs, such as fuel and fertiliser, makes food harder to produce.
- Conflicts in some regions disrupt the supply of food and water.
Common Mistake
- Do not confuse food security with simply having food today.
- It means being able to reliably feed the whole population, now and in the future.
Why food security is a challenge
- As the human population keeps growing, keeping food security is a major challenge for the world.
- It usually needs a mix of solutions, such as farming more efficiently and sharing resources more fairly.
Self review
- What is food security?
- Give four factors that can threaten food security.
- How can a new pest reduce food security?
- Why does a growing population make food security harder to achieve?
