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As
has been discussed, we no longer live in a world where
we know who grows our food, let alone where it was
grown. Because of the global aspect of our food production
a great deal of energy goes into moving the produce
around safely and effectively. The reason for this
is that most crops are grown in relatively few areas,
mostly due to environmental concerns of not having
the right outdoor growing conditions. A repercussion
of this phenomenon is that some places on Earth have
easier access to food than others- say, the United
States vs. Africa, respectively.
http://www.cnie.org/pop/conserving/map.htm
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Food
Security is a term used to represent ideal food
access and is defined as when all people at all
times have both physical and economic access to
sufficient food to meet their dietary needs for
a productive and healthy life. The pursuit of
Food Security objectives in a specific country
does not necessarily imply a need for specific
food aid. In each situation, the problems may
be one or many, and approaches to improving food
security may vary among and even within countries.
Within the context of the food security definition,
three distinct variables are central to the attainment
of food security: availability, access, and utilization. |
Sufficient food
availability is obviously important for isolated and
localized populations. Food availability is primarily
accomplished through domestic production, commercial
imports, or donations of food aid. Domestic production
is mostly accomplished based on the ambient climates
of the region under question. It is far too prevalent
an idea that food must be grown in certain places
due to specific climates- how about the replication
of climates? Why can't a cool water spring sufficient
for growing wasabi root be replicated in Florida under
controlled conditions? No reason at all. Similar to
how Canada is amongst the most prolific tomato producer
in the world without adequate growing seasons. We
need to be more creative in how we think about growing
food.
Food access has
more to do with an individuals ability to purchase
or barter for food than the actual production of it.
Politics come into play in regards to food access.
Economic conditions, lack of job opportunities, inadequate
job training and/or skills, or a polarized political
system can all have a dramatic effect on people garnering
the ability to purchase or barter for food. On a governmental
level focus should be put on the practices of those
producing the food by concepts such as Fair Trade.
Poverty is another major reason for having inadequate
means of accessing food. The number of people obliged
to live on less than $2 a day was about 3 billion
-or half the world!- in 1999 (World Bank and International
Monetary Fund (IMF), "Comprehensive Development
Framework", 1999). Until we find a means of creating
income or its food equivalent for developing nations
food access will continue to be a major problem for
world Food Security.
Food utilization
is ensuring that food is properly used. The occurrence
of improper food processing and storage techniques
and health and sanitation maintenance can easily result
in the loss or degradation of otherwise healthy food
outlets. Food utilization is also greatly enhanced
by Local Agriculture.
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Going forward,
it is incumbent upon us to articulate a means
of combating food insecurity in the world. Situations
such as this boy are inexcusable in a world
of plenty. It is not only a matter of human
compassion, but an issue of resource allocation.
Imagine the repercussions of African and Asian
nations being able to feed their populations
without the influx of the billions of dollars
of food aid delivered in the name of humanity
from institutions such as the UN, and even the
US directly. It is in our direct best interests
to have these developing people develop some
semblance of sustainability in regards to food
production and security. Out of an estimated
824 million people worldwide who are not food
secure only 5% live in industrialized nations.The
remaining 790 million live in the developing
world, with almost half of them in just two
countries-India and China. The number of food-insecure
people in these two nations, 368 million, is
equivalent to the populations of Canada, Mexico,
and the United States combined! ("Six Billion
and Counting", 64)
It is easy
to assume that places such as Africa or Asia
would have
a harder time ensuring Food Security than the
United States. Overall this may be true, but
statistics regarding Food Security
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in the US might
surprise you. 11.1% of US households were food insecure
at some time during the calendar year 2002, with the
rate increasing slightly from the 2001 level of 10.7%.
Food insecure households typically spent 26% less for
food than food-secure households of the same size and
household composition (USDA). From the above statistics
it is apparent that the reason people were food insecure
was due to lack of food access and not lack of food
availability. The situation is much different in Africa
and Asia where there are problems on many levels regarding
Food Security. It is in places like this that hydroponics
and the phenomenon of replicating environments have
so much potential.
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