Food Security in the USA and Third World

Food security is especially important to our global economy it determines where funding should be allocated. Food security is as defined by the following statement “the United Nations' Committee on World Food Security, means that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.” Unfortunately, not all countries have this luxury and many people still go to bed hungry all over the world.

The food security in the global economy is measured by the amount of land and the food that was produced by the land plus the household income of a family. This of course, depends on the price of the food produced by the economy.

As stated by the World Health Organization “Malnutrition, in all its forms, includes undernutrition (wasting, stunting, underweight), inadequate vitamins or minerals, overweight, obesity, and resulting diet-related noncommunicable diseases.” From this statement we can concur that many countries even though receiving assistance still have malnourishment and diseases that happen due to inadequate nutrition” I also would like to note, that the World Health Organization formally known as the “WHO” also states “The developmental, economic, social, and medical impacts of the global burden of malnutrition are serious and lasting, for individuals and their families, for communities and for countries.” As we can see, countries that have a high malnourished rate have a high rate of disease increase due to lack of food security. The medical impacts of third world countries are horrible and struggle.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture known as the “NIFA” supports global efforts to increase agricultural production and end hunger by helping countries improve their farming markets and increase food production. This helps countries especially in poverty-stricken areas.

This sad fact that is a reality is that 42 million people in the United States suffer from food insecurity. The search for solutions for sustainable food security becomes even more complicated when countries face a growing world population with limited resources and changing climate that give a demand for more high value food products.

Family run farms can have issues if their crops do not produce due to climate changes. However, in natural disasters or unforeseen circumstances like we have seen due to the Covid-19 Pandemic it could take months to get a country and families to receive the nourishment they need due to the governmental process and the decision to discuss the malnourishment of the population.

The sad aspect of this is that the wealthier eat better and the poorer eat not well and from this sickness occurs. There is a disconnect on what it means to go to bed hungry. This could be our grandparents even our neighbors without food. Eat this statistic for thought “795 million people face hunger daily and more than two billion people lack vital micronutrients, affecting their health and life expectancy.” However, the governments and its global economy may not care because when a poor citizen dies its less money the government must worry about. A sad thought but probably the truth, especially in the world we are living now.

Food security effects our children to a sad statistic is that 1 in 6 children are affected by food security. Children go to bed hungry and need their school breakfast and lunches for survival. A child is embarrassed to say to their teacher and friends that “they are hungry”. In third world countries, they may not get breakfast or lunches their bellies become bloated because of their hunger. They suffer greatly from diseases and lack of hope. These children should not suffer and it is not fair. The global production of food has enough to feed all countries. However, we turn our backs and let this negligence occur daily and yearly. We throw away bad food when this could be gold for some people in other countries.

Idealism followers want to do good and solve this hunger problem. We are all humans and just trying to get through this life. However, if you as a Realist discussing world hunger. They may feel that it must be this way because not everyone will survive. So, it is like survival of the fittest. The strong willed and the workers will be okay because they are strong. They will get through the hard times. The weak will perish and the same with its countries. The countries will be taken over by stronger governments.

Some case studies that I would like to discuss are from the United States and Indonesia. The United States will contribute 40 million dollars to Indonesia’s food security issues. Plus, the USAID known as Agribusiness Market and Support will be setting up a five year 20-million-dollar program to focus on increasing production for farmer reform. This will be put in place to help improve agricultural production and the lived of the people living in Indonesia’s rural areas.

The United States has levels of food security they range from levels 1-4. Households have choices that are either food secure or food insecure that describe the range of household experiences accessing enough food. However, there are levels to help better understand the food security of households.

Sadly, more than 800 million globally go to bed hungry and most of them are smallholder farmers who depend on their crops for making a living and feeding their family. Despite the growth of urban slums in many countries, 75 percent of poor people live in rural areas on farms and live in developing countries. Many farmers in these rural areas are left behind because they don’t have the newest technology and money to help them with their crops.

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