Global Food Insecurity: A Threat to Sustainable Development

Is Global Food Insecurity a Threat?
Food Security
13th May 2018

Introduction
Whenever we get hungry, the first thing that comes to mind is food. It is so easy to grab a snack
or find something to eat if you have the resources. All you have to do is to get in the kitchen and
have it prepared or you walk into a restaurant and go through the menu. Nevertheless, what
would you do if you got hungry, had the money but there was no food? Imagine seven billion
people struggling to survive on the meagre world resources. With an increasing world population
and diminishing world resources, it is difficult to tell how long the current food resources will
last.
“Imagine all the food mankind has produced over the past 8000 years. Now consider that we
need to produce that same amount again-but in just the next 40 years, if we are to feed our
growing and hungry world” (Global Harvest Initiative, 2012).
Those are the words spoken by Unilever CEO Paul Polman. Sustainable development is a reality
today more than ever before. In food security, challenges arising indicate the need to adopt
emergency strategies that enhance quality production strategies for improved living.
Case Discussion
Food security is a multi-sectorial phenomenon that affects governments, civil societies, the
business and intergovernmental organization (Thompson, 2012). This makes a multilateral
approach to the food insecurity challenge, which calls for solutions from different levels. Food,
water and air are the most critical factors affecting human life. Without food, people die of
starvation. Lack of water makes it hard for food to grow. Agricultural production thrives in clean
air with no pollution. The food production cycle revolves around Food security challenges
include:
 Rising population
 Income inequality
 Water shortage
 Climate change
 Food production challenges (The Economist, 2014)