Economics Essay: Food Security, Nutrition, and Sustainable Agriculture

This essay examines the critical aspects of food security, nutrition, and sustainable agriculture from an economic perspective. It begins by defining food security and its importance, highlighting the efforts of the international community to eradicate hunger. The essay discusses the measurement of hunger and food security, including the prevalence of undernourishment, and details the four pillars of food security: availability, access, utilization, and stability. It further explores the role of sustainable agricultural development in ensuring food security and nutrition, addressing challenges such as the global water crisis, land degradation, climate change, agricultural diseases, and food wastage. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of sustainable agriculture in achieving food security through efficient resource utilization and ecosystem services. Desklib provides access to this and many other solved assignments.

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Food security and nutrition and sustainable agriculture
Introduction
The Food Security is the condition where all the people have social, physical and
economic access for sufficient nutritious and safe food that will be meeting the dietary needs
and food preference in order to live an active and healthy life. Since the population is
growing, huge amount of effort along with innovation is needed for increasing the
agricultural production, improving the global supply chain and it should be also ensured that
people who are known to suffer from either malnutrition or hunger have access to the
nutritious food. Most of the international community also accepted the fact the it is possible
for eradicating hunger within the next generation.
Food security and nutrition to all
The 2030 Agenda of the Sustainable Development is known to work on the
eradication of poverty and hunger and will also work to ensure that poverty and hunger ends
within 15 years. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World have been launched in
2017 which work in the achievement of world without the framework of
malnutritionSustainable Development (Goals Ruel, Garrett and Yosef 2017). In the year
2017, the number of undernourished people had been reached 821 million. The
undernourishment and severe food insecurity is known to take place in almost all the sub
regions of Africa as well as in South America.
Measurement of hunger and food security
The prevalence of undernourishment
The prevalence of undernourishment is used by the Food and Agricultural
Organization which is used for monitoring hunger at the global as well as regional level. The

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prevalence of undernourishment is estimated by using the various statistical model. The PoU
is known as the estimate of the proportion of the population whose consumption of food is
insufficient for providing the dietary energy levels which is required to maintain a normal as
well as healthy life (McLaughlin and Kinzelbach 2015). When the levels of PoU is already
low in nature, it cannot further help in reduction of hunger.
Pillars of food security
According to the World Health Organization, here are presence of three pillars which
are known to determine the food security (Sibhatu, . and Qaim 2017)However, in the year
2009, the World Summit is known to introduce another pillar of food security
Availability
One of the pillar of food security is the food availability which relates to the food
supply through exchange, distribution and production. The production of food is known to be
determine by various factors which includes land ownership, crop selection, livestock
breeding and harvesting. The crop production is known to get affected by the changes in the
temperature and rainfall. The food distribution which comprised of the storage, transport,
processing and marketing of food (Ruel, Garrett, and Yosef 2017). The poor transport
infrastructures will be increasing the price of water supply and fertilizers. The land that is
used for agriculture can be used for urbanization. It can also lose to desertification and can
either result to soil erosion because of the unsustainable agricultural practice.Since food
consumers are known to outnumber producers in every country and therefore food must be
distributed to various nations. The exchange of food is known to require various trading
systems which are known to affect the food security. The per capita world food supply are
more than adequate for providing the food security to all and for this reason, food
accessibility is known to be great barrier for achieving the food security.

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Access
The food access refer to the affordability and food allocation along with preferences
households and preferences. Poverty is known to limit access to food and can also help in
increasing the vulnerability of food. There are basically two types of success to food. One is
the direct access, where the household is known to produce food using material and human
resources. The second one is the economic access where in which a people are known to
purchase food that is produced elsewhere. For this particular issue location is known to
affect the food accessability and it also depends on what type of access the family will be
relying on(McLaughlin and Kinzelbach, 2015). The education level of the family members,
demographics and gender of the household head is known to determine the household
preferences which will also influence on the type of food which is known to purchase. The
access to enough nutritious food of the household will not assure adequate amount of food
intake of all the family members. Household with enough resources will also be overcoming
unstable harvests and shortages of local food which will also maintain their access to food.
Poverty is also known to limit access to food.
Utilization
Another pillar of food security is the food utilization which is known to refer to the
metabolism of the food by the individuals. The food safety is known to affect the utilization
of food. It is also known to be affected by the preparation, cooking and processing of food in
the community and households. Education about the food preparation and nutrition will be
affect food utilization and will improve the pillar of food security. The household’s
nutritional values is known to determine the choices of food and also whether food meets the
cultural preferences is used for utilization in terms of psychological and social wellbeing.

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Sanitation can also help in decreases of occurrence and the spread of diseases which is known
to affect the food utilization
Stability
Food stability is known to refer to the ability for obtaining food over time. The food
insecurity can also be seasonal, chronic or transitory in nature. In case of transitory food
security, food might be unavailable during certain period of time. Sometimes natural
disasters and drought lead to crop failure and decrease in the availability of food. The civil
conflicts will also help in decreasing the access to food. Food insecurity are caused due to
loss of employment or productivity which can also take place due to illness. Seasonal food
security is also known to take place from the growing seasons in the production of food. The
chronic food security is known to be the long term lack of adequate supply of food where the
households are known to be at risk of unable to acquire food in order to meet the needs of the
members.
Sustainable agriculture development for the food security and nutrition
The agricultural development plays an important role in reduction of poverty in the
context of economic development and growth as a whole. The sustainable food systems are
those food systems that is known to ensure food security and nutrition for all in such a way
that the economic, environment and social bases for generating food security. Agricultural
development is the key to the food security in various ways which is also known to contribute
to food availability, stability and access through the diversity of the food produced. The
growth of the population, growth of income, changing diets and urbanization are some of the
main drivers of the increased demand for the agricultural production in the coming years
(Ruel, Garrett and Yosef 2017). The Green Revolution also acts as an important driver in the

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nutritional food production. Agriculture is also known to provide employment to more than
1.3 billion of the people worldwide where more than 90 percent of the population belongs to
the developing countries. The Green Revolution is built on the work of the crop scientists and
also involves the usage of high yielding verities crops with expanses irrigation and
application of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides with improved management techniques.
However, specialization of the agricultural systems had led to significant level of loss in
biodiversity with potential effects on the environmental sustainability of the farming systems
(Devereux. and Nzabamwita 2018). One of the central issues is to find the relationship
between the agricultural development and access to food which states the reason behind 790
million hungry people. It have also been found out that agriculture and associated industries
are known to reduce the mass poverty and food security which will be requiring a
productivity revolution in small holder farming where in these sectors the countries tend to be
dominated by women. In urbanized countries, agriculture helps in reducing the rural poverty
when smallholders are connected to modern food chain markets.
Challenges of achieving food security
Global water crisis
Water crisis is one of the challenge in achieving food security. The water tables are
known to fall in many countries as a result of widespread over pumping which is done by
using powerful diesel ad electric pumps. For this reason, it will be leading to water scarcity
and cutbacks in the grain harvest. China is known to develop grain deficit as a result of
overpumping of the aquifers. When this will be taking place, it will also lead go rise in the
grain prices. Since most of the African are dependent on the agricultural lifestyle and more
than eighty percent of the families in rural Africa is known to rely upon their own food and
for this reason water scarcity will be translating for the loss of food security. The irrigation

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have also resulted to rapid drop in the water table. The wells of the small farmers and the
local people are known to run dry and the water supply of many cities are under threat.
Land degradation
Intensive farming are known to lead to a vicious cycle of exhaustion of soil fertility
align with declination of the agricultural yields. Forty percent of the agricultural land of the
world is known to degrade highly. In case of Africa, if the present situation of the soil
degradation continues, by the end of 2025, the country will be able to feed only 25 percent of
the population.
Climate change
Some of the extreme natural events like droughts and floods are known to increase
when the climate changes and the global warming takes hold. These extreme events such as
droughts will also have an effect on the agricultural sectors. A shift in the weather pattern
will lead to a rise in the temperature (Burchi and De Muro 2016). When there is a rise in
temperature as a result of climate change there is a risk of decline in the food supply as a
result of heat damage. As more than 2 billion people will be living in the drainage basin,
people from Nepal, Myanmar, India, china and Pakistan can experience floods which will be
followed by severe droughts. Sea level is also reported to increase as a result of climate
change which will reduce the land availability for agriculture production. From the food
security perspective, the climate change is the dominant source to the increase in the recent
years.
Agricultural disease
The disease which is known to affect the livestock is known to have devastating effect
on the food availability. The genetic diversity of the crop wild of wheat can be used for
improving the modern varieties in order to become resistant to rust.

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Wastage of foods
Another challenge in achieving the food security is the wastage of food. The Global
Food security index have stated that ford insecurity is known to be very much severe in
France than the United States in spite of huge amount of food waste in the United States of
America. The waste of the consumable food is known to even gain attention from the food
conglomerates. Country like France, have worked for combating the food security by
addressing food waste.
Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is farming by sustainable ways which is based on the understanding
of the services of ecosystems.
Food security through sustainable agriculture
The food security is based in sustainable agricultural production and the usage of
resources have a key role in ensuring the quality production. Sustainable development in
agriculture is known to include certain criteria for ecosystem, air, soil and biological diversity
conservation. The economy of the natural resource exploitation is known to aim at
maintaining the food security together. The food security is also dependent on the sustainable
agricultural production and the rational utilization of the resources which is known to play an
essential role in the process. One of the main objective of the sustainable agriculture is
conservation and protection of renewable resources. The food security is also associated with
the food self-sufficiency with the need to produce more food. In case of the low income
economies where a high percentage of population is known to live in the rural area, for them
the growth of the food production is an important element of the food security. On the other
hand, in case of developed country the focus is mainly known to lie on the quality of food
and safety and also on the social protection of various categories of the person. The food

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security of the population is also based on the sustainable food production. The rational use
of resources is also known to have important role in obtaining necessary food production.
The assessment of food security is important for any kind of development project for
identifying the unreliable food products and evaluate the severity of the food deficit.
Gender and food security
The gender inequality can lead to and also is a result to the food insecurity in most of
the countries. The report from the World Bank shows that women make up to more than
sixty percent of the worlds hungry. Women is known to face discrimination both in
education as well as in employment opportunities and also in the households. The bargaining
power of women is also known to be lower in nature. The employment of women is
important for advancement of the gender equality as a well as sustainable future since it will
mean less pressure on the net migration as well as on high birth rate. Women is also known to
play an important role in the production of food and the need of children. Women also plays
an important role in the production of food, processing, marketing and distribution of food.
The number of people who are known to be affected by hunger is known to be extremely
high. the factors which comprises of capitalism and exploration of the indigenous lands
which contribute to food insecurity in case of minorities. Women are also known to face huge
amount of discrimination in the access of finance, land, credit and technologies. Some of the
studies also suggest that when women will treated same as men, women will be boosting their
yields by twenty to thirty percent and raising the overall agricultural output in the developing
countries by four to five percent. The gendered aspects of the food security is known to be
visible along with the food security that is food availability, access, stability and utilization
which is known own to be defined by the Food and Agricultural Organization. Food and
nutrition insecurity is related to political and economic phenomenon which is known to be
fuelled by both global as well as national process.

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Risks related to the food security
Growth of the population
The current projections shows that there will be continued increase in the future
population with the global population which is expected to reach to more than 10 billion in
the coming years. Most of the people are known to suffer s a result of overpopulation where
more than twenty-five thousand people are known to die as a result of malnutrition along
with hunger related diseases. The production of food also known to depend on the croplands
and water supply which are known to remain under strain as a result of increase in the human
population. Pressure on the limited land resources which is known to be driven by the
growth of population can lead to expansion of the cropland (Thirkell et al. 2017). This will be
leading to destruction of vital forest resources and over exploitable of the lands. It have been
also found out that almost one in every seven people are known to be chronically hungry
which will lack enough food in order to be healthy and lead active lives. Most of the
countries which comprise of the huge population is known to face food security also have
high fertility rates along with rapid growth of population. Food production is also dependent
on the croplands and water supply which is known to remain under strain as population will
be increasing.
Dependence on the fossil fuels
When the agricultural output have known to increase, the consumption of energy for
production of crops have also increased at a high rate. The techniques of the Green
Revolution also known to have heavily dependent on the chemical fertilizers, herbicides and
pesticides making agriculture reliant on petroleum (Sibhatu and Qaim 2017). As the result of
the green revolution, the world grain production have known to increase by more than 200
percent. The energy for the Green Revolution had been provided by the fossil fuel in the form

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of fertilizers, hydrocarbons and pesticides. In order to achieve a sustainable economy, the
world population is known to be reduced by two third.
Global food supply
The diets of the human across the world have known to become quite diverse in the
consumption of the staple crops with the decline in the consumption of local or regional
important crops. The modern diet of global standard comprises an increase in the large
percentage of crops of staple commodity which have known to rise in the share of total food
energy. The change in the diversity of crop in the human diet is known to get associated with
the mixed effect on the food security which is also known to improve under nutrition in
some of the regions.
Setting of prices
The price setting also acts as the risk to the food security. Thailand , which is known
to be one of the biggest exporters of rice announced the creation of the Organization of Rice
Exporting Countries with the potential of developing into a price fixing cartel for rice
(Sibhatu and Qaim 2017). This is also a project for organization of more than twenty rice
exporting countries which will help in controlling the price of rice. The counties will be
mainly comprising of Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Subsiding agriculture in case of United States of America
The subsidies of the agriculture are paid to the farmers as well as to the agribusiness
for supplementing their income, mange the supply of the commodities for influencing the
cost and supply of the commodities. In case of the United States, the crops that is subsidized
by the government is known to contribute to the obesity problems. More than $20 billion had
been spent for growing the crops such as corn and soy which are also the main ingredients in
the processing of fatty foods. People who are known to consume the subsidized food have a

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high risk of getting obese compared to those people who did not consume the subsided food.
The subsidies result in those commodities which are known to be quite cheap in nature
compared to those recommended by the dietary guidelines.
Sustainability challenge for livestock in the agricultural development
The goal of the sustainable agricultural development is ensuring food security and
nutrition for the present as well as for the future generation. The growing demand for food is
known to create huge amount of opportunities for the development of agriculture which is
known to include livestock. The expected growth in production to meet the demand will be
also raising challenges when agricultural development is to become more sustainable in
nature. The agricultural ecosystem is known to provide human with food, fuel and non
material goods which are essential for collection (Burchi and De Muro 2016). . Education
about the food preparation and nutrition will be affect food utilization and will improve the
pillar of food security. The household’s nutritional values is known to determine the choices
of food and also whether food meets the cultural preferences is used for utilization in terms of
psychological and social well being. Sanitation can also help in decreases of occurance and
the spread of diseases which is known to affect the food utilization (Burlingame and Dernini
2018). Since the population of world have continued to grow, huge efforts is urgently needed
for increasing the sustainable agricultural production for the future needs along with
improvement of the global supply chain and decrease in the food losses and waste. It should
also be ensured that people who are suffering from malnutrition and hunger should be having
access to nutritious food. The goal of the Sustainable Development is ending hunger and also
achieving food securityalong with promoting sustainable development.

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Conclusion
There are presence of strong and direct relationship between the agricultural
productivity, hunger, sustainability and poverty. Hunger and child malnutrition are known to
be much greater in the areas computed to those of the urban areas. Crop insurance is known
to be purchased by the agricultural producers for protecting themselves. The food security is
therefore the measure of the availability of the food and accessibility of food where
accessibility will be including affordability. Therefore, in order to conclude it can be said
that food security is the availability of the moderate world food supplies of the basic
foodstuffs for steady expansion of the food consumption. The agricultural development
known to play an important role in improvement of the food security. The production of food
also known to depend on the croplands and water supply which are known to remain under
strain as a result of increase in the human population. Pressure on the limited land resources
which is known to be driven by the growth of population can lead to expansion of the
cropland. This will be leading to destruction of vital forest resources and over exploitable of
the lands. Women also known to play vital role in the management of many livestock
systems. In some cases, animal disease are known to economic loss in developing countries.
Livestock plays a crucial economic role in the food systems which is known to provide
income , wealth and employment. The sustainable development is to end hunger and rural
poverty along with tackling climate changes and other issues.

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