Global Food Security - Report Example

Global Food Security Name Professor Institution Course Date Global Food Security Currently the world is evident to be facing potential challenges in the sector of food, and this is attributed by different factors such as increased population, poor climatic changes and reduced resources in most parts of the world. The food security problem is a challenge that is facing every country including the developed countries because sometimes they have to import some of the foods that people consume from producing countries such as those whose economy is built up by agriculture. Providing the world with sustainable and secure food supply is not only the challenge of the governments, but also of individual human beings because they have to strive to meet the food demands because it is the most fundamental human need. From the observation made by World Health Organization (WHO), the challenges in food supply across various regions contribute immensely to ill health which leads to poor performances in other sectors. The major issue that this paper aims at investigating is the food security problem, and this follows the observation that it is becoming a challenge to satisfy the global growing population with nutritious and high quality food. It is a growing challenge due to the fact that the resources are declining in most environments, and the impacts of unfavorable changes in the global climate are negatively affecting the supply of food in most regions of the world. Food prices have increased in most markets due to reasons such as biofuel production and according to the argument presented by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), climate change and commodity market are other factors that contribute to increase in food prices. Global Food Security as an Issue of the Common Good The issue of food security can be considered to be an element of common good, and this is to the perception that it is an issue that requires the current policies in the government to be modified and new reforms strategized to address the issue. With respect to various challenges that various governments are currently facing in terms of food security, it is essential for these governments to consider strategies and measures that they can use to improve the situation and save the lives of millions of people starving. Additionally, food security does not only integrate provision of food, but also considers the nutritious impacts of the foods and the quality of the food to the health of the consumers (Tilman, 2001). Therefore, there is need for the governments to address the issue of food security through the help of other personnel and organizations that find the essence of settling the issue as a common good because it aims at improving the lives of people. People and Groups responsible for Food Security There are several and different bodies in any nation that are responsible for addressing the issue of food security, and to some extent, these bodies fail to accomplish their roles leading to prolonged and unending challenges in the food security sectors. These bodies play a major role in ensuring that factors that may hinder productivity in the food sectors are evaluated and appropriate remedies strategized on the most effective ways of increasing food productivity in the entire world. It has been observed that the issue of food insecurity is not a regional or national challenge, but it is an international and global predicament because once one nation is affected, the other stable nations are obliged to come in to help in resolving the issue. With this understanding, it is easy to find out some of the organizations, groups and individuals who are responsible for the global food security challenge. Additionally, it is essential to assess their contribution towards resolving the issue and more importantly, their future perception towards ending the challenge to save the lives of millions of people across the world that are starving. One of the organizations that have great impacts on the global food security is Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. CGIAR works with the perspective of reducing poverty in rural areas, and especially in the developing and underdeveloped countries. This strategy ensures that the people living in rural areas and the marginalized regions in the societies have access to the basic needs such as water, food, shelter and more importantly security and education. It has been observed that the research group functions with the focus of investigating some of the causes of poverty, the effects of poverty and some of the measures that can be employed to reduce rural poverty and at the same time creating a better living environment for the poor communities (Stuart, 2009). The researchers in the institute focus at investigating the strategies that can be used to improve the nutrition and health of people, especially in the rural areas where the resources are scarce or those regions where the climate conditions are not effective and favorable for productivity. This body plays a great role in determination of the regions that are partially or totally unproductive so that the governments and other food relief organization can concentrate their efforts to the regions. It is been observed that every country has defined organizations and institutes that are responsible for conducting research regarding food security, and they play a significant part in ensuring that poverty and the issue food security are addressed accordingly. With respect to the issue of global food security, nations need to share their research and development findings with their neighboring countries and if possible by the global organizations as this allows them to construct appropriate measures that can be used to curb food problem. It is also the obligation of the rich countries to offer assistance to poorer countries especially the underdeveloped nations to promote food security and establish stable and productive societies. The other group that is responsible for global food challenges is farmers producing food. It is clear that agriculture is the fundamental source of food, and it is the responsibility of the farmers to ensure that they play their parts in producing and distributing food to the markets. However, there are various challenges that limit the farmers and agricultural produce dealers from addressing the issue of food insecurity and these are with inclusion of unfavorable climatic conditions, lack of capital to purchase farming boasters such as fertilizers and reduced manpower. The farmers’ corporations and government run agricultural corporations need to understand the issues that lead to low productivity in some regions, and act accordingly so that to help in reducing the poverty rates and the food problem in those areas. However, some corporations and stable farmers tend to utilize the periods when some regions have low production of food to sell their farm produce at high costs because of the increased demand and low supply. It is with respect to this that the government needs to play its parts in regulating the food prices in the markets through development of policies that not only improve food productivity but also safeguards food security. The farmers and the agricultural corporations need to understand the ethical and environmental implications of both small and large scale farms as a way of increasing the productivity of both scales to end the challenge of food in the world. Additionally, the governments need to empower the farmers to use GM technology to improve their productivity and increase the food supply in the markets. The International Aid and Development Agencies such as the United Nations play a great role in eradicating poverty and addressing the issue of food insecurity in the developing and underdeveloped countries across the world. They are observed to investigate the best ways or measures through which people can use their energies to generate income and food to support their lives. These agencies do not aim at offering people food or capital, but instead work with people to help the meet their needs. According to the performances and functionality of the agencies, it is easy to promote sustainable agricultural development through the use of artificial insecticides and herbicides to increase productivity and reduce damage of harvested and paced foods by insects and weevils. Other bodies and groups that have great contribution to addressing the issue of global food security are with inclusion of the privately owned multinational agribusiness which focuses in helping the small agricultural production sectors and the upcoming farmers through provision of agricultural necessities. They not only work to make returns on their investment but also to increase agricultural productivity through supporting and financing the use of GM technologies to improve and increase the foods. This not only advances their businesses but also helps in addressing the issue of food insecurity in various countries especially in developed countries where people rely on genetically modified foods. The other recognizable group is the individuals who call for change in diet and attitudes because they concentrate on helping people realize the best foods and nutritious foods that they need to consumer to keep them healthy, strong and productive. The churches and religious leaders also play a great role in eradicating poverty and increasing food productivity through the teachings, prayers and donations that they make to the poor to address the issue of food insecurity and promote agriculture (Nelson et al., 2009). For instance, the church leaders emphasize on social teachings and agriculture where they invite agricultural specialist to advice the congregation on appropriate agricultural techniques to boast their food productivity. Analysis of Global Food Security in terms of Common Good Common good is considered to be a notion that relies in the specific general conditions that are important to the lives of people and equal to everyone’s advantage. It is a concept that is applied in addressing challenges that affect the social, economic and religious life of people. From one perspective, common good is understood to be the sum of conditions of social life which are applied in the performances of people in attempt to address the challenges that they face in life such as poverty, poor health and food insecurity (Schmidhuber & Tubiello, 2007). This understanding leads to the argument that the applicability of common good helps in addressing issues related to food insecurity across the world because people act in ways that favor their social life and economic desires to settle matters that hinder provision of food. The issue of eradicating poverty and global food security is therefore an act of common good because it helps all people irrespective of their class, age or economic status to have access to food without strain or great efforts. The fact that the citizens benefit from the common good of addressing the matter of food insecurity suffices to show the importance of empowering organizations, governments and farmers to improve their productivity in the agricultural and food sector to achieve the goal of eradicating poverty and food insecurity (Evans, 2009). Analysis of Global Food Security in terms of the Principles that Promote Human Flourishing There in an increased need to improve the agricultural systems in different countries, especially those whose main economy is agriculture as a way of safeguarding food to the nations and other countries across the world. It has been observed that irrespective of the efforts of the governments and other agricultural agencies to control food insecurity, the major burden lies on the adherence of the principles that promote human flourishing. Increased food production decreases hunger and poverty because people are able to access the basic need in life; food. However, the aspect of investigating the nutritious value and quality of the foods that are consumed or supplied to people in remote and poor region is ignored. It should be the obligation of the food organizations, health organizations and government agencies to ensure that they investigate and determine the health benefits accrued by some of the foods that are released to the markets such as the GM foods (Conway, 1997). This follows the observation that the foods might be a hazard to the health of people, and instead of saving the population such foods may kill people. This implies that the issue of global food security can be solved if it is considered and assessed from the common good perspective and by observing the principles that promote human flourishing. How the Common Good may be served in Relation to Global Food Security There are various understandings directed to the concept of common good in relation to global food security. These understandings are with inclusion of the argument that common good is a notion that people need to act in accordance to their social and economic norms to address issues related to food. This entails offering loans to the farming corporations and individual farmers by the financial institutions to boast their farming activities, and also donating farming necessities such as fertilizers and other farm boasters. Provided there are no illegal practices and irregularities associated with the techniques or methods that are used to curb food insecurity across the world, then all attempts made to address the issue are valued as common goods. The growing competition for basic and fundamental factors of production such as land, capital and labor among other sub-production factors in the agricultural sector such as water and energy has greatly affected the production in the agricultural sector. People need to be made aware of the benefits associated with production of their own foods rather than relying on donations and imported food. It is the responsibility of the government and the agricultural and farming corporations to support the farmers and other agricultural producers in meeting the goal of eradicating poverty and more importantly address the issue of food problem in the world. References Conway, G. (1997).The Doubly Green Revolution London: Penguin Books, Evans, A. (2009). The Feeding of the Nine Billion: Global Food Security. London: Chatham House, Nelson G. C. et al., (2009). Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute, Schmidhuber, J. & Tubiello, F. N. (2007). Global food security under climate change. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104, 19703 Stuart, T. (2009).Uncovering the Global Food Scandal. London: Penguin Tilman, D. (2001).Forecasting agriculturally driven global environmental change. Science 292, 281 Read More