Is food security a basic human right or something only the fortunate few can access?

So why is this happening? What is the impact of food insecurity on those affected? And what can we can do, both as individuals and collectively, to right these wrongs.

According to Concern Worldwide, food security is the measure of an individual’s ability to access food that is nutritious and sufficient in quantity.

The concept comprises four pillars: Availability: the existence of food within a community; Access: having enough food in a community means very little if there is poor access to it; Utilisation: not all food is of equal or sufficient value; Stability: good food stability means that access, availability, and utilisation of food remains relatively stable over time.

Meanwhile, the Realigning Agriculture to Nutrition (RAIN) programme in Niger, which was funded by Kerry Group between 2012 and 2015, focused on improving food and nutrition security and enhancing the livelihoods of the most vulnerable households in Tahoua.

The UN estimates that the global population will reach 10 billion by 2050 and that as the population continues to grow, it will become necessary for food production and food accessibility to grow in tandem with that.

The Covid-19 pandemic threatened the food security of millions of people worldwide.

Reduced incomes, increased unemployment, and higher food prices in many regions have greatly reduced access to food for those affected.

Furthermore, necessary border restrictions and lockdowns brought in to stop the spread of Covid-19 caused disruptions to the transportation and production of food.

According to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the UN, the number of food-insecure people categorised as crisis level or worse nearly doubled in 2020.

It asserts that the economic fallout of Covid-19 affected food production at all levels.

But what happens when there is no food security?

Concern says there are a number of factors at play that include malnutrition, stunting, and mental health difficulties.

When a child does not receive the proper nutrition, particularly during their first 1,000 days from conception to their second birthday, they will likely suffer stunting.

The 2020 Global Hunger Index lists the top 10 hungriest countries as Nigeria, Afghanistan, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mozambique, Haiti, Madagascar, Timor-leste, and Chad.

FAO says that women, small-scale farmers, and urban poor are most at risk when there is little or no food security.

“Building climate change resilience, addressing the inequalities of hunger and the provision of conflict-sensitive relief can together help,” it adds.

“And, Governments play a key role in improving the food security of its citizens.”

Here in Ireland, Food Vision 2030 was launched in July which takes a food systems approach with sustainability at its heart.

Dr Nick Chisholm, who leads the MSc Food Security Policy and Management at UCC, says the sustainable approach to food systems in Food Vision 2030 is the way to go.

He pointed out that it focuses on sustainability and not just on production which will bring change to the way in which Irish farmers produce their food.

“This is very important because some people would say that supply is one of the issues around food insecurity but that is not necessarily the case,” he continued.

“It is more about access to enough food and access to the right kind of food; when you start to take a sustainable food systems approach then you have to look at the environmental issues associated with production and also at the health and nutritional aspect of that food.”

And, in that context, there is still a lot more that Ireland can do, he continued.

“We are going to have to do something about greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture — you can’t look at food security without looking at the food production system as a whole.”

Meanwhile, the Global Food Security Food Index recently ranked Ireland second in the world.

Dr Chisholm says that from that, Ireland can regard itself as “doing well” and the country is doing so in terms of the availability and affordability of food.

But, he adds, “I feel that over the next decade or two there is going to be a much stronger focus on sustainable food systems and that is going to lead to more of a focus on local supply.

“Ireland does export 85% of the food it produces and I’m not sure that kind of pattern can be maintained in the long term; we have to change primarily because of the environmental dimension.

“We import a lot of fruit and vegetables, many of which we could grow ourselves.

“Similarly, we import a huge amount of animal feed and a lot of that is based on soya that is produced in intensive conditions in the Amazon where deforestation is present.

“We may be looking at reducing our dairy exports alongside some reduction in the national herd.

“I know that is quite controversial but I don’t really see how we are going to meet our greenhouse gas emissions targets without doing something there.”

He continued: “It’s important to say too that Ireland’s agricultural industry is incredibly efficient and we are not talking about radical change here, just some changes from an environmental perspective.

“When you look at the food system approach, you have to look at things like the conditions for workers in the meat factories, for example — these are not directly related to food security but are related to the whole food systems approach.

“And I think that if Ireland really wants to take the lead on sustainable food systems, that is another area that would need to be looked at.”