With the increase in the global movement of people and goods, food security-access to adequate and sustainable food supply-and food security have become topics of widespread concern to the international community. What measures are being taken to ensure that the world's growing population can get reliable and affordable nutritious food? How safe is the global food supply?
Tony Hall, the US Ambassador-designate to the United Nations Hunger and Food Organization and Congressman, said in the first article of this issue of Economic Outlook that only a small number of hungry and malnourished people in the world have been helped by food aid programs. He said that the hasty and expedient measures to solve the food security problem must be replaced by carefully designed projects by the main stakeholders in the affected communities to ensure a predictable and stable food supply suitable for local conditions.
Hall and other experts first asked whether food insecurity was a symptom or a cause of poverty. Hall believes that hungry people are so focused on getting their next meal that they can't take advantage of many traditional ways to get rid of poverty, such as education and alternative agricultural technologies, which can help them achieve food security in the long run. These experts recommended some new methods, such as providing direct food aid to families whose children are still in school, legally protecting rural property rights, and encouraging farmers to make investments that can improve food productivity. Others believe that food insecurity is not a problem of food production shortage, but that the government ignores agricultural development, fails to make effective use of food aid, and makes it more difficult to alleviate hunger through protective trade barriers.
There are success stories. Bangladesh, once heavily dependent on food imports, has transformed its devastated agricultural sector into one of the most productive agricultural economies in South Asia through the global partnership among foreign aid agencies, international research institutions and local NGOs. Experts say that greater crop diversification will contribute to further food security in Bangladesh.
Food security and security are closely linked. On the one hand, transgenic technology is most likely to increase grain output, reduce the use of harmful chemical pesticides and provide nutritious food. On the other hand, some people think that this technology is not a hope, but a new threat to the environment and health. Some people think that the food safety supervision structure in the United States is the best in the world, ensuring the safety of domestic and export food supplies. Others say that although this structure is good, more food labels are needed to let consumers know which products include or exclude genetically modified foods and ingredients.
This issue of Economic Outlook does not support all these issues, but aims to let foreign audiences know about American policies and American policies on food safety, and put forward important issues that policymakers in various countries must solve when formulating future development and environmental policies.
Explanation of the World Food and Agriculture Organization:
What is food security?
Food security exists when all people have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food at all times, both materially and economically, so as to lead a healthy and active life (World Food Summit Plan of Action, para. 10). 1). This involves four conditions:
(i) The adequacy of food supply or availability;
(two) the supply is stable, and there is no seasonal or annual fluctuation or shortage;
(iii) Access to or affordability of food; and
(iv) Quality and safety of food.
Chinese:
What is the definition of food security?
Food security means that all people can get enough, safe and nutritious food materially and economically at any time to meet their dietary needs for a healthy and active life (paragraph 1 of the World Food Summit Plan of Action). This involves four conditions:
(1) Adequate food supply or availability;
(2) the supply is stable, not fluctuating or insufficient due to season or year;
(3) Availability and affordability of food;
(4) High-quality and safe food.
Special Food Security Programme of FAO: Special Programme for Food Security (FPFS)
What are the main objectives of this project?
The main objectives of SPFS are: (1) to help low-income developing countries improve national food security by rapidly increasing productivity and grain output; (ii) Reduce the annual change of production on the basis of economic and environmental sustainability; (3) Improve the access of families to food. Increasing farmers' net income, rural employment and social and gender equality are the core features of SPFS.
The main objectives of the Special Plan are: (1) to help low-income food-deficit countries strengthen national food security by rapidly increasing productivity and food production; (ii) Reducing annual output fluctuations on the basis of economic and environmental sustainability; (iii) Improving access to food for families. Increasing farmers' net income, rural employment, social equity and gender equality are the core of this special plan.