Rethinking hunger
Despite
gains in expanding the food supply, at least 805 million people still go hungry
every day, of whom some 791 million live in developing countries, writes Jomo
Kwame Sundaram.
Jomo Kwame Sundaram
is Assistant Director-General and Coordinator for Economic and Social
Development at the Food and Agriculture Organisation.
The
world has a nutrition problem. Though great strides have been made toward the Millennium
Development Goal of
halving the proportion of undernourished people in developing countries, the
problem remains persistent, pervasive, and complex. After all, the issue goes
beyond merely providing more food; effective efforts to reduce undernourishment
must ensure that people have access to enough of the right types of food –
those that give them the nutrients they need to live healthy, productive lives.
Since
1945, food production has tripled, and food availability has risen by 40%, on
average, per person. Over the last decade alone, vegetable production in the
Asia-Pacific region, where more than three-quarters of the world’s vegetables
are grown, increased by one-quarter.
But,
despite these gains in expanding the food supply, at least 805 million people still go hungry every day,
of whom some 791 million live in developing countries. Many more go hungry
seasonally or intermittently. And more than two billion people suffer from “hidden hunger” – one or more micronutrient
deficiencies.
Hunger
and undernourishment damage the health and productivity of adults, undermining
their ability to learn and work. Moreover, they impede children’s physical and
cognitive development, and leave them more susceptible to illness and premature
death. Stunted growth due to malnutrition affects one in four children under
the age of five.
Adequate
nutrition is most vital during the first 1,000 days of life (from conception to
a child’s second birthday). But, even after that, hunger and undernourishment
continue to diminish children’s chances of surviving to adulthood, much less
reaching their full potential.
Ironically,
in many parts of the world, pervasive hunger coexists with rising levels of
obesity. More than 1.5 billion people are overweight, with one-third of them
considered obese. These people are particularly vulnerable to non-communicable
diseases like heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Contrary
to popular belief, obesity is often related less to an overabundance of food
than to inadequate access to affordable, diverse, and balanced diets. The
challenge facing the international community is thus to ensure adequate
consumption of the right kinds of food.
This
means developing food systems that are more responsive to people’s needs,
particularly those of the socially excluded and economically marginalised.
Mothers, young children, the elderly, and the disabled are among the most
vulnerable to the pitfalls of undernourishment, and should be given special
attention in efforts to end food insecurity and undernourishment.
In order
to ensure that today’s efforts benefit future generations, strategies to
improve global food systems must emphasise environmental sustainability.
Specifically, world leaders must reassess prevailing food-production processes,
which often put considerable stress on natural resources by exhausting
freshwater supplies, encroaching on forests, degrading soils, depleting wild
fish stocks, and reducing biodiversity. Making matters worse, the lack of
adequate infrastructure for storing and transporting food to consumers
contributes to massive losses.
Of
course, it is essential to strike the right balance between producing enough
nutrient-dense food and preserving the environment. Consider livestock
production, which accounts for many foods – including milk, eggs, and meat –
that have enriched diets in developing countries and provide livelihoods for
millions. Unsustainable production systems, combined with wasteful and
excessive consumption in some regions of the world, have had serious
consequences in terms of climate change, disease transmission, and nutritional
balance.
But,
with a strong political commitment, global food-production systems can be
transformed. An obvious step would be to ensure that all food-related programs, policies, and interventions account for nutrition and
sustainability. Likewise, food-related research and development should focus on
facilitating the production of nutrient-rich foods and the diversification of
farming systems. Finding ways to use water, land, fertilizer, and labor more
efficiently, and with minimal adverse impact, is essential to ecological
sustainability.
Equally
important will be interventions that empower local communities to improve their diets. This requires
comprehensive public-health and education campaigns, social protection to
enhance resilience, and initiatives to boost employment and income generation.
Finally,
producers and distributors need support and encouragement to transform their
existing systems. After all, a shift toward sustainability cannot come at the
expense of farmers’ livelihoods.
Better
nutrition makes economic sense. Malnutrition in all of its forms reduces global
economic welfare by about 5% annually, through foregone output and additional
costs incurred. The economic gains of reducing micronutrient deficiencies are
estimated to have a cost/benefit ratio of almost 1:13.
The
upcoming Second International Conference on Nutrition in Rome will provide a historic
opportunity to galvanize political commitment to enhance nutrition for all
through better policies and international solidarity. Failure to make the
needed investments in food access, nutrition, and sustainability is morally –
and economically – unjustifiable.
© Project
Syndicate, 2014
