Eating for the FutureResources: GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY Global food security refers to “a world where every person has access to sufficient food to sustain a healthy and productive life, where malnutrition is absent, and where food originates from efficient, effective, and low-cost food systems that are compatible with sustainable use of natural resources.” (International Food Policy Research Institute) In today’s world we face a food paradox. Enough food is produced world-wide for every man, woman, and child to consume 2,700 calories per day. At a time when poor health in developing countries is often linked to inadequate food and chronic disease in prosperous countries is tied to too much food, the issue of global food security broadens to involve not only agriculture, but also human health, social justice and the environment in which we live. PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
Public Health Implications of Meat Production and Consumption
Walker P, et al. Public Health Nutrition: 8(4), 348–356
"The paper...invites us to widen our field of vision as researchers. For the rising levels of meat consumption, as on other fronts, the formal study of connections between production, consumption, social and environmental consequences and human biological health should be incorporated into the modern public health agenda." Reviewers Anthony J. McMichael and Hilary J. Bambrick
New Consumers: The influence of affluence on the environment
Myers N and Kent J. Proceedings of the National Academies of Science 2003 April 15; 100(8): 4963–4968.
Growing consumption can cause major environmental damage. This is becoming especially significant through the emergence of over 1 billion new consumers, people in 17 developing and three transition countries with an aggregate spending capacity, in purchasing power parity terms, to match that of the U.S. Two of their consumption activities have sizeable environmental impacts: meat consumption and personal automobile use. Global Food Security – Challenges and Policies
Rosegrant MW, Cline SA. Science, Vol 302, Issue 5652, 1917-1919 , 12 December 2003
“Global food security will remain a worldwide concern for the next 50 years and beyond. Recently, crop yield has fallen in many areas because of declining investments in research and infrastructure, as well as increasing water scarcity. Climate change and HIV/AIDS are also crucial factors affecting food security in many regions. Although agroecological approaches offer some promise for improving yields, food security in developing countries could be substantially improved by increased investment and policy reforms.” 
POSITION PAPERS AND TECHNICAL REPORTS
Globalization, Diets and Noncommunicable Diseases
Tullao TS. World Health Organization, 2002
“Noncommunicable diseases have become a major heath problem not just in developed countries but also in developing countries. Already 79% of the deaths attributed to the noncommunicable diseases occur in developing countries. The rising trends are a consequence of the demographic and dietary transition, and the globalization of economic processes. This publication is a collection of papers written by experts in the fields of nutrition, epidemiology, economics, and marketing.” Meat and meat products in human nutrition in developing countries
Bender A. Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), 1992.
This document reviews the role of meat in the diet, emphasizing the health benefits of meat and animal source foods in regions where food source is limited and malnutrition is common. Trade Reforms and Food Security: Conceptualizing the Linkages
FAO, 2003
The purpose of this publication is to inform the research that underpins policy analysis, and the negotiations and/or prescriptions that follow, such that these enhance, rather than worsen, the food security status of poor countries. It is intended to be complementary to the existing literature that explores the linkages between trade liberalization, economic openness and poverty, but which does not explicitly explore the implications for food security. The impact of the 'buy local' movement on the global food industry
Management Briefing, Just-food.com, 2004
Because of increasing demands on natural resources and agriculture systems associated with the rising world population, producers, retailers, researchers and consumers alike must engage in sustainable agriculture practices. In the global economy the distance a food travels from the origin of production to the point of sale, called "food miles", is steadily increasing. In contrast to the proliferation of these vast "food miles" is the local-foods movement, a grassroots effort to encourage consumers to think about where and how their food is produced. (Free to members of just-food.com)
POLICY STATEMENTS AND INITIATIVES World Food Summit and the Rome Declaration on World Food Security
The historic World Food Summit of 1996 was called in response to the continued existence of widespread undernutrition and growing concern about the capacity of agriculture to meet future food needs. With representatives from 185 countries and the European Community, the Summit brought together close to 10 000 participants, and provided a forum for debate on one of the most important issues facing world leaders in the new millennium - the imperative of eradicating hunger. The Rome Declaration sets forth seven commitments which lay the basis for achieving sustainable food security for all and the Plan of Action spells out the objectives and actions relevant for practical implementation of these seven commitments.
Summit homepage:  Rome declaration: The State of Food Insecurity in the World – monitoring progress towards the World Food Summit and the Millennium Development Goals
The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2004 reports on progress and setbacks in efforts to reach the goal set by the World Food Summit (WFS) in 1996 - to halve the number of chronically hungry people in the world by the year 2015. PDF
Reaching Sustainable Food Security for All by 2020
International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), 2002
The 2020 Vision for Food, Agriculture, and the Environment is an initiative of the IFPRI, launched in 1993 in collaboration with partners around the world. The 2020 Vision Initiative seeks to develop and promote a shared vision for how to meet the world’s food needs while reducing poverty and protecting the environment and seeks to generate information and encourage debate to influence action by all relevant parties.
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