Defining Food Security

MFA Livestock and Food security finished
Based on the 1996 World Food Summit, Food security is defined as: the state in which all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. This definition, established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, encompasses four key dimensions:

1. Food Availability: Does a country or region have enough food? A region achieves food availability by producing its own food, importing it or receiving food assistance/aid.
2. Food Access: Can families and individuals access the food in their region? Food may be available in a region, but whether individuals can access it is another matter. This covers issues such as food affordability, whether there are economic markets to purchase food, or whether there is infrastructure to give individuals food if they cannot buy it. Food affordability is based on the interaction between people's incomes and food prices, and both of these factors are key considerations in food access.
3. Food Utilization: Individuals may have access to food, but may not be able to utilize it. To be utilized, food should be safe, palatable and individuals should know how to prepare it. Whether a food is culturally appropriate may also play a role. Another key component of food utilization is the nutritional content of food, as food is more than simply calories.
4. Food Stability: Are food availability, food access and food utilization stable over time? How prone is a food system to random or seasonal shocks that can compromise food security?

Ensuring global food security is a key priority of organizations such as the FAO and The World Bank. All governments consider food security to be a key priority, though challenges and solutions look very different from country to country.

As can be seen from figure 1 below, much of the world is considered to be free from moderate or severe food insecurity. However, there are many countries where more than half of the population is food insecure, including Afghanistan, Yemen, Guatemala, Cambodia, and crucially, most of Sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, food security cannot be achieved permanently with the recent COVID19 pandemic showing that food stability for many countries can shift rapidly.

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Figure 1: Food insecurity worldwide. Explore the map interactively and download the data here.