Eight hundred million people around the world suffer from hunger, not because there is too little food to go around but because of inequalities in access to power that result in unequal distribution of resources. Ending hunger is central to resolving the interrelated issues of population growth, civil unrest and environmental destruction that increasingly threaten the quality of life for everyone.
Ending hunger must build from people’s creativity: their skills, resources and decisions. It is essential to create an environment in which people have the opportunity and empowerment they need to develop self-reliance. Women and girls are the most affected by hunger and poverty. Traditionally, women bear the primary responsibilities in the most relevant areas: food production, nutrition, family planning, primary health and education. A central component of effective strategy must be the empowerment of women.
At the same time, food security, ensuring that all people have access to safe and nutritious food, is threatened by increased corporatization of our food and agricultural systems including the use of pesticides and harmful chemicals to grow food; factory farming and increasing production of genetically modified food.
To learn more about hunger and food security, check out our annotated bibliographies: