Food security and sustainability (local and global food production, environmental impact, fair trade)

Food Security

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food.
It involves different aspects such as food availability, food accessibility, food utilization, and stability of the food supply.
Undernutrition and malnutrition can be a result of food insecurity.
The world population is expected to grow to 9.8 billion by 2050, increasing the pressure on global food production.
Current challenges to achieving global food security include climate change, loss of biodiversity, and soil degradation.

Sustainable agriculture meets society’s food and textile needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
This approach aims at protecting the environment, public health, human communities, and animal welfare.
It encourages methods such as crop rotation, companion planting, beneficial insects, and organic fertilizers, reducing dependency on synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and genetically modified organisms.
Sustainable farming systems like permaculture and agroforestry provide opportunities to improve soil health, increase biodiversity, and produce a variety of crops simultaneously.
Aquaponics is another sustainable food production practice, combining aquaculture (raising aquatic animals) and hydroponics (growing plants in water) in a symbiotic environment.

Local food systems focus on production, processing, distribution, and consumption that is geographically localised.
It’s suggested that local food production can reduce a community’s carbon footprint by minimising transportation and the need for preservation methods. However, it is important to consider factors such as how food is grown and the environmental impact of its production.
In contrast, global food production can provide a wide range of foods year-round, but it involves high energy use for transportation and storage with potential impacts on food quality due to chemical preservatives.

Agriculture is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, largely from deforestation, rice cultivation, and livestock farming.
Pesticides and fertilisers used in farming can pollute water sources, affecting aquatic biodiversity.
Overfishing can deplete fish populations, causing imbalances in marine ecosystems.
Sustainable practices such as organic farming, regenerative agriculture, and conservation practices are encouraged to reduce adverse environmental impacts.

Fair trade is an institutional arrangement designed to help producers in developing countries achieve better trading conditions.
It advocates for higher prices for producers, improved social and environmental standards.
The Fairtrade Mark indicates that the product meets internationally agreed social, environmental and economic Fairtrade Standards.
Consumers can contribute to fair trade by choosing certified products, thus supporting small-scale producers and workers in developing countries.