New Challenges to Food Security

Food insecurity is a global issue, with higher prevalence of hunger in developing countries. Low crop yield and food production - due to difficult topography and traditional farming methods - combined with lower income; fluctuations in prices and supply, and low quality of food have been causing food insecurity in Nepal. This research examines food (in)security situation in Upper-Mustang, Nepal. The results are derived from the data collected through face–to-face interviews with the heads of 66 households, in-depth interviews conducted with 22 key informants, and discussions with the group of local people in different (6) places. The household food system was studied from livelihood perspectives and food (in)security was assessed in relation to self-sufficiency or production sufficiency, access, utilization, and stability of food. Households in the Trans-Himalaya acquire food from multiple sources such as farming and livestock ranching, buy food from the market, and also receive food aid for the sake of survival during the food crisis. Food security situation in terms of self-production in Upper-Mustang is at worst stage that many households are facing severe to chronic food insecurity. Studied households access marketed food, though the price they pay is very high. The worrisome issue is that there is no significant improvement in food security situation over time in the Trans-Himalaya. Study found that not the household size but dependency ratio in the household increases food insecurity. On the other hand, quality of farmland in terms of cropping intensity and availability of irrigation rather than the farm-plot size contribute for food security. The issue of food security is still a valid development policy goal for Nepal in general and for the Trans-Himalaya in particular. Accordingly, food security interventions are important. Yet, policy for interventions should look into all components of food systems, particularly providing irrigation, promoting local food varieties, and provisioning for food subsidies and food aid together with subsidies in food transport.

Assessing Food and Nutrition Security in Patients Undergoing Total Joint Arthroplasty.

The Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of Innovative Strategies to Reduce Food Insecurity among Children in the United States

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) emphasise the reduction of poverty, hunger, and food insecurity as prerequisites for the economic development of a country. This paper examines how natural disaster shocks affect the food security of rural households in Bangladesh. We utilise the latest edition of the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey (BIHS) produced by the International Food Policy Research Institute to understand the determinants of food security. In contrast to the existing literature, we use the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) to measure household food security. The empirical result from an ordered logit regression suggests that households that are exposed to natural disaster shocks are more likely to be food insecure compared with households that have not been exposed to such shocks. Furthermore, international remittances increase food security, while domestic remittances do not significantly affect household food security. The study also found that the marital status and education of the household head, household indebtedness, household size, education, expenditures and landownership significantly affect food security. Our findings underscore the importance of investing in the development of infrastructure and food storage facilities in rural communities to tackle food insecurity. Moreover, increasing technical knowledge and improving the quality of education are vital to strengthen food security in Bangladesh.

Food and nutrition insecurity occurs when healthy and safe food cannot be obtained by socially acceptable means and arises as a result of complex interactions between socioeconomic and demographic determinants. These factors contribute to discrepancies in health and well-being between men and women and may also explain differential rates of food insecurity. The objectives of this cross-sectional study were to investigate the intersection between gender, education, nutrition knowledge and food security status within a high-income country context. Australian adults over 16years of age who identified as having primary responsibility for food in their household were recruited via social media and a panel. Respondents completed a self-administered survey that included sociodemographic data, nutrition-related knowledge and food security status. Food security was measured using the Australian Household Food and Nutrition Security Scale an adapted version of the United States Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Survey. Among the 1010 survey respondents, household food insecurity (HFI) was highly prevalent (43% were food insecure, with 26% of these severely food insecure). Gender may affect associations between education, nutrition knowledge and HFI. Education was significantly associated with HFI among women but not among men. Conversely, nutrition knowledge was significantly inversely associated with food security among men but not among women. Differences in determinants of HFI exist between men and women, and programs aimed at addressing food insecurity may be more effective if tailored accordingly to account for the social and demographic factors associated with HFI.

Understanding Triggers of Food Insecurity

In 2013, 49.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households. Of these, 15.8 million were children. As college students are excluded from national surveillance data, it is difficult to characterize the prevalence of food insecurity among this population. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of food insecurity among undergraduate students and what characteristics are associated with food insecurity. Students (18‐24 years) were recruited from the ongoing College Health and Nutrition Assessment Survey at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). A 26‐item online survey was developed by combining the USDA 6‐item Short Form U.S. Household Food Security Survey, the USDA Child Food Security Survey, and 11 UNH‐specific questions related to food access. The survey was administered to all students enrolled in a general nutrition class in fall 2014 (n = 418); response rate=50.5% (n=211, 84% female). Survey results indicated 11.4% of students reported low food security and 6.2% reported marginal food security during their childhood. During the past 12‐months, 12.4% reported experiencing low food security and 5.7% reported marginal food security; 2.8% reported currently or previously receiving food assistance. Students who lived in on‐campus housing were more likely to report food security as compared to those living in off‐campus apartments (86% vs 57%, p<.05); no differences in race, sex, marital status or parents' education were observed between students who were food secure vs. insecure. The findings of this study suggest that food insecurity exists on the UNH campus and further research related to food availability and education is needed. Due to the lack of data, other college campuses may benefit from assessing food insecurity prevalence among students.

This study aims to measure food security and the levels of food insecurity among Syrian refugee households. It also aimed to determine the association between food security status and types of households including the number of employed members of the households and children in households. Semi-structured interview questionnaires were administered to 80 households of Syrian refugees residing in Florida. Participants were Syrian refugees who have resettled in Florida since 2011 and were interviewed in one-on-one 45-minute sessions. Included cities were Miami, West Palm Beach, Orlando, and Tampa. The main outcomes were food security, levels of food insecurity, the number of employed individuals in households, and the structure of households with and without children. The mean food security score was 4.7± 2.6 among participating households when a score of 3-7indicates food insecurity without hunger. There were significant differences (p = 0.02) between the levels of food insecurity in rural and urban areas. Households in rural areas experienced higher levels of food insecurity compared to households in urban areas. We found a significant relationship (p = 0.04) between food security and the number of employed individuals in households in rural areas. The logistic regression model comparing food security status in rural and urban areas showed that households in rural areas had 80.2 % less odds of being food secure than those in urban areas with the adjustment of the variable of number of employed individuals(odds ratio = 0.198; 95% CI: 0.055-0.712; p = 0.01). Another logistic regression model showed that Miami was four times and West Palm Beach was 11.8 times more likely to be food secure than Tampa when the number of employees was adjusted. Among allthe households, there were significant differences (p = 0.01) in the levels of food insecurity between households with and without children. When the typeof residence was introduced into the corresponding model, households in rural areas were 79.3% less likely to be food secure than households in urban areas(odds ratio: 0.207; CI: 0.06-0.70; p = 0.01). Another logistic regression showed that West Palm Beach had a significant positive effect (p = 0.005) on food security. Households in this city had 9.95 greater odds of being food secure than households in Tampa. The effect in Miami was marginally positive (p = 0.07) in this model. Households in Miami might have had 3.8 greater probabilities of being food secure than the households in Tampa when the variable of households with and without children was adjusted. Food insecurity was frequent among n = 64 (80.0%) of Syrian refugee households residing in Florida. Households with at least two employed individuals were more likely to experience food security than households with only one member employed. The number of employees in households may have a greater impact on food security in urban areas than in rural areas. Food insecurity was more frequent in households with children than in households without children. Adults in food-insecure households with children might have experienced greater levels of food insecurity compared to their food-insecure children.

Harnessing women’s potential for food production and security has been a challenge in Southern Africa. The face of food production in Southern Africa is often female, but more often than not, their roles are generally undervalued and constrained by gender inequalities and limitations on their access to resources, services, and market opportunities. This chapter explores how women involvement in food production can have a positive impact on food security in Southern Africa. The gender aspect of food security assume significance, as it is widely recognized that women are the custodian of food production in many communities in Southern Africa. There is a tendency of men and women participating unevenly in food production, have unequal access to productive resources and exhibit different levels of engagement in rural, urban and home-based food production. Despite this anomaly, there is still a common understanding that food production needs to be increased in order to cope with the increased human population and achieving food security in the region. With this in mind, food production and security have emerged as key development targets in Southern Africa. This has propelled the urgent need for promoting food production, reducing food insecurity and poverty reduction in its totality. One of the factors contributing to perpetual low food production and insecurity has been gender discrimination and/or lack of participation of women in agricultural programs and projects. In this chapter there is an attempt to describe the impact of gender-based discrimination on food production and its implication on food security. The indispensable role and challenges faced by women in food production are highlighted. The need to invest in education and training of women to support food production systems in order to accrue maximum benefit is acknowledged. In this regard, it is imperative that planning and implementation of any food production programs focusing on improving food security should be based on gender sensitive policies. Policies which give women due recognition as far as food production decision making processes are concerned are sought. The chapter concludes with the understanding that involvement of women in food production becomes a key component of addressing food insecurity in Southern Africa. The vulnerability of people in Southern Africa to food insecurity depends both on measures that can be implemented in a given context and the capacity of families, and women in particular, to respond to food shortages. It is important, therefore that food security remains high on the regional development agenda. The region should prioritize appropriate interventions which help women fully participate in food production and develop sustainable livelihoods.

Food and nutrition security impacts of resilience capacity: Evidence from rural Ethiopia

BackgroundMillions of people in low and low middle income countries suffer from extreme hunger and malnutrition. Research on the effect of food insecurity on child nutrition is concentrated in high income settings and has produced mixed results. Moreover, the existing evidence on food security and nutrition in children in low and middle income countries is either cross-sectional and/or is based primarily on rural populations. In this paper, we examine the effect of household food security status and its interaction with household wealth status on stunting among children aged between 6 and 23 months in resource-poor urban setting in Kenya.MethodsWe use longitudinal data collected between 2006 and 2012 from two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. Mothers and their new-borns were recruited into the study at birth and followed prospectively. The analytical sample comprised 6858 children from 6552 households. Household food security was measured as a latent variable derived from a set of questions capturing the main domains of access, availability and affordability. A composite measure of wealth was calculated using asset ownership and amenities. Nutritional status was measured using Height-for-Age (HFA) z-scores. Children whose HFA z-scores were below −2 standard deviation were categorized as stunted. We used Cox regression to analyse the data.ResultsThe prevalence of stunting was 49 %. The risk of stunting increased by 12 % among children from food insecure households. When the joint effect of food security and wealth status was assessed, the risk of stunting increased significantly by 19 and 22 % among children from moderately food insecure and severely food insecure households and ranked in the middle poor wealth status. Among the poorest and least poor households, food security was not statistically associated with stunting.ConclusionOur results shed light on the joint effect of food security and wealth status on stunting. Study findings underscore the need for social protection policies to reduce the high rates of child malnutrition in the urban informal settlements.

O11 Association Between Food Security and Food Skills Education Among Cooking Matters Participants

The global relevance of food security has attracted a plethora of research, because it is a determinant of either the prosperity or poverty of any nation. Accordingly, food security is directly associated with the poverty in many developing countries of the world today. Rural people around the world continue to struggle with food insecurity, persistent poverty and inequality, and environmental degradation. This necessitated a research study on food security in the North West province of South Africa, with a view to evaluate the food security status and its determinants in the area, as well as to compare the impact of gender on the food security status of households. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, where 346 maize farmers in the Ngaka Modiri Molema District Municipality of the North West, South Africa, were interviewed. A logically structured questionnaire was used to collect data where household expenditure survey was used to evaluate the food security status of these farmers, after which a logistics regression model was used to determine the factors responsible for food security. The findings reveal that, with more farming experience, the probability of household food security decreased. Also, an increase in the household size, by one member, decreases the probability of a household achieving food security. Similarly, a unit increase in the age of the head of household decreases the probability or likelihood of being food secured in the study area. The result also revealed that more than half of the farming households were food secure, while the female-headed households were more food secure, proportionately, compared to male-headed households.

Food insecurity remains a major concern for numerous rural households in Sub-Saharan Africa who rely on agriculture as their main source of livelihood. The assessment of the links between food security and livelihoods is central for overcoming widespread food insecurity. However, assessments remain challenging due to food security’s multi-dimensionality and the challenge of finding indicators that are comparable and applicable to various contexts. This study addresses this challenge by adapting a food security index (FSI) and uses it to assess the livelihood drivers of food security. The index captures the multi-dimensionality of food security using conventional food security indicators. The assessed indicators include measures of “food consumption score”, “household dietary diversity score”, “coping strategies index”, the “household food insecurity access scale” and “months of adequate household food provisioning”. The study covered 600 randomly selected households representative of three agro-ecological zones located close to large-scale agricultural investment in Mount Kenya region in Kenya. We used linear regression to identify livelihood factors significantly influencing food security. Spearman’s rank-order correlation and student’s T-test demonstrated a strong and significant correlation between the composite FSI index and each classical indicators of food security. Overall, 32% of the households were food secure and 68% were food insecure. Households’ ownership of productive hand tools, followed by off-farm income, consumption of own produced food, type of agro-ecological zone, farm income and number of main crops infested by pests had a significant effect on household food security. All these factors, except the number of main crops infested by pests, positively influenced household food security. Households in humid agro-ecological zone were less food secure than households in semi-humid and semi-arid zones. Household size, the size of accessible land and households’ members’ participation to large agricultural investments (as wage workers or sub-contract farmer) were not significantly influencing food security. Households of the Mount Kenya region need alternative off-farm income sources combined with further support to improve sustainable agriculture management with appropriate hand tools for increased production, and improve value chains to increase farm income.

Pastoral and agro-pastoral households are the most vulnerable parts of the population to climate change-induced shocks and they are increasingly subject to acute food and nutrition insecurity. We identified drivers of livestock-crop diversification and examined its effects on improving households’ food and nutrition security using cross sectional data collected from 258 households across five districts in the East Hararghe zone in Ethiopia. Endogenous Switching Regression (ESR) analysis was used to identify factors associated with the households’ food and nutrition security outcomes and estimate the causal effects of livestock-crop diversification on the households’ food and nutrition security. Our results show that land certification, mobile phone ownership, and access to pastoral training centres were positively and significantly associated with livestock-crop diversification. In contrast, being located in Meyu Muluke and Kumbi districts were negatively and significantly associated with livestock-crop diversification, compared to Chinaksen district. The average treatment effect estimations suggest that livestock-crop diversification has positively and significantly improved diversified households’ nutritional security outcome. The findings also reveal that non-diversified households’ food insecurity would have reduced had they diversified. Nonetheless, livestock-crop diversification is neither enough to pull farm households fully out of food and nutrition insecurity nor the only factor influencing farm households’ food and nutrition security outcomes. Hence, there is also a need to strengthen access to physical infrastructure, credit facilities, extension services, provision of farm inputs, and pastoral training centres to reduce food and nutrition insecurity in the study area.