Issues Surrounding Food Security Vital To Post-2015 Development Agenda

One of the issues likely to be raised during the U.N. General Assembly’s discussions regarding the post-2015 development agenda is food security. The following summarizes two opinion pieces on the topic.

  • Pierre Ferrari, Huffington Post’s “Impact” blog: “[W]ithout sufficient investment in women farmers, we will fail to feed the world’s booming population, reversing gains made through the Millennium Development Goals [MDGs],” Ferrari, president and CEO of Heifer International, writes. “Women make up 43 percent of the agricultural labor force worldwide,” he writes, adding, “They own less than one percent of the earth’s land, but they produce up to a staggering 80 percent of the developing world’s food.” He provides several examples of women succeeding in agriculture, writing, “It’s worth repeating: The world’s women farmers, most of whom lack access to sufficient land, credit and education, already grow the majority of the food eaten in the developing world.” Ferrari concludes, “Just imagine what they will do when gender equity is realized — when men support them and we invest heavily in them. We will see a world where no child dies from poverty and hunger” (9/18).
  • Michael Zacka, Huffington Post’s “Green” blog: Stating that global population growth predictions “are cause for concern,” Zacka, president and CEO of Tetra Pak, United States and Canada, writes, “Hunger is the most pressing issue we face, especially considering [these] numbers: one out of every eight people in the world today suffers from chronic undernourishment caused by food scarcity, notes the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).” He continues, “Yet paradoxically, and what many don’t realize, today ‘the world produces enough food to feed everyone … 17 percent more calories per person today than it did 30 years ago, despite a 70 percent population increase,’ notes the FAO.” Zacka outlines “several key components that will lead to healthier food systems everywhere” (9/18).

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