3: HNSC Food Security

Define food security

access by all people at all times to nutritionally adequate, safe, persoanlly acceptable foods from normal food channels

Whats food insecruity?

uncertain / limited access to foods of sufficient quantity or quality

just because u have access to sufficient quality of foods doesnt mean __________

they have enough nutrients even if they have access to enough calories

what are the risk factors for food insecurity?

anything that limits resources available for food acquisition like:

1. increase in non-food expenditure

2. under-employment

3. poverty

define food poverty. reasons why it occurs

when theres enough food, but ppl can obtain it so hunger occurs

1. war

2. political reasons

3. lack of resources like money or transportation

Whats famine

extreme widespread food scarcity, which causes stravation in the area

What are the pillars of food security?

1. avaiablity

2. accessibilty

3. adequacy

4. acceptability

5. (sometimes included: agency)

what are some reasons hunger in the developing world?

• Regional quantity, quality and availability of food – e.g. drought preventing adequate food production in an area; can all people in the region access the available food? 

• Discrimination factors that affect distribution – e.g. war; government corruption; unemployment and lack of borrowing power; racial, ethnic of religious discrimination. 

• Individual household’s access to available food – e.g. transportation to get food; necessary infrastructure such as passable roads to food delivery. 

• Access to clean water (in sufficient quantity) and health services (to prevent disease and illness) 

• Individual childcare practices and knowledge (e.g. child fed while others in the family go hungry; knowledge of how to mix baby formula – if too much water is used, this will dilute the nutritional value, or using unclean water to mix formula) 

• Inadequate food or nutrient intakes – causing malnutrition, weakness, disease (family may be too weak to compete for food) 

what are the major challenges that exist to banish world food insecurity?

1. provide enough for the worlds increasing population, without destroying natural resources for food prductions

2. make sure everyone has access to this food (some ppl lack and some have too much)

households are more likely to experience food insecruities if:

1. receive their income from minimum wages, part time jobs, workers compensation, employment insurance or social assistance

2. first nation

3. have children (esp if single mom)

4. homemless

5. new immigrants

6. have cvrhonic health problesm

What are common methods of food recovery?

1. field gleaning - collecting crops from fields that either have already been harvested or are not profitable to harvest

2. perishable food rescue or salvage - collecting persihable produce from wholesalers and markets

3. prepared food rescue - collecting prepared foods from kitchens

4. non-perishable food collection - collecting processed foods from wholesalers and markets

explain the food loss and waste globally

globally 31% of the food produced is lost or goes to waste

all the resources used to produce the food, including water, land, E, labor, goes to waste

• the disposal of food loss and waste in landfills leads to greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to climate change

• overall, negatively impacts food security and avaialblity and contribute to increase the food cost

what is the food loss and wastage in CA? where does it occur?

appx 58% is lost or wasted

• mostly in households and food services (restaurants)

why does food loss happen in production? solution?

PROBLEM:

1. Cosmetic standards – ugly produce 

2. Over / under production – market changes 

3. Diseases / weather events 

4. Lack of labour to harvest 

SOLUTIONS

1. Marketing approaches and collaborations that promote field gleaning, and the sale of imperfect produce (some programs for this already exist, such as  Naturally Imperfect (Loblaws). 

2. Tax credits to encourage harvesting surplus crop for donation 

3. Support for innovations 

4. Research programs focused on things such as improving disease resistance 

why does food loss happen in transport and storage? solution?

• Lack of temperature / humidity control 

• Damage during transfer / mishandling 

• Pests – rodents, insects, etc.  

SOLUTION

1. Various Canadian organizations provide guidance on supply chain challenges and proper storage 

2. Research on ways to improve shelf life, and prevent pest contamination 

3. Reduce the distance food travels, by buying local more often. 

why does food loss happen in packaging, processing, and manufacturing

1. Trimming and culling of off-spec produce 

2. Process and equipment inefficiencies – resulting in products that do not meet quality standards 

3. Over-production – incorrect supply demand forecasting 

SOLUTION

1. Providing resources to support food manufacturers on ways to reduce food loss. 

2. Tools to identify, track and reduce food loss. 

3. Innovative technologies (e.g. hyperspectral imaging to enhance sorting) 

4. Research on improved packaging options 

   1. Regulatory approaches (e.g. in 2018, Ontario released the Food and Organic Waste Policy which sets targets for industry and commercial facilities to meet related to food waste). 

Why foood loss happen in wholesale and distribution?

1. Losses during transport, storage, quality standards 

2. Inappropriate packaging 

3. Poor inventory management – supply/demand 

SOLUTION

1. Inventory management 

2. Educate and build awareness – training and support 

3. Adopt monitoring systems 

4. Packaging improvements to increase shelf life 

why does food loss happen in retails sales? solution?

1. Rejected produce – quality standards / damage 

2. Withdrawal of products approaching or exceeding date labels – lack of protocols to held food rescue / redistribution 

3. Inaccurate forecasting and poor inventory management 

SOLUTIONS

1. Adequate training of staff 

2. Develop standardized operating procedures 

3. Packaging improvements to increase shelf life 

   1. Discount and/or donate foods close to best before dates (e.g. FlashFoods app

WHy does food loss happen in restaurants and food services? solutions?

1. Food prepared but not served 

2. Surplus ingredients / lack of storage 

3. Customer leftover food returned to kitchen and must be disposed 

SOLUTIONS

1. Education: Training, resources, tool kits on how to reduce food loss and waste 

   1. Ensure proper storage and inventory practices 

why does food loss happen in househoulds and consumers? solutions?

1. Over purchasing, lack of meal planning / grocery list 

2. Spoilage – improper handling, storage 

3. Concern over food safety and freshness – best before dates versus expiry dates 

4. Willingness to store and eat leftovers and acceptability of eating food past peak freshness 

SOLUTION

1.  Ask for smaller portions 

2. Eat / reuse leftovers 

3. Shop smart. Avoid overshopping 

4. Buy ‘ugly’ produce 

5. Share and donate 

6. Compost 

7. Practice FIFO: First in, first out 

8. Check fridge to make sure it is the correct temperature 

what are unavoidable food waste sources? what can be done to them?

1. fish

2. animal bones

3. eggshells

4. coffee grounfs

• can be composted and sued to fertilize the soil

BEST WAY TO SOLVE FOOD LOSS AND WASTE? best to least

1. Reduce (make changes to reduce the amount of grown and harvested food that is not eaten)   

2. Recover (donate surplus food or make animal feed or other products using the surplus)   

3. Recycle (use ingredients from the surplus food for non-food products like pharmaceuticals or cosmetics, make biodiesel or create compost)   

4. Dispose (send to landfill or incinerate)   

 

what is food sovereignty?

is the right of ppl to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically and sustainable methods, and their perrogative to define their won food and agricultural systems

• It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations." 

what are the pillars of food sovereignty

1. Focuses on food for people: Food is not a commodity . Puts people at the center of food policies.  

2. Builds knowledge and skills : Build on traditional knowledges that kept our food production sustainable. Reject the technologies that undermine or contaminate local food systems.  

3. Works with nature : Build resilience and work with the ecological environment, not against it.  

4. Values food providers: Support the people who grow food sustainably.  

5. Localizes food systems: Reduce the distance between food producer and consumer. Reject food dumping by large corporations.  

6. Puts control locally . Give control to the local bodies and reject large corporations that abuse local food systems.  

7. Food is sacred : Value food as a gift and not as a commodity.  

What is avaialbility in the food pillars of food secuirty? whats it affected by

access to sufficient amounts of food at all times

• by time of year/season, civil conflict/war, food preservation and supply. 

What is accessibility in the food pillars of food secuirty? determined by? whats it affected by

physical access and economic means to access food at all times

• determined by entitlements (the bundle of resources needed to acquire food)

• Accessibility is affected by: 

•  market prices 

•  employment/funds ($) 

•  production and marketing systems 

•  gender and power relations within the household

•  education

•  transportation

•  water

•  sanitation 

What is adequacy in the food pillars of food secuirty? whats it affected by

- access to food that provides adequate nourishment and is safe

• control over resources, nutrient content of the food/quality, knowledge of food/nutrition. 

What is acceptabilty in the food pillars of food secuirty?

access to food that is: 

•  personally palatable 

•  acquired by a socially-acceptable means of obtaining food (e.g. some people may not want to accept foods from a food bank or beg for food even if hungry because this compromises their dignity) 

•  culturally appropriate 

Why is there food insecruity in developed countries?

1. Lack of Money: To buy nutritious foods and pay for other necessities like housing, clothing, medications, utilities… Often food is the sacrifice made. 

2. Political reasons: Up to 80% of hungry children live in countries that produce surplus food, but the decisions of policy makers in those areas, largely determines who in the population has access to the food. 

3. Countries of War: Food transportation may be limited. Also, have other concerns beyond hunger 

4. Lack of transportation: Can they get to a store to access food? 

5. Cannot Afford: may be on welfare (prices have increased, but welfare moneys have stayed fairly constant), or may be part of working poor (not on welfare because working, but pay too low to meet needs).

what is old age secuiryt and canadian child tax programs

Income programs such as Old Age Security and the Canadian Child Tax

benefit have been shown to reduce household food insecurity

How does cost of production of food impact implementation of food sovereignty?

With minimal external input such as synthetic chemicals, the crops may have lower yield. Without the use of GE seeds, the yield and disease resistance may be low. Low yield leads to less profit and/or higher production cost. Higher costs would result in less competitive pricing. Further, patents don’t allow seed saving in many cases.   

How does law and regulations impact implementation of food sovereignty?

Zoning regulations may restrict urban and peri-urban agriculture, limiting individuals' ability to grow food in their own communities. These restrictions can hinder the development of community gardens, urban farms, and other initiatives that promote local food production. Inquire about your community, do the by-laws allow you to plant a vegetable garden in the front yard?   

How does cost of land acquisition impact implementation of food sovereignty?

Agricultural land acquisition favors large farmers. Non-agricultural land is often too expensive.   

How does governmental support impact implementation of food sovereignty?

lacks for small scale sustainable agriculture. The subsidies favor large scale production creating an uneven playing field   

how does free trade agreements and globalization impact food sovvereignt

Import of cheap food from other parts of the world and can compete with locally grown food.   

How deos economic framework impact food sovvereignt

Canadian and global economic framework is based on mass production at low cost.    

what is agroecology? goal? examples?

is the application of ecological principles to agriculture to mitigate climate change.

aim to minimize the use of external inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.

polyculture (growing multiple crops together), intercropping, and organic farming.    

diff between food sec and food sovereignty

one asks “do u have enough to eat”

other asks “WHO controls whr the food comes from and HOW its produced?

goal: Ensuring everyone has enough calories to lead a healthy life

• the source doesnt matter

• can be food secure but culturally hungry (doesnt connect w ur heritage)

FOOD SOVER

goal: Giving people the right to define their own food and agriculture systems.

• soruce: It prioritizes local, traditional, and sustainable food. As Eva says, it's about having access to "healthy local traditional foods" like moose and salmon.

• MAKE SURE CULTURALLY APPROPIRATE