The Challenge of Food Security: Strategies to Reduce Global Hunger and Malnutrition

These flashcards cover key concepts related to food security, malnutrition, and strategies for improving nutritional outcomes globally.

Food Security

A multilayered concept defined by the 1996 World Food Summit, achieving food security requires that all people have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs.

Undernutrition

Defined as the failure to consume adequate energy, protein, or micronutrients required for maintenance, growth, and development, leading to conditions like stunting, wasting, and underweight.

Overweight and Obesity

Conditions characterized by excessive body weight that poses risks for health; obesity is often defined as a weight exceeding the upper limit of normal body mass index by more than 20 percent.

Malnutrition

A condition resulting from insufficient or unbalanced nutrient intake, which can manifest as undernutrition or overweight/obesity.

Stunting

A form of undernutrition characterized by low height for age, commonly found among children in developing countries.

Wasting

A condition of undernutrition where there is low weight for height, often an indicator of acute malnutrition.

Food Availability

The supply of food at the global, regional, national, or local level, independent of individuals' access to it.

Access to Food

The ability of households to obtain food through various means such as home production, commercial purchases, or food transfers.

Food Consumption

The amount and quality of food that is ingested at the household or individual level, influencing nutritional status.

School Feeding Programs

Initiatives to provide free or subsidized food to school children, which aim to improve education and nutrition, although their direct nutritional impacts are debated.

Biotechnology in Agriculture

The use of scientific techniques to improve agricultural productivity and food production, often through genetic modification of crops.

Green Revolution

A significant increase in agricultural production due to modern agricultural practices and technology, particularly in developing countries.

Economic Costs of Undernutrition

The economic impact of undernutrition, exemplified by productivity losses that can greatly affect a nation's GDP.

Millennium Development Goals

International development goals established to address poverty, hunger, and other global challenges, including the goal to halve the prevalence of underweight among children under five by 2015.

Food Aid

International provision of food commodities to help those in need, but may disrupt local markets and affect domestic agricultural production.

Trade Barriers

Restrictions such as tariffs and quotas that limit the ability of countries, especially low-income ones, to compete in global markets.