5.2 Food Security and Agricultural Sustainability

Definition of Food Security

Comprehensive Definition: Food security is achieved when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.

The Five Components of Food Security

The Center for Studies in Food Security identifies five core components necessary to achieve food security:

#1: Availability: This refers to the presence of sufficient food for all people at all times.
#2: Accessibility: This encompasses both the physical and economic access to food at all times.
#3: Adequacy: This is defined as access to food that is nutritious and safe. Included in this component is the requirement that food be produced in environmentally sustainable ways that do not destroy the community where it is grown.
#4: Acceptability: This involves access to culturally acceptable food. It must be produced and obtained in ways that do not compromise human dignity, self-respect, or human rights.
#5: Agency: This refers to the policies and processes that enable the achievement of food security.

Causes of Food Insecurity from Global to Local

Governmental Policies: A major cause of food insecurity globally is attributed to governments and specific governmental policies.
War and Conflict: War restricts access to food by breaking supply chains and putting pressure on local food reserves. In some instances, governments or other groups may attempt to control the food supply as a means to pressure populations.
Desertification: This is the process where land that was traditionally not a desert turns into a "dust bowl."
- Causes: Primarily caused by a loss in vegetation. As plants transpire, they release water and oxygen, which helps form rain clouds.
- Ecological Impact: In certain regions, this is also caused by disruptions in the balance of animal ecology.
Water Scarcity and Mismanagement: While currently less of a problem than other factors, it is projected to be a major future issue.
- Groundwater Depletion: Underground reserves are being rapidly depleted to grow crops in unsustainable ways.
- California Case Study: In California, growing water-intensive crops has led to a near-complete draining of underground reserves despite scientific warnings. This has caused parts of California to slump (subside) by as much as $10\,\text{meters}$ .
The Aral Sea: Cited as a man-made environmental disaster. Comparisons of the sea's surface area show a drastic decline between the years $1970$ , $1990$ , and $2014$ .

Food Insecurity in Canada

General Statistics ( $2011$ - $2012$ )

Overall Household Food Security: $91.6\%$ of Canadian households are food secure.
Overall Household Food Insecurity: $8.4\%$ of households are food insecure.
- Moderately Food Insecure: $5.8\%$
- Severely Food Insecure: $2.6\%$

Household Composition and Insecurity Rates

All Households with Children: $10.2\%$ ( $7.9\%$ moderate, $2.3\%$ severe).
Lone-parent Households: $22.6\%$ ( $16.0\%$ moderate, $6.7\%$ severe).
Couple-led Households with Child(ren) < $6$ years: $10.9\%$ ( $8.7\%$ moderate, $2.2\%$ severe).
Couple-led Households with No Child(ren) < $6$ years: $9.7\%$ ( $7.3\%$ moderate, $2.4\%$ severe).
Households with $1$ or $2$ Children: $9.6\%$ ( $7.4\%$ moderate, $2.2\%$ severe).
Households with $\geq 3$ Children: $13.4\%$ ( $10.5\%$ moderate, $2.9\%$ severe).
All Households without Children: $7.6\%$ ( $4.9\%$ moderate, $2.7\%$ severe).
Couple Households (No Children): $3.6\%$
Unattached Individuals: $11.6\%$

Economic and Social Indicators

Main Source of Income:
- Social Assistance: $58.3\%$ (Severe food insecurity is $29.1\%$ and moderate is also $29.1\%$ ).
- Worker’s Compensation or Employment Insurance: $26\%$
- Salary/Wages: $6.8\%$
- Pensions/Seniors' Benefits: $4.9\%$
Education Level (Highest achieved by any household member):
- Post-secondary Graduation: $6.4\%$
- Secondary Graduation: $11.6\%$
- Less than Secondary Graduation: $16.1\%$
- Some Post-secondary Education: $16.9\%$
Sociodemographic Characteristics:
- Aboriginal Households: $22.3\%$ total ( $13.9\%$ moderate, $8.4\%$ severe) compared to Non-Aboriginal households at total $8.4\%$
- Recent Immigrants (< $5$ years): $10.9\%$ ( $8.3\%$ moderate, $2.6\%$ severe).
- Non-recent Immigrants ($\geq 5$ years): $7.6\%$
- Home Ownership: Households that own their dwelling have a rate of $3.7\%$ ; those who do not own have a rate of $18.7\%$
- Area of Residence: Urban areas ( $8.7\%$ ) vs Rural areas ( $6.6\%$ ).

Approaches to Address Food Security Issues

Short-term Strategies

Short-term strategies represent the first level on the food security continuum. These are emergency programs/charitable agencies intended to prevent hunger in times of crisis (environmental, societal, or personal).

Soup Kitchens: Often located in church basements or community buildings, providing free food to people living on the street or in need.
Food Banks: Facilities where people can obtain perishable and non-perishable food items to cook at home.

Longer-term Solutions

Widening the Social Safety Net: Providing universal basic income or income top-ups.
Food System Redesign: Making food more affordable via tax schemes, tax breaks, and subsidized food.
Community Gardens: Spaces where individuals can grow and collect their own fresh produce.

Production and Agriculture Redesign

Future Demand: By the year $2037$ , the projected global population will be $9\,\text{billion}$ . We must determine how to feed this population without continuing the current disastrous effects on environment and climate change.
Sustainable Agriculture: Shifting away from European styles of monoculture (growing a single crop over a large area, which often strips the soil).
Permaculture or Forest Gardening:
- A method practiced by Indigenous communities worldwide.
- Designed to mimic the structure of a forest.
- Uses all seven layers of the forest canopy to maximize food production in a small area.
- Promotes soil health and fertilization through natural composting.