Concise Notes on Food Security Policies and Ethics

  • Food Security Overview

    • Focus on hunger and malnutrition policies.
    • Ethical considerations are integral to food security policies.

  • Learning Goals

    • Understand different philosophies of food security.
    • Evaluate the role of ethics and economics in food security.

  • "Na Duminiké"

    • Defines a cultural value and philosophy regarding food security.
    • Represents equality and community response to food insecurity (e.g., drought, famine).

  • Policy Framework

    • How society/government ensures food and nutritional security.
    • Consider moral, budgetary, and scientific bases for policies.

  • Policy Instruments:

    • Income Gaps: Cash or food assistance.
    • Access Gaps: Food aid access (domestic/international).
    • Price Policies: Adjust market prices to enhance food access.
    • Production Gaps: Boost agricultural output.
    • Diversity Gaps: Fortification and production info to improve dietary diversity.

  • Ethics of Food Security

    • Questions of moral responsibility and rights relating to food access.
    • Examines who should intervene and target for assistance.

  • Philosophical Perspectives

    • Food security as a moral responsibility (individual charity).
    • Food as a fundamental right necessitating government action.
    • Economic evaluations (cost-benefit analysis) of food policies.

  • Challenges in Food Security

    • Difficult to measure benefits (e.g., lives saved, health improvements).
    • Complexity of needs for macro vs. micronutrients.

  • Economic Role

    • Economics influences incentives and responses in food security policies.
    • Consider price policies to encourage the purchase of nutritious foods.

  • Distribution Issues

    • Addressing the misconception that food scarcity is solely a distribution issue.
    • True resolution requires understanding production and access dynamics.