Food Security
by admin - August 26th, 2009.Filed under: Food.
The statistics are shocking but true. Millions of people live with food insecurity, malnutrition and hunger in the United States.
According to the 2002 report: “Hunger and Food Insecurity in the 50 States” by the Food Security Institute, over 11 millions households containing more than 33 millions individuals reported limited or uncertain access to sufficient food due to limited resources.
New Mexico ranks highest in food insecure households with 15.9% Read the full report (html version)
Food insecurity is technical term. What, exactly, does it mean?
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Food insecurity exists when people are undernourished as a result of the physical unavailability of food, their lack of social or economic access to adequate food, and/or inadequate food utilization.
Food-insecure people are those individuals whose food intake falls below their minimum calorie (energy) requirements, as well as those who exhibit physical symptoms caused by energy and nutrient deficiencies resulting from an inadequate or unbalanced diet or from the body’s inability to use food effectively because of infection or disease.
An alternative view would define the concept of food insecurity as referring only to the consequence of inadequate consumption of nutritious food, considering the physiological utilization of food by the body as being within the domain of nutrition and health.
“Vulnerability” is another important term, and it refers to the full range of factors that place people at risk of becoming food-insecure. The degree of vulnerability of individuals, households or groups of people is determined by their exposure to the risk factors and their ability to cope with or withstand stressful situations.
To learn more about the causes and solutions for food insecurity, visit these websites: