Food Insecurity

This report will explore the impacts, causes and solutions of food insecurity and other contextual factors relating to Chad’s economic and financial crisis.

Food insecurity is defined as “the lack of access to enough food to ensure adequate nutrition.”1 The Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) reported that 14.6% of US households were food insecure during at least some portion of 2008 (up 11.1% from 2007), the highest levels recorded since monitoring began in 1995.2 Food insecurity is a concern of under consumption and obesity is a disease of over consumption, yet both outcomes may coexist, seemingly incongruously, within the same household.2 The most popular explanation is that low-cost, energy-dense foods linked to obesity are favored by financially constrained households, who are the most likely to be food insecure.2 Another theory, focusing on environmental context net of individual circumstance, argues that obesity and insecurity are both symptoms of malnutrition, occurring in neighborhoods where nutritious foods are unavailable or unaffordable.2 A separate literature researches environmental roles in poor nutritional outcomes, recent studies link obesity as well as atherosclerosis and diabetes to the food environment, the local context of available food items.2 The theory is that local inaccessibility to healthy foods influences diet composition, a claim supported by evidence.2 Especially in poorer neighborhoods, food options are often limited to fast food restaurants, convenience stores, or grocery stores more poorly stocked both in

Countries will face many problems due to climate change and the capacity of a government to provide health care will be reduced dramatically. What water scarcity does not necessarily mean the availability of water, with the planet being 70 percent water, but the quality of water. Presently, poor countries are already being affected by water scarcity. It is reported that currently 1.2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and this figure will be 2.7 to 3.5 billion people by 2025 if effective steps are not taken to mitigate the water scarcity problem. Climate change causes different factors which may headway for political and social conflicts, so water scarcity will have major impacts on populations’ health. South Asian Studies is a reputable research journal out of the University of Punjab, which has been printed and available online since 1984. Muhammad Zakria Zakar, one of the three authors of this article is a professor at the University of Punjab. Rebeena Zakar, second of the three authors is the Chairman of the Public Health and Quantitative Social Research department at the University of Punjab. Third and final author of this paper is Florian Fischer, a professor at University of Bielefeld in Germany. The evidence of human caused climate change affecting the entire worlds water resources I can use to support my argument on water scarcity and its effects on

Even though payments from Social Security and Supplemental Security Income have played a critical part in an attempt to increase economic security among older adults, poverty still remains on the rise for this population. Many still live on limited incomes and have the modest savings. In 2013, 50% of people in Medicare possessed incomes of less than $23,000 which corresponds to 200% of poverty in 2015 (Cubanski et. al, 2015). Today, over 25 million people ages 60 or more are economically insecure living at or below 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL) (National Council on Aging, 2016). As a result, these individuals struggle with increasing housing and health care bills, lack of nutrition, inadequate access to transportation, and job

Many people know that water is essential for human-being and it is not only valuable for health and life, but water is also important for industry and agriculture. Furthermore, use of water has a spiritual, cultural and recreational dimension. However, water resources are not infinite. Wide and inefficient use of water resources can lead to irreversible consequences, such as water shortage. This essay will firstly discuss the problem of water shortage on examples of developed and developing countries and include the diversification of the same issue in the different parts of the world. It will also identify causes and effects of this environmental problem on society and other spheres of life. Moreover, in this essay I am going to propose

Hunger in the United States is a large problem that still affects the lives of our citizens seven years after the 2008 economic crisis. This is a problem that is still growing steadily in the lives of Americans, especially those who are living in poverty. Even though the United State’s rate of food insecure households is still far below the rates that are found in developing countries, it is still persistent problem as the issues of food insecurity move away from under nutrition and towards the quality of a persons diet. While poverty alone does not cause food insecurity, it is the main cause of being food insecure.

Record-high levels of food inequality are being felt most prominently in the world's cities. Since the year 2000, New York City food costs have increased by 59 percent, while the average income of working adults has only increased by 17 percent. (Breggin 1) rising food costs and lack of food availability in urban areas has created effects that are felt by millions of people around the world. The USDA defines Food insecurity as a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food, and it is plaguing our nation. Characterized by inability to find healthy food and not having enough to sustain a household are problems that an estimated 12.3 % of American households experience regularly (USDA 1).chart food sec..png

When tackling the subject of food insecurity, uncertainty is the key notion. Many of us live our lives fleeing from the term; however, some Americans know this awareness as their existence. Food insecurity simply means the lack of the ability to provide food and sustain a healthy lifestyle. The USDA explains, “It is a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food;” adequate food being the key word. The USDA further goes on to categorize it into two sub categories; low and very low food security. “Low food security” is explained as “reduced quality, variety of diet; little or no indication of reduced food intake.” “Very low food security is multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns

Due to the difficulty of receiving fresh water and the growing population; this leads to water becoming scarce in specific regions. The authors write, “While natural factors such as intermittent droughts and limited freshwater reserves can cause scarcity...” (Roudi-Fahimi, Creel, and Souza). Certain parts of Northern Africa and Southwestern Asia rain falls

Many Americans struggle with food security every day. In fact, according to Diane Beasley, a writer for the CNN Wire, “One in six Americans struggles with food security,” and “40% of food goes to waste” (Beasley). America needs to fix this problem because one sixth of Americans don't get food. Chesterbrook Elementary in Mclean, Virginia has figured out a way to help. Chesterbrook Elementary has taught every student how to recycle and donate leftover food. Chesterbrook Elementary gives food to the needy, and what can't be donated, they recycle. Schools in America should implement a mandatory system in which students are required to

Food insecurity is an issue that is shared across the USA in both the homes of adults and adults with children. Low food security is defined as a household avoids substantial disruptions using coping strategies such as eating less variety, federal food programs, and food banks (US Department of Agriculture 2015). Very low food security is defined as eating patterns disrupted and food intake reduced due to lack of resources or money. The national low food insecurity in 2013 was 8.7% and very low food was 5.6% making the total 14.3% (US Department of Agriculture 2015).

We usually associate water shortages with a lack of drinking water, but global water scarcity has a critical impact on food security. Agriculture consumes more water than any other source. Climate change is altering patterns of weather around the world, causing shortages and droughts in some areas and floods in others. Water is key to food security. Crops and livestock need water to grow. Agriculture requires large quantities of water for irrigation and various production processes. Water scarcity may limit food production and supply, putting pressure on food prices and increasing countries’ dependence on food imports

Water is the main source of life on the Earth. It is vital for normal existence and functioning of organisms. Earth is sometimes called “water planet.” But, in fact, the number of freshwater is limited. “Only about 2 percent of the planet's water is fresh.” (How much water is there on Earth?) This water is not enough even to meet daily needs of mankind. According to World Health Organization, “a lack of water to meet daily needs is a reality today for one in three people around the world.” (2009) In the Middle East the situation is especially hard. This region is thought to be one of the droughtiest places in the world, most of it’s territory is deserted. Freshwater accounts to 1 percent of the world’s supplies, while the population comes

Inefficient irrigation techniques allow most of the water provided to crops to evaporate or to miss crop roots entirely as it seeps underground. Despite the wasteful ways with which we treat water, a quarter of the world’s people face water shortages (Watkins et al. 2006). This proportion will only continue to grow, particularly in the Middle East and Northern Africa (Bureau and Strobl 2012).

First and foremost; the main causes of water scarcity are made by humans. It will consider factors as climate change and mismanagement of water resources which emphasise on the impact of sharing of water resources and majority consumption; agriculture. Climate change is a natural phenomenon which can be called a global warming. It is a result from human’s activities by burning fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas for power vehicles and factories, and deforestation for lands to construction. According to the research from IPCC (2007), it is a reasonably increase in an average global temperatures by 0.32ºF (approximately 0.18°C) per decade or 3.2°F (approximately 1.8°C) per century. Considering the global warming and the fact that the air temperature has risen moderately, it has relatively effected on water resources; the warmer water temperature either fresh water or salt water. It will concentrate the water intensity in nutrients, sediments and dissolve organic carbon, and also suitable for