1.3 billion people, or over 16% of the world’s population, are food insecure. This figure has grown by 118.7 million, or by 10%, since 2021 (USDA, 2022). Despite, food being a fundamental human right, a significant portion of the world must worry about their next meal and suffer the consequences of poverty and hunger. In the United States, more than 34 million, over 11% of Americans, are food insecure (USDA, 2022). As a nation ranking top 10 globally in GDP per capita, income per capita, and total food production, it is confusing to see that the United States has not taken greater strides in ameliorating the hunger crisis. The Pew Research Center estimated that poverty makes up just less than one percent of American media coverage (NBC News, 2013). Despite the absence of a human right for many, food insecurity continues to receive minimal media coverage, if any. Based on the data that food insecurity is a global pressing matter, which cannot be overlooked in politics, media, and human services. Due to its prevalence and significant negative effects on humans and societies, the world must devote more resources to address and remedy food insecurity.
The USDA defines food insecurity as “the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways” (USDA, 2023). Whether chronic, short-term, or seasonal, hundreds of millions face the strain of hunger daily. When hunger is discussed, the most common connotations are of a state of famine in which there is no food at all. For most Americans, and hundreds of millions across the globe, it’s not a matter of not having any food, it’s a matter of not having sufficient quality food for a quality lifestyle. Researchers and analysts have conducted extensive studies on the cost of nutrition. For example, the Harvard School of Public Health found that a healthy diet costs $1.50 more per day, and $550 more per year than an unhealthy diet (Harvard School of Public Health, 2013). Though these figures may not seem too large, this disparity has a significant effect on the health and success outcomes of millions of Americans. Whether having processed food or no food at all, food insecurity is far from a new issue. In modern times, we have extensive research and data, which enable researchers to measure the true extent and consequences. New insights will provide informed policies and stronger hunger relief going forward. Before examining the extent and effects of hunger, it is vital to understand the causes of food insecurity.
What makes food insecurity in the United States such a pressing issue is its vast and long-lasting implications on those who suffer from it, and society. The first and most obvious consequence food insecurity has is on personal health. To measure and pull insights on the effects of food insecurity on Americans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other respected organizations extensively study the prevalence of these issues, along with food insecurity prevalence. One negative health consequence of food insecurity is obesity. Food insecurity can lead to higher obesity rates for a variety of reasons. First, healthier foods cost more than high-calorie, low-protein foods, causing limited access to nutrition for impoverished Americans. Second, food insecurity creates a psychological pattern of binge eating, referred to by some as the “feast or famine” cycle. The hypothesis states that a state of hunger causes humans to naturally overeat due to fears over their next meal. The combination of non-nutritious foods and binge eating creates a correlation between food insecurity and obesity which is supported by the data. In a research paper examining food insecurity and obesity among adults involving over 66,000 Americans from 12 states, the Food Research and Action Center found that those who are food insecure are 32% more likely to be food insecure than those who are food secure (Food Research & Action Center, 2015). Food insecurity is deeply rooted with obesity, another American health epidemic.
The CDC found that 36.3% of adults in the Southern United States were obese, followed by the Midwest (35.4%), the Northeast (29.9%), and the West (28.4%) (CDC, 2022). Obesity leads to a variety of health and personal consequences, including increased risks of chronic diseases, reduced life expectancy, and overall reduced quality of life. Diabetes has been proven to have a strong correlation with food insecurity. The CDC found that adults who experience food insecurity are 2 to 3 times more likely to have diabetes than Americans who are not food insecure (CDC, 2023). The combination of limited access to healthy foods and lack of glycemic control, or the ability to moderate blood sugar levels, creates a direct connection between food insecurity and the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, diabetes. Like obesity and diabetes, heart disease is frequently caused by food insecurity. Being the number one cause of death in the United States, heart disease is caused by insufficient nutrition, which food-insecure Americans cannot solve. A 2022 American Heart Association study found that counties with a food security rate above the national median of 13.7% have a higher rate of deaths from heart failure in contrast to counties with food insecurity rates below the median (American Heart Association, 2022).
Food insecurity has significant implications on personal health and quality of life, yet also leads to increased societal problems, such as increased crime. A 2016 study from Clemson University found that a 1% increase in food insecurity correlates with a 12% increase in violent crime rate (Clemson University, 2016). Mental illness is leading cause of many societal issues, such as unemployment, homelessness, incarceration, and more. A 2020 study from research journal BMC Public Health found that food insecurity correlates with a 257% higher risk of anxiety and a 253% higher risk of depression (BMC Public Health, 2020). When humans cannot obtain their basic needs, they may resort to theft and other crimes to meet their needs. Factors such as stress, anxiety, and mental illness are exasperated by hunger, further leading to crime and societal issues resulting from food insecurity.
History has shown there are four primary drivers of food insecurity: poverty, climate change, conflict, and human activity. Poverty tends to be a major barrier for lower-income Americans, as fundamentally, like any other good, food costs money. Factors such as low-income, unemployment, and living in a poverty-stricken neighborhood show direct correlations with food insecurity and its negative effects. The Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion found that in 2020, 28.6% of low-income American households lived in a state of food insecurity, compared to the national average of 10.5% of American households, suggesting a strong prevalence of food insecurity in low-income communities (ODPHP, 2023). Poverty is a root cause of poverty for several other reasons, such as lack of nutrition education, absence of transportation to grocery stores, and the inability for sufficient medical care.
The second root of food insecurity is climate change. Carbon emissions altered rainfall patterns and more frequent natural disasters caused by climate change have a profound effect on foods production and supply chains. Food yield has been devastated by climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found in their 2014 report that the climate crisis has reduced global agricultural productivity by 1.1-2.8% each decade over the past 60 years (IPCC, 2014). This cause-and-effect relationship is caused by the lack of freshwater for crops and high temperatures causing low agricultural yields. The combination of these factors only further the negative effects of poverty and increases the prices of food. Conflict exasperates the effects poverty and climate change have on food production, distribution, and prices. War generates issues for food production and transportation through farmer displacement, agriculture and food storage destruction, and supply chain infrastructure disruptions.
A recent example of this relationship can be seen in Syria, where after 12 years of a major civil war, about 55% of Syria's population of 12.1 million people are in a state of food insecurity (Reuters, 2023). Human habits, such as food waste, poor agricultural practices, and overconsumption further increase food insecurity across the globe. It is difficult for the world population to be fed when a third of the food produced for human consumption is wasted globally. This equates to 1.3 billion tons, or $1 trillion per year (Reuters, 2020). Specifically in the United States, food insecurity is driven by high costs of living, inadequate social security nets, and overproduction of processed foods in the American diet.
It is evident that a variety of factors both within and out of human control contribute to this global pandemic of hunger, which begs the question, what are governments and organizations doing to remedy this widespread issue? Within the United States, there are policies and initiatives to remedy the effects of food insecurity, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the WIC Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, the National School Lunch Program, and the Emergency Food Assistance Program. General anti-poverty, such as housing choice vouchers (Section 8), minimum wage, and tax credits, enabling Americans to spend more of their paychecks on nutritious food options. Non-governmental organizations also lead the battle against hunger in America. Organizations including Feeding America, Meals on Wheels, and the Food Recovery Network use their large funding to ensure Americans don’t have to worry about their next meal. Hunger is a global issue that has been receiving support from major intergovernmental groups, such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and Sustainable Development Goals. The United States Government Accountability Office estimated that between 2014 and 2018, global spending on food insecurity increased from $13 billion to over $16 billion (GAO, 2020). This averages to about $12.30 in annual assistance to each food insecure human.
$12.30 per person annually to remedy hunger is not enough, especially considering the cost of a day’s nutritious diet ranges between $3.20 and $3.35 globally. This essay highlights the prevalence and negative effects of food insecurity and cover what is being done to ameliorate the hunger pandemic. My research has led me to the conclusion food insecurity is grossed under-addressed. As stated by Italian priest Raniero Cantalamessa, “The biggest sin against the poor and the hungry is perhaps indifference, making believe we do not see, passing by on the other side of the street” (Cantalamessa, 2007). Societies are aware of the prevalence and negative effects of food insecurity, and over a billion people experience hunger firsthand. More must be done to address the root causes of food insecurity and reduce its negative effects. Certain sustainable solutions would remedy the roots of food insecurity, such as sustainable agriculture, inequality reduction, and improved food habits. Sustainable agriculture has significant room for development in the coming decades. Currently, much of the world’s produce is not sustainable. Changes such as utilizing renewable energy sources (wind and solar power) and opposed to fossil fuels, agricultural diversity to withstand famine and diseases, and resource reduction. The global implementation of such practices would generate positive changes in the current course of food insecurity. The World Bank estimated that 26.2% of the globe, or 1.9 billion people, make under $3.20 a day, the low end of the cost of a daily nutritious diet (World Bank, 2018). Global food prices create a system where the poor cannot access nutrition to the same extent wealthier people can. It is generally accepted that the basic needs of humans are food, water, air, and shelter. It is necessary for national and global systems to further address the lack of nutrition for those who suffer daily.
References
5 facts about food waste and hunger: World Food Programme. UN World Food Programme. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.wfp.org/stories/5-facts-about-food-waste-and-hunger#:~:text=One%2Dthird%20of%20food%20produced,worth%20approximately%20US%241%20trillion.
Ar5 synthesis report: Climate change 2014. IPCC. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/syr/
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). DNPAO data, trends, and maps: Explore by
topic. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 9, 2023, fromhttps://nccd.cdc.gov/dnpao_dtm/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=DNPAO_DTM.ExploreByTopic&islClass=OWS&islTopic=&go=GO
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, August 1). Food and nutrition insecurity and diabetes. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/diabetes-and-food-insecurity.htm#:~:text=Research%20shows%20that%20food%20and,experience%20food%20and%20nutrition%20insecurity.
Caughron, Jonathan Randel, "An Examination of Food Insecurity and Its Impact on Violent Crime in American Communities" (2016). All Theses. 2565. https://tigerprints.clemson.edu/all_theses/256
Eating healthy vs. unhealthy diet costs about $1.50 more per day. News. (2014, January 13). Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/healthy-vs-unhealthy-diet-costs-1-50-more/
Fang, D., Thomsen, M. R., & Nayga, R. M. (2021, March 29). The association between food insecurity and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic - BMC public health. BioMed Central. Retrieved April 6, 2023, from https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-10631-0#:~:text=Food%20insecurity%20is%20associated%20with,253%25%20higher%20risk%20of%20depression.
Food insecurity. Food Insecurity - Healthy People 2030. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health/literature-summaries/food-insecurity
Global Food Insecurity Grows in 2022 amid backdrop of higher prices, Black Sea Conflict. USDA ERS - Global Food Insecurity Grows in 2022 Amid Backdrop of Higher Prices, Black Sea Conflict. (n.d.). Retrieved March 22, 2023, from https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2022/november/global-food-insecurity-grows-in-2022-amid-backdrop-of-higher-prices-black-sea-conflict/#:~:text=Overall%2C%20the%20number%20of%20food,considered%20food%20insecure%20in%202022.
Lack of access to healthy food may raise risk of death from heart failure. American Heart Association. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://newsroom.heart.org/news/lack-of-access-to-healthy-food-may-raise-risk-of-death-from-heart-failure#:~:text=Counties%20with%20a%20Food%20Insecurity,per%20100%2C000%20people%2C%20respectively).
NBCUniversal News Group. (2013, March 20). Media coverage of poverty: Why 'so little'? NBCNews.com. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/media-coverage-poverty-why-so-little-flna1c8971765
Office, U. S. G. A. (2020, November 23). Global Food Security: Information on spending and types of assistance provided by the United States and other donors. Global Food Security: Information on Spending and Types of Assistance Provided by the United States and Other Donors | U.S. GAO. Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-47r#:~:text=GAO%20estimated%20that%20from%202014,to%20more%20than%20%2416%20billion.&text=As%20the%20largest%20bilateral%20donor,methods%20to%20administer%20its%20assistance.
Person. (2023, March 15). Hunger, malnutrition rising sharply in Syria, WFP says. Reuters. Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/hunger-malnutrition-rising-sharply-syria-wfp-says-2023-03-15/
Raniero Cantalamessa quote. A. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1054959
Understanding the connections: Food insecurity and obesity. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://frac.org/wp-content/uploads/frac_brief_understanding_the_connections.pdf
World Bank Group. (2018, October 17). Nearly half the world lives on less than $5.50 a day. World Bank. Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/10/17/nearly-half-the-world-lives-on-less-than-550-a-day#:~:text=Over%201.9%20billion%20people%2C%20or,less%20than%20%245.50%20a%20day.