How are Poverty and Food Insecurity Related
Written By: Sameed Naushad
Edited By: Sameed Naushad
Designed By: Howie Nguyen
Published By: Howie Nguyen
As citizens of a developed country like Canada, many of us live with easy access to food. We go to our local grocery store and purchase the quantities that we need, without any difficulties. This freedom of quantity and variety that grocery stores have helps us ensure we have enough food for our nutritional needs.
Not everyone has this privilege though. Globally, many people struggle to find reliable food due to their country’s economy, or their financial status. This poverty leads to the inaccessibility of food in nutritional amounts, which causes food insecurity. Food insecurity is a factor in world hunger and causes kids to develop health problems at young ages.
Where is poverty affecting food insecurity the most?
Despite the economic status of nations, people experience food insecurity everywhere. There is no doubt though that places with poorer economies struggle to eat nutritionally more. According to data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2017, the highest rates of food insecurity were present in Sub-Saharan Africa. 34% of the cases there were at a severe stage, which is a rate higher than any other region. In addition, low-income countries occupied 58% of the total global food insecurity, while high-income countries only occupied 11%. Poverty within countries and their people has a major impact on how people can access their food.
A study done by Statistics Canada shows that in 2017-2018, 1 in 8 households in Canada was experiencing food insecurity. This led to 4.4 million people out of 37 million Canadians who were dealing with food insecurity. Food insecurity is present globally depending on the prices of foods in economies and the financial status of people. The highest prevalence of food insecurity in Canada was in the Northwest Territories, with a rate of 57% of the population struggling to some degree. Accessibility is a key factor as well, as many rural areas do not have the convenience of having a local grocery store.
Food Prices and Food Insecurity
This chart by Our World in Data compares food pricing around the world. Looking at the map, we could see that both cost and affordability are higher for poorer countries. People already struggle with poverty in many of these countries, and food prices are increased for the stability of the countries’ economies. This leads to even more food insecurity though, as many people suffer from these prices. In contrast, richer countries like Canada and the U.S. have higher affordability rates as most citizens have higher and easier conditions of living.
Human Influences Causing Food Insecurity
In many areas around the world, agricultural land is cut down for urban areas and factories to be built, causing slower food production. This causes scarcity of foods in some areas and increases their prices, which eventually leads to food insecurity.
Climate change has many negative effects on agriculture as well, which leads to slower food production. Taking action to stop climate change is very important for the stability of agricultural production and food prices.
Diminishing the wastage of food is also important to prevent the food insecurity of others. Buying and taking only as much as we want, without letting leftovers go to waste helps it to be potentially saved for a food-insecure home. This is because less demand for food items allows their prices to be reduced and become affordable for food-insecure families and homes.
Next Steps
As you can likely tell, humans have a major impact on food insecurity, and our negative habits lead to its increase. If we start changing and improving right now, we could prevent some of the world’s hunger and make sure newer generations grow up healthy. By projecting our voice to higher authorities and the government, we could potentially help enforce positive changes in our economy. More stable food pricings and agricultural production could allow poorer families to feed themselves to nutritional standards.
References
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Climate change and agriculture. NRDC. (2022, March 23). Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.nrdc.org/issues/climate-change-agriculture
Food Waste Audit. California Academy of Sciences. (n.d.). Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.calacademy.org/educators/lesson-plans/food-waste-audit
Household food insecurity in Canada. PROOF. (2022, July 6). Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/#:~:text=Severe%20food%20insecurity%20is%20particularly,associated%20with%20severe%20food%20insecurity.
Researchers identify negative impacts of food insecurity on children’s health. School of Social Work Researchers Identify Negative Impacts of Food Insecurity on Childrens Health Comments. (1967, January 1). Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.bu.edu/ssw/researchers-identify-negative-impacts-of-food-insecurity-on-childrens-health/
Roser, M., & Ritchie, H. (2021, October 8). Food prices. Our World in Data. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://ourworldindata.org/food-prices
Smith, M. D., & Meade, B. (2019, June 3). Who are the world’s food insecure? identifying the risk factors of food insecurity around the world. USDA ERS – Who Are the World’s Food Insecure? Identifying the Risk Factors of Food Insecurity Around the World. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2019/june/who-are-the-world-s-food-insecure-identifying-the-risk-factors-of-food-insecurity-around-the-world/
Smith, Z. (2021, April 26). Pandemic is exacerbating mental health problems in food-insecure Americans. EverydayHealth.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.everydayhealth.com/coronavirus/pandemic-exacerbating-mental-health-problems-in-food-insecure-americans/
Sterk, R. (2021, May 24). Food price inflation is on the Horizon. Food Business News RSS. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/18624-food-price-inflation-is-on-the-horizon
Tarasuk, V., & McIntyre, L. (2020, June 12). Food insecurity in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 11, 2022, from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/food-insecurity-in-canada