and the environment. Food security was recognized as an issue from the individual
to the global level. Another definition of food security came from the 1992
International Conference on Nutrition (ICN) held in Rome, which defined food
security as “access by all people at all times to the food needed for a healthy life”
(FAO/WHO, 1992). A broader perspective was adopted in the UNDP, 1994 Human
Development Report, which included food security as one of the component aspects
of human security (UNDP, 1994). The most commonly used definition of food
security was developed at the World Food Summit of 1996. The definition that was
developed at the summit was that food security at the individual, household,
national, regional and global levels [is achieved]
when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and
nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy
life.
This definition is again redefined by the FAO in “The State of Food Insecurity
2001”:
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic
access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (FAO, 2002: 8).
Food security is a broad concept that is more than food production and food
accessibility. In reality it contains four pillars, namely: food availability, food
accessibility, utilization and stability of food supply (FAO, 2006). The FAO defines
the four pillars of food security as follows:
Food availability – food is available to people in sufficient quality and quantity
and there are no significant fluctuations. The food is supplied by domestic production or imported commercially or via food aid.
Food access means the access of individuals to adequate resources, which
provide them with appropriate food for a nutritious diet. Accessibility is the key
issue when discussing food security.
Food utilization refers to food quality and nutritional content. This relates to
health, HIV/AIDS, access to water and clean energy sources. It means that people
have sufficient knowledge and skills to handle and store food safely – for example
hygiene, storage facilities, clean water, and health care.
Food stability – the FAO’s fourth dimension of food security – takes into
account the consequences of sudden shocks. Food security is “a situation” that does
not have to occur for only a moment, a day or a season, but that, with sustainability,
lasts on a permanent basis.
For food security objectives to be realized, all four dimensions must be fulfilled
simultaneously (EC – FAO Food Security Programme, 2008). Moreover, each of
these components needs to be considered at the level of individuals, households,
and the entire globe.
One of the resolutions of the 1996 World Food Summit was to halve the number
of undernourished by 2015, while the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set
in 2000, aspired to reduce by half the proportion of people suffering from hunger.
130
S. İ. Gürsoy
to the global level. Another definition of food security came from the 1992
International Conference on Nutrition (ICN) held in Rome, which defined food
security as “access by all people at all times to the food needed for a healthy life”
(FAO/WHO, 1992). A broader perspective was adopted in the UNDP, 1994 Human
Development Report, which included food security as one of the component aspects
of human security (UNDP, 1994). The most commonly used definition of food
security was developed at the World Food Summit of 1996. The definition that was
developed at the summit was that food security at the individual, household,
national, regional and global levels [is achieved]
when all people at all times have both physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and
nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy
life.
This definition is again redefined by the FAO in “The State of Food Insecurity
2001”:
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic
access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (FAO, 2002: 8).
Food security is a broad concept that is more than food production and food
accessibility. In reality it contains four pillars, namely: food availability, food
accessibility, utilization and stability of food supply (FAO, 2006). The FAO defines
the four pillars of food security as follows:
Food availability – food is available to people in sufficient quality and quantity
and there are no significant fluctuations. The food is supplied by domestic production or imported commercially or via food aid.
Food access means the access of individuals to adequate resources, which
provide them with appropriate food for a nutritious diet. Accessibility is the key
issue when discussing food security.
Food utilization refers to food quality and nutritional content. This relates to
health, HIV/AIDS, access to water and clean energy sources. It means that people
have sufficient knowledge and skills to handle and store food safely – for example
hygiene, storage facilities, clean water, and health care.
Food stability – the FAO’s fourth dimension of food security – takes into
account the consequences of sudden shocks. Food security is “a situation” that does
not have to occur for only a moment, a day or a season, but that, with sustainability,
lasts on a permanent basis.
For food security objectives to be realized, all four dimensions must be fulfilled
simultaneously (EC – FAO Food Security Programme, 2008). Moreover, each of
these components needs to be considered at the level of individuals, households,
and the entire globe.
One of the resolutions of the 1996 World Food Summit was to halve the number
of undernourished by 2015, while the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set
in 2000, aspired to reduce by half the proportion of people suffering from hunger.
130
S. İ. Gürsoy