SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT AND THE

SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT GOALS
(SDGS)
Global Issues
1. Climate Action Accelerated Inequality is at the heart of many of the
The numbers are in: The past decade gravest issues facing the global
has been the warmest in recorded community, including development,
history. Deadly wildfires including climate, and peace. It affects people and
those affecting Australia hurricanes, structures across societies and borders
extreme weather events, and climate- and threatens to stymie hard-fought
influenced migration and hunger in development gains.
many parts of the world are now regular
4. Crises on the Brink: Conflict,
occurrences.
Peace, and Humanitarian Response
2. A Decade to Deliver on the SDGs
The year 2020 marks the ninth,
The start of 2020 ushers in the ten-year anniversary of the war in Syria, and the
countdown the deliver the Sustainable fifth in Yemen. Venezuela may very
Development Goals (SDGs) and is a well become the source of the world’s
crucial year for ensuring our polices, largest and most underfunded refugee
financing, and ambition align to reach crisis.
the Goals by 2030.
5. A United World? The UN at 75
3. Inequality and Exclusion in Focus
The year 2020 is the time to move the approaches its 75th anniversary, offering
world closer to a sustainable, equitable, a moment to reflect on the world we
and just future and to set the tone for the have achieved working together.
decade ahead. This comes as the UN

The World Commission on the Environment and Development (WED) outline for
environment and development policies following its concept of sustainable development.

1. Revving Growth 3. Meeting essential needs for jobs,

food, energy, water, and sanitation
2. Changing the Quality of Growth
4. Ensuring a sustainable level of
population

GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

What is Food Security? obtaining emergency supplies for food.

Food security is centered on the premise When populations face food insecurity

“that all people at all times have access they are living with the absence of food

including physical, social and security.

economical” to sufficient, safe and There are four pillars of Global Food
nutritious food necessary to lead active Security, that is composed of
and healthy lives” (FAO 2009). availability, access, utilization, and
Essentially, humas should not have to stability.
rely on stealing, scavenging, or

Four Pillars of Global Food Security

Availability
The physical presence of food the is accessible to individuals within a given population.
Malnutrition, closely linked to food Nutrient Deficiencies
This includes an adequate and consistent food supply from production, distribution, and
security, refers to the lack of access to a
storage system. This refers to a lack of specific vitamins
daily minimum amount of culturally
and minerals essentials for proper
Access
appropriate calories. It affects over a
bodily functions. Common examples
billion people worldwide, it has there
The financial and physical capacity of individualsinclude
of get sustenance.
iron deficiency
Thisleading
is the ability
to to
components:
obtain food without sacrificing other fundamentalanemia
requirements,
or vitamin
whether
A deficiency
by directcausing
production, purchase, or social support networks. vision problems.
Undernutrition

Utilization
This occurs when an individual does not Bryan Mcdonald, PH.D.
receive enough calories, protein, or
The utilization of food through adequate nutrition,Hesafe
is the
water,
Director
sanitation,
of interdisciplinary
and health, care
essential nutrients to meet their body’s
to ensure that individuals can fully benefit from the
Programs
food they
in consume,
the Collegeleading
of the to
Liberal
a
needs. It can lead to stunted growth,
healthy and active life. Arts and an Associate Professor n the
underweight, and deficiencies.
Department of History of the
Stability
Overnutrition Pennsylvania and teaching interests in
The food system’s resilience to shocks and strains,food, which guarantees security,
environment, that the three
and
This involves excessive intake of
previously described pillars will always be stable.resilience.
To sustain food security for all people,
calories, often leading to obesity and
this entails being resilient to a variety of difficulties, including changes in the climate,
related health issues. While the person Bryan McDonald investigates how
variations in the economy, and wars.
may be consuming enough overall processes of globalization and global

Malnutrition andtransformation
Food
calories, the diet may lack essential
nutrients.
Security
have transformed food
system in ways that have important
implications for state national security
as well as the human security of
communities and individuals.

Factors Influencing Food Security

Bryan McDonald, author of Food presently influencing food security.
Security, identified five factors These factors population growth,
changing diets/food consumption, the average vegetarian diet requires
global food prices, climate changes, and roughly 800 square meters per person of
changing technology. land, while a meat and diary diet
requires 4000 square meters.
1. Population Growth
3. Global Food Price Crisis of 2008
Earth’s human population has increased
from 1.7 billion in 1900 to more than 7 Over the last decade, global food prices
billion people in 2016. Much of our had been on the rise and were especially
population growth comes from regions exacerbated by the recession in 2008.
in the global south as well as urban For example, price jump occurred over
areas. However, given our growing a five-month period in 2007 when the
population, scientist predict that we will prices of corn and wheat doubled. A
still have enough food to feed the umber of factors have lead to the
world’s population. Albeit efforts to increases in food cost; the growing
provide enough food to feed this wealth in places like China and India
population will continue to put pressure where consumers ca pay more food, eat
on Earth’s resources. 9Godfray et larger meals, and consume diets that
al.,2010; McDonald 2010) contain more meat, the high price of oil,
fertilizers and pesticides, and an overall
2. Changing diets/ Food Consumption
decrease in food stockpiles.
Changing diets and food preferences are
4. Climate Change
occurring in China, India, and Brazil as
a result of their middle class. With One of the greatest concerns in food
greater spending power, these security is climate change, which will
populations are adding more meat to continue to put pressure on the
their diets, which is driving up the cost environment. Growing seasons will
of meat and poultry. In the 1990s, less extend in some regions particularly the
than half of all meat consumed in the mid-to high latitudes i.e. North
world took place in developing America, Russia, and Central Asia
countries and by 2006 that percentage while being reduced in others due to
had jumped to 60 percent. For example,
drought, heat waves, hurricanes, and in agriculture and food production
floods. alongside greater refinement un
crop breeding. Improvements in
5. A humber of innovations in
irrigation are leading to less water
technology have led to changes in
waste, and machinery has replaced
food security. In food security.
animal and human muscle.
Scientist have made advancement

In addition to these five factors, Paci-Green and Berardi (2015) further elaborate on the
negative impacts of food security to also include conflict and natural hazards:

1. Civil conflict or limited access to food-producing resources, especially land, results

in food deficits.
2. Natural hazards strike vulnerable populations, whether that is a broad segment of a
community or, more frequently, its marginalized members.
3. Food quality is compromised, due to either (1) or (2) above, or to inadequate quality
of food (little fresh produce, poor protein sources, low-nutrient calories) and/or
reasonably priced retail outlets selling high quality foods.

Genetic Smart
Vertical
Enginneerin Irrigation
Farming
g Technology
 Current State of Global Food Security
Region and demographics that is most the highest number of undernourished
affected by food security: people. Globally, here are 735 million
people that are considered
Sub-Sahara Africa
undernourished or starving.
Sub-Sahara Africa is the region most
Undernourished- Undernourished
severely affected by hunger. In the
means not getting enough essential
region, more than one fifth of the
nutrients, casing health problems due to
population is undernourished. In terms
inadequate nutrition.
of individuals, however, South Asia has

Chart Title
30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

World Africa
Asia Latin America and the Caribbean
Oceania Northern America and Europe

The Global Food System

 Previous centuries provide example of a global food system largely limited to luxury
food items such as sugar and spices (Sage 2012)
 McDonald defines the global food system as “complex network of relations that
includes that production, harvest, processing, transport, and consumption of food”
 Colin Sage elaborates to describe the primary components of the global agri-food
system: consumers, food retailing and service, processing and manufacturing, and
primary production (2012)
 The global food system also relies heavily on transportation infrastructure that
includes travel routes, ports of entry, interstate road and railroad networks, and fuel
for transportation (Paci-Green and Berardi 2015)

Farmland Harvesting
Natural Resouce Processing
Base Packaging
Agricultural
Inputs
Agricultural
Processing
Production
Distribution
Systems

Human
Environment Health and
Well Being
Air Quality Nutrition
Soil Quality Food Security
Water Quality Food Justice

Influences

 Markets Support Systems

 Trade
 Government Agencies
 Governments
 Public Education
 Corporations
 Public Research
 Cultures
 Nonprofits
 Geography
 Private R&D
 Climate
 Funders and Lenders
 COVID – 19 and Food Security
Disruptions in Food Supply Chains Disruption of agricultural activities

Food transportation and distribution Movement restrictions and labor

have been disrupted lockdowns, and shortages have affected agricultural
border closures, causing shortages in production, leading to decreased yield
some regions and surpluses in others. and harvest in some regions. This had
These supply chain disruption have led contributed to food shortages and
to price fluctuations and limited access increased food prices in some areas.
to specific food items.
Increased Food Insecurity
Loss of Income and Livelihoods
The pandemic has exacerbated existing
Economic disruption caused by the food insecurity, pushing more people
pandemic have led to job losses and into hunger and malnutrition.
reduced incomes for many individuals, Vulnerable populations, such as low-
affecting their ability to afford or access income households, marginalized
food, particularly in vulnerable communities, and those already facing
communities. food insecurity, have been particularly
affected.

International Efforts and Humanitarian

Aid
1.