Items tagged with SEGURIDAD ALIMENTARIA

The population’s access to healthy and sustainable food is a basic human right, which is not always fulfilled. This article analyzes how this right is being guaranteed in Spain, detailing some of the existing mechanisms to deal with food insecurity.

In the search to guarantee Food Security during the 70s, it was believed that it would be enough to increase the productivity of agro-industry in the world. However, the work of Amartya Sen was fundamental in clarifying the concept of Food Security and showing that the death of thousands of people during the famines in Bengal, Ethiopia and Bangladesh, was due to a lack of access to food, and not because of their insufficiency. These testimonies, together with the dimensions of Food Security, shaped the concept, stressing with it the importance of guaranteeing food regardless of the political instability of the countries or natural disasters that may occur.

Unemployment and precariousness are one of the major determinants of poverty in Spain and have been aggravated by the economic crisis of the last decade. The lack of resources threatens the food security of families who are forced to adopt purchasing strategies that lead to a reduction in the consumption of fresh food and an increase in refined and ultraprocessed products.

The fight against hunger worldwide is a central objective of development to improve the quality of life. Ensuring access to adequate food is a complex issue that can and should be addressed from the perspective of International Relations.