Improving Food Security - Essay Example for Everyone

Food security can be described as the relation between production of food, its distribution, and accessibility to individuals within a geographical location. Food is a vital component of every healthy society. Lack of enough food leads to health complications such as malnutrition and sometimes-prolonged illnesses that do not heal due to weakened immune of the body. Food insecurity is the phenomenon where a community or region lacks food that can sustain the members through a given period. This problem is brought about by the rapidly increasing position that has become difficult to feed. Children and youth comprise the large percentage of the world's population at approximately 40% (Loo & Skipper, 2017). By itself, this amounts to food insecurity owing to the basal metabolic rates of youths and children.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

The decreased forest covers have also contributed to this menace. The forest covers in the United States is estimated to be around 33%. This is worrying owing to the ever-rising levels of deforestation. These deforestation activities have continuously led to the destruction of forest and hence lack of rains. The minimal forest does not affect the United States alone but also affects all nations in the world. Only a small portion of the earth consists of forest which stands at an estimated 31% which representing four billion hectares of the earth surface. Forest plantations have decreased periodically from the 5.9 billion hectares that existed before industrialization. It is documented that trees blow winds that in term blow rain-bearing clouds from the seas to the mainland. The scarcity of trees has led to drought-like conditions not only in the United States but also in other nations. The African continent is explicitly affected by drought especially in areas around the Sahara desert which is in the West of Africa (Crush & In Battersby, 2016). Food insecurity in African nations has also been brought by the unending political standoffs. Political quells have led to massive destruction of food meant for the citizens.

Food security is directly related to the health of every society. About 10% of families in the US are at the risk of food insecurity. This represents an enormous population remembering the nation has a population of over 326 million people converting to over 3 million individuals who are facing food insecurity. In sub-Saharan Africa, over 153 million people have been affected by food insecurity. These climatic changes alone are not be blamed on the food insecurity. The ever-rising cost of living has contributed to the problem. Foods are on supermarket shelves, but the low-class Americans cannot afford it. The rising cost of living has led to the rise of prices foods in general.

The greed of some of the members of the society has also led to food shortage. The business people have played a significant role since they are involved in the exportation of food products meant to feed the American people during times of scarcity (Steven, Jones, & In O'Brien, 2015). These selfish individuals end up selling the products to foreign nations leaving the common American suffering in hunger. Apart from businesspeople, saw millers are also at the heart of the saga. Many sawmilling plants have been set in the US in the recent past. These establishments amount to the severe felling of trees in search of timber and logs for their sawmilling activities. Sawmilling is not prohibited, but there exist laws that govern tree cutting. Unless such rules are put into practice, America will one day crumble due to lack of enough food to feed its citizens. A healthy nation is defined by the number of resources it has to sustain its members during the time of scarcity.

It is the high time that America and its citizens come together and solve the issue of food insecurity once and for all. These will be possible by putting in place measures aimed at maintaining the right amounts of food in every society. All members of the community are thus expected to play a role when putting the steps in place. The measures are more of goals set by the community to counter the phenomenon. One, every member of the community should take part in tree planting activities for the apparent reason. Lack of trees has been the primary cause of lack of rain. The society also has to protect the forest and report any destruction activities to the relevant authorities. Secondly, the members should avoid selling their agricultural produce to business people for whatever reason. The selling of the products is leading to the massive shortage of food. The society should also be educated on the importance of growing drought-resistant crops. The crops can withstand the demanding period and eventually yield food for the community. The government should also invest in firms that deal with the generation of genetically modified food. The move will attract lots of criticism, but in the end, there will be no food insecurity in America and the world at large.

Unity is equivalent to strength. When the society joins hands in ending menace, they indeed can make it outdated. Every member of the community must care for the environment remembering it has consequences in days to come. Planting of trees, incorporation of drought-resistant varieties of crops, storing of agricultural produce in government stores and development of genetically modified foods are just but a few of the strategies that can be put in place and improve the food security of American people and hence their health.

References

Crush, J., & In Battersby, J. (2016). Rapid urbanization, urban food deserts and food security in Africa. Cambridge, UK.

Steven, D., In Jones, B. D., & In O'Brien, E. (2015). The new politics of strategic resources: Energy and food security challenges in the 21st century. U.K

Loo, C., & Skipper, R. A. (2017). The New Face of Food Insecurity. Food Insecurity, the Obesity Crisis, and Exploitation in the US Food System, 7-30. doi:10.1057/978-1-137-53704-1_2

Appendix A

According to the community assessment in week 3, it is evident that families affected by food insecurity are affected by poor nutrition. Los Angeles and California are some of the affected states in the US. California has a high production of dairy products used for exports only. Though that exportation benefits the economy, it leaves nothing for local consumption. This is a significant contribution towards food insecurity. Los Angeles, on the other hand, is a city with a very high cost of living in the sense that the ordinary residents of Los Angeles who earn approximately $75,000 have a hard time. It is difficult to pay bills in the city as well as sustain family needs. This has, in the end, led to food insecurity and homelessness.