Transcript Presentation Title - Dubai International Food Safety Conference

Balancing Food Safety and Food
Security – FAO Perspective
Ezzeddine Boutrif
Director,
Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations
AGNS: Working together for safer, better quality food
Food security – an evolving
concept
• In the 50s and 60s:
Food security = self sufficiency in major staples
• After World Food Conference of 1974:
Food Security = Access to sufficient food
• World Food Summit of 1996:
“Food security exists when all people, at all
times, have physical and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet
their dietary needs and food preferences for
an active and healthy life”.
Global food supply increased
substantially since World War II
• For most of the past 50 years food production has
outpaced rising demand.
• World population has doubled since World War II, but
food production has tripled.
• In the developing world the calories available per person
increased from an average of 1,925 calories in 1961 to
2,540 in 1992.
• World food production has expanded since the early
1960s due mainly to the Green Revolution—adoption of
crop rotation, the mass production and use of petroleumbased fertilizers and chemical pesticides, expanded
irrigation, and the introduction of genetically superior,
disease-resistant cultivars
Hunger in the Midst of Plenty!
• The world produces sufficient food to feed all its
people, but many millions in developing countries
are undernourished.
• Each year about 18 million people, mostly children,
die from starvation, malnutrition, and related causes.
• Two billion people suffer from some form of
malnutrition or dietary deficiencies.
• In sub-Saharan Africa as many as 70% of all women
are anaemic (Iron deficiency).
• About 200 million children under age five—40% of
all children of this age in the developing world —
lack sufficient nutrition to lead fully active lives.
Global Food security – High on
the international agenda
• March 2008: establishment of the UN High Level
Task Force on Food Crisis
• June 2008: FAO High Level Conference on
Food Security – The challenge of climate
change and bioenergy
• The G-8 Summit in Japan in October 2008
addressed the impact of soaring food prices on
world food security
• The Madrid High Level Meeting on Food
Security for all, January 2009 which established
the Global Partnership for Agriculture, Food
Security and Nutrition.
Food Insecurity in the
World - gloomy prospects
World hunger is increasing. The WFS goal
of halving the number of undernourished
people in the world by 2015 threatens to
be out of reach. FAO’s most recent
estimates put the number of hungry
people at 923 million in 2007 versus 842
million in 1990-92, the baseline period for
the World Food Summit (WFS) and
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Number of undernourished people in
the developing world (WFS target)
Proportion of undernourished people in
the developing world (MDG target)
Trends in global undernourishment,
2003-05 compared with 1990-92
Soaring Food Prices Crisis
• Between Jan. 2005 and Feb. 2008 prices
of major food commodities increased by:
– Corn: 130%
– Wheat: 177%
– Rice: 62%
– Soybean oil: 175%
– Coconut oil: 137%
The highest price increases in 30 years!.
Impact of high food prices on numbers of
undernourished by region: 2003-05 to
2007
Free trade – an opportunity
or a cause for concern?
• Major promoters of free trade tend to
make exceptions in their favour:
– More than USD 300 billion as subsidies
• No possibility for small developing
countries to compete
• Food Sovereignty – several countries
(India, Pakistan, Argentina, Russia and
China) decided to ban export of certain
commodities to protect their populations.
Biofuels – A ˝green Energy˝
or a cause of a crisis?
• In 2007 some 80 million tons of grain in
biofuels – 25% of US corn production
• In 2008 expected to reach 100 million tons
i.e. amount equivalent to the consumption
needs per year of 400 million people.!
• Production of biofuels from grains is not
necessarily environment friendly!
• Second generation of biofuels may be
more attractive.
Climate change – the big
challenge
• Negative effects include: droughts,
desertification, more frequent and serious
storms, intense rainfalls and floods.
• Agriculture and climate change are tied
together in a “feedback loop”: they affect
each other.
• Modern agriculture is an important
contributor to climate change.
Food safety contributes to
food security
Ensuring safe food has positive implications
for food security:
• Access to safe food is in itself an element
of food security.
• Food-borne illnesses may have serious
social and economic consequences
• Application of GAP, GMP and GHP
improves food safety and reduces food
losses  increases food availability and
food security.
Food safety standards – can affect
negatively food security
• Food safety regulations imply costs of
compliance which may be prohibitive for
some producers – e.g. private standards
• Stringent food safety standards may raise
food prices with negative consequences
for poor consumers.
• Food safety and other sanitary and
phytosanitary measures can have a major
impact on trade in agricultural and food
products.
Food safety in times of food
shortage
•When food is in shortage, can policy makers
accept lower food safety standards to protect food
security?
•Need to take into account the risk of
starvation/undernutrition in the risk analysis
process.
Conclusions
• Food insecurity is still a major concern in
the 21st century – Need for a global
commitment to mobilise the necessary
resources to address the problem
decisively.
• Food safety contributes to food security
and enhances nutritional benefit;
• In times of food shortage, it is important to
include in the risk analysis process the
risks of food insecurity.