Food security (main)

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Food security


  • Spiral Pine Needle Cookstove Featured Article Spiral Pine Needle Cookstove Spiral Pine Needle Cookstove
    Spiral Pine Needle Cookstove Challenge In Uttrakand, India, wood fuel is a scarce commodity, as it is illegal to cut branches from the government-owned pine trees. The... More »
  • Climate Adaptation of Rice Featured Article Climate Adaptation of Rice Climate Adaptation of Rice
    Climate Adaptation of Rice Symbiogenics: A New Strategy for Reducing Climate Impacts on Plants Rice–which provides nearly half the daily calories for the... More »
  • Africover Initiative Featured Article Africover Initiative Africover Initiative (Food security)
    The Africover Project is designed to provide a digital, georeferenced database on land cover—and a geographic information reference point for the whole of Africa. The... More »
  • Aflatoxin Contamination Featured Article Aflatoxin Contamination Aflatoxin Contamination (Food security)
    Background Aflatoxin contamination is a common phenomenon produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus, acting on food crops consumed in both developing countries and,... More »
  • Agriculture II Featured Photo Gallery Agriculture II Agriculture II (Food security)
    Humans began to cultivate food crops about 10,000 years ago. Prior to that time, hunter-gatherers secured their food as they traveled in the nearby environment. When they... More »
  • What Is Food Allergy? Featured Article What Is Food Allergy? What Is Food Allergy?
    What Is Food Allergy? Food allergy is an abnormal response to a food, triggered by the body’s immune system. There are several types of immune responses to food. The... More »
  • Drought in Eastern Africa Featured Article Drought in Eastern Africa Drought in Eastern Africa
    More Frequent Drought Likely in Eastern Africa The increased frequency of drought observed in eastern Africa over the last 20 years is likely to continue as long as... More »
Recently Updated
Farmers-Kenya-Women WorldFoodProg.jpg International Food Security Assessment: 2012-22 Last Updated on 2014-10-26 16:56:26 Food security is estimated to improve slightly in 2012 as the number of food-insecure people in the 76 countries covered in this report declines from 814 million in 2011 to 802 million in 2012. The share of the population that is food insecure remains at 24 percent. Over the next decade, the share of the population that is food insecure is projected to decline from 24 percent in 2012 to 21 percent in 2022, but the number of food insecure people is projected to increase by 37 million. Regionally, food insecurity is projected to remain most severe in Sub-Saharan Africa. Food-insecure people are defined as those consuming less than the nutritional target of roughly 2,100 calories per day per person. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service (ERS) has, since the late 1970s, reported annually on food security in a number of developing countries. A key... More »
Beans 425px.jpg Food Security (Food Security) Last Updated on 2014-09-24 23:01:45 A comprehensive definition of food security that is widely accepted today is that “food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life"1. It follows from this definition that individuals and families who are not food-secure are likely to be hungry, undernourished or malnourished, poor, and living in places that are distant from well-stocked and functional food markets. These characteristics can often be observed directly or assessed through household survey methods. While measures of nutritional status such as low height for age or low weight for height, average availability of food translated into calories available/day, per capita incomes, or distance from a market do not fully define food security, observations or... More »
Africover-jungle FAO.jpg Africover Initiative (Food security) Last Updated on 2013-10-08 23:04:33 The Africover Project is designed to provide a digital, georeferenced database on land cover—and a geographic information reference point for the whole of Africa. The purpose of the Africover Project is to establish a digital georeferenced database on land cover and a geographic referential for the whole of Africa including: geodetical homogeneous referential toponomy roads hydrography The Multipurpose Africover Database for the Environmental Resources (MADE) is produced at a 1:200,000 scale (1:100,000 for small countries and specific areas). Reinforcing national and sub-regional capacities for the establishment, update and use of the geographic referential and land cover maps and spatial data bases is the core strategy of Africover: this has been the methodology adopted to ensure an operational approach and the sustainability of the initiative. The renewable... More »
Fish-Seafood inspection FDA.jpg Which fish should I eat? Last Updated on 2013-09-03 12:09:16 Despite the relative lack of information integrating the health, ecological, and economic impacts of different fish dietary choices, clear and simple guidance is needed to effect wise consumption of wild and domesticated fisheries resources. This Review article, written by Emily Oken, Anna L. Choi, Margaret R. Karagas, Koenraad Mariën, Christoph M. Rheinberger, Rita Schoeny, Elsie Sunderland, and Susan Korrick* appeared first in Environmental Health Perspectives—the peer-reviewed, open access journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The article is a verbatim version of the original and is not available for edits or additions by Encyclopedia of Earth editors or authors. Companion articles on the same topic that are editable may exist within the Encyclopedia of Earth. Which Fish Should I Eat? Perspectives Influencing Fish Consumption... More »
Bioenergy.JPG Bioenergy: Chances and Limits Last Updated on 2012-07-26 10:38:28 This report from the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina has come to the conclusion that in quantitative terms, bioenergy plays a minor role in the transition to renewable, sustainable energy sources in Germany at the present time and probably into the future. Bioenergy – Chances and Limits The Leopoldina’s statement “Bioenergy – Chances and Limits” Möglichkeiten und Grenzen provides a comprehensive analysis of the use of bioenergy. It was compiled by a working group of more than 20 expert scientists established in 2010 and outlines under which conditions the utilization of bioenergy is appropriate. In recent years Germany has seen a steady rise in the number of energy crops being cultivated for the production of biofuels and biogas. Because bioenergy is so versatile and easy to store, the German... More »