Food Crises

A food crisis refers to any situation in which there is not adequate food to be obtained by or provided to a population for an extended period of time, so that their health and lives are in jeopardy. Food crises have occurred throughout human history during war, crop failures, and droughts, preventing significant populations from obtaining adequate food. However, food crises have been exacerbated in recent decades by the escalating demands of a growing global population and the productive limits created by environmental abuse and exploitation.

Recent discussions often categorize these issues as matters of food security, which is characterized in terms of both the availability of adequate food and the ability to acquire it. The framework of food security shifts the focus away from an ...