Glossary

Food security

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), food security exists if all people have physical and economic access to sufficient and safe food at all times and dietary needs and preferences for a healthy and active life can be ensured.

This definition has four dimensions:

  • Availability
  • Access
  • Utilization
  • Stability

The first two elements concern the actual availability of food as well as physical and monetary access to it. In this context, production-related aspects such as agronomic potential, investments in infrastructure and breeding play an important role. Other important influencing factors are global drivers such as population growth and global trade as well as general economic and technological developments. The third element, the utilization of food, includes both aspects such as quality, safety and the handling of food waste and loss, as well as the quantity of agricultural products that are used as energy sources or in plastics. The last element relates to the stability of the food system. From a short-term perspective, stability is about the political, institutional and economic framework conditions that promote investments and innovations. At the same time, the condition of natural resources and the influence of various environmental factors such as climate change, soil quality or plant diseases play a role. They all influence the long-term potential as well as the resilience of the food system.