The responsibilisation of food security: What is the problem represented to be?

Abstract

term can mean various things to different people (Maxwell & Smith, 1992). BACKGROUNDThe concept of 'food security' originated from international discussions during the mid-1970s global food crisis. The initial focus of attention was primarily on food supply problems; of assuring the availability and to some degree the price stability of basic foodstuffs at the international and national level (Overseas Development Institute, 1997). This initial focus on food supply volume and stability is refl ected in the 1974 World Food Summit defi nition: 'availability at all times of adequate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fl uctuations in production and prices' (United Nations, 1975). In 1983 the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) expanded its concept to include securing access by vulnerable people to available supplies, implying that attention should be balanced between the demand and supply side of the food security equation: 'ensuring that all people at all times have both physical and economic access to the basic food that they need' (Food and Agriculture Organisation, 1983). This defi nition was revised in 1996 at the World Food Summit to include the individual and household level in addition to the regional and national level: 'food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access

A Food Relief Charter for South Australia—Towards a Shared Vision for Pathways Out of Food Insecurity

“…Despite strong economies and an abundant food supply in high-income countries, individual and household chronic food insecurity persists due to poverty and inadequate levels of social protection [ 1 ]. Food insecurity (a lack of access to safe, sufficient, and appropriate food [ 2 ]) is a complex social problem that is represented and understood in different ways [ 3 , 4 ]. Previously represented as a problem of individual or community responsibility that deflects from the need for government intervention [ 1 , 4 ], the determinants of food insecurity are increasingly understood to result from inadequate social protection, low wage growth, a lack of wage-setting policies, unemployment, and homelessness [ 1 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

Social Security: Politics of Food Security in Brazil.

“…The concept of food security emerged in the international discourse during the mid 1970s global food crisis. The way food security is understood by the policy makers gets reflected and addressed in the public policy (Bastian and Coveney, 2013). In common parlance the term food security is used by Government and nongovernmental organisation to describe, monitor and analyze and intervene in a food system that has not met the needs of the world"s population for sufficient food that is culturally appropriate, affordable, accessible and nutritious (Mcmillan and Dowler, 2011).…”

Evolution of Food and Nutrition Policy: A Tasmanian Case Study from 1994 to 2023

“…Food security is a concept with evolving definitions and meanings, and it is shaped by contested knowledge and changing contexts [1][2][3]. The way in which food security is understood by governments significantly influences how it is incorporated into public policy [4,5]. Despite efforts to ensure consistent access to food, traditional approaches focusing on stable access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food have not succeeded in achieving food security for everyone.…”