GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY
Despite advances in agricultural efficiency and technology, chronic hunger remains a large issue both in the U.S. and around the world. Globally, about 1 in every 10 people suffers from hunger. And while humanity has made giant strides toward global food security, population growth, global pandemics, and climate change are creating increasingly serious challenges.
Feeding the world’s hungry people is complex, but agriculture is at the heart of the solution. By 2050, agricultural productivity must increase by 60-70% to meet the nutritional needs of the earth’s growing population. Farmers, crop scientists, and agricultural researchers are hard at work to develop new tools and improved farming practices to enable our food system to meet this challenge while also protecting the world’s natural environments.
Hunger in the U.S.
-
38 million people are food insecure, representing about 10.5% of U.S. households
-
Hunger occurs everywhere, but rural and minority communities are disproportionately affected
-
The number of hungry people increased during the COVID-19 crisis, with surveys indicating that 1 in every 5 adults used a food bank at some time during the pandemic
Hunger around the World
-
As many as 800 million people around the world suffer from hunger
-
Small-scale farmers and their families make up the majority of the world’s hungry people, because they don’t have access to modern technologies needed to increase crop yields
-
Malnutrition, particularly in young children, can affect both physical and cognitive development, robbing people of reaching their full potential in life
-
Around the world, nearly half of all deaths of children under age 5 are linked to malnutrition
