Food Security
Food security means that everyone always has access to enough safe and nutritious food, which is not the case in many regions.
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Food security means that everyone always has access to enough safe and nutritious food, which is not the case in many regions.
- Famine can follow drought or conflict
- Irrigation boosts yields
- Waste reduces supply
🧠 Quick quiz
Three questions. Score 2 or more to complete the topic.
What is Food Security?
Within Geography, which covers maps, landforms, weather, climate, population and settlements: understand how our planet and people connect, this topic explains Food Security. Geography explains how places, people and natural processes connect, so each topic here combines a clear definition with a visual model.
Check that you can explain Food Security in your own words and give one example from everyday life. If you can do that, you have understood the core idea.
Understanding Food Security helps you explain patterns on maps and in the news, and make reasoned decisions about places and environments.
Food Security in detail
Food security means that all people have reliable access to enough safe, nutritious food. Food insecurity can lead to hunger, malnutrition and famine. Causes include poverty, conflict, drought and flood, poor infrastructure, rising prices and climate change, rather than simply a lack of global production.
Solutions include irrigation, improved seeds, appropriate technology, reducing food waste, sustainable agriculture, fair trade, aid and better storage. Both undernutrition and obesity are problems of diet. The UN aims to end hunger by 2030, but progress needs political stability and investment.
How the interactive helps you understand Food Security
Watch the bar chart in the interactive. Use any sliders or buttons it offers to change the values and see how the bar chart responds.
Before you change anything, predict the result. Then change one value at a time and check whether your prediction was right. This is a quick way to build a correct mental model of Food Security.
Real-life uses and examples
- Interpret a graph or map that shows Food Security and say what it suggests.
- Describe a real place where Food Security can be seen, using a map or photograph.
- Explain how Food Security affects people, jobs and land use in a region.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Mixing up cause, effect and consequence when you explain Food Security.
- Writing general statements without a named place or example.
- Learning the definition without testing it. Use the quiz and the interactive to check that you can apply the idea.
Frequently asked questions about Food Security
What is Food Security?
Food security means that everyone always has access to enough safe and nutritious food, which is not the case in many regions.
What are the most important points about Food Security?
The main points are: Famine can follow drought or conflict; Irrigation boosts yields; Waste reduces supply.
Why is Food Security useful?
Understanding Food Security helps you explain patterns on maps and in the news, and make reasoned decisions about places and environments.
How can I practise Food Security?
Open the interactive at the top of this page and change the controls one at a time. Predict the result before each change, then take the three-question quiz. A score of two or more marks the topic as complete on this device.
Which topics are related to Food Security?
Related topics in Geography include Wildfires and Droughts, Deforestation, Seasons and Earth's Tilt.