Food security a global issue

Recent natural disasters have led to the phrase ‘‘food security’’ being used with increasing frequency. With floods devastating our banana plantations up north, a drought affecting wheat crops in Western Australia and earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan, there is no doubt food security is something to think about. Essentially, food security is about having enough food that is good for you. Yet it is more than a measure of how much food is or isn’t available. Food security is also measured by the quality of nutritional and prevailing social and economic factors.It is in fact a population health concept which requires constant monitoring and attention. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation refers to food security in terms of all people at all times having physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious foods for an active and healthy life. Food security covers food production and trade. The effects of natural disasters - floods, bush- fires, hurricanes, earthquakes and droughts - are all considered when assessing the quantity of food being produced and available. Even when there is plenty of food, it is possible individuals will not meet all their nutrient requirements, in conditions where poor food choices are made in the midst of plenty. For example, the problem of obesity is a problem of food security, because it reflects an imbalance in meeting nutritional requirements.From a social perspective, food is an integral part of cultural conditions. Having access to foods people recognise as staples and can prepare in safe and nutritious ways is another important dimension of food security. This is what ‘‘meeting food preferences’’ means. Australia has a great deal of expertise in food security. It has special expertise in agriculture that can be applied to food production where there is climate variability and produces enough food for 60 million people - triple our population. Food trade is an important part of our economy. We also have extensive expertise in how food affects health, and professionals such as the Dietitians Association of Australia to help the community make healthy food choices. We have great opportunities for combining these areas of agricultural and diet expertise, to produce food that promotes health for the population and, with a co-ordinated effort from government and institutions, can contribute substantially to food security in our region.Food security can also begin at home, for example, by celebrating and being creative with healthy food, choosing better food for meals and snacks, learning more about good food at school, eating just enough to maintain a healthy weight and considering the environment in our management of food resources.An excellent and timely, resource that our institutions, business and the community can draw on - to better understand and plan for food security - is the recently released Australia and Food Security in a Changing World report, from the Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) available from http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/about/publications/.- Professor Linda Tapsell directs the nutrition theme at the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, a joint Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health Network and University of Wollongong initiative. She is also Director of the UOW Smart Foods Centre and was a member of the expert working group that produced the PMSEIC report.