commodorified has posted about food security and encouraged other people to respond on the topic in whatever way they like. Thanks to kalypso_v for her post on the subject and links.Food Security is defined by The World Health Organisation as existing when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.People are going without food in this country, this winter, to a much greater degree than they were last winter. This is not because there is less food. I think that's very important. There is just as much good and delicious food: we are just choosing to redistribute it in a different way, so some people have a lot, and some don't have enough. In some parts of society that literally means not enough calories. To other people it means lack of vitamins, and for example unless policies are changed we will see rickets in this country again. Most people reading this will be too young to have seen it, but when I was a child many old women in Birmingham had rickets.
Food security is built on three pillars:
Food availability: sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis.
Food access: having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.
Food use: appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation.
And as Polly Toynbee says in today's Guardian - we are barely seeing the start of it yet.
And the ridiculous thing is, we won't save that much money by restricting food supplies to the poorest. It doesn't cost that much, and most of it goes back into the economy anyway. It's wasted and unnecessary suffering.
