Climate Change and Food Security
According to article ‘Climate Change and Food Security’ climate change is considered as only one of the many changes which are currently affecting the food systems globally. The article goes ahead to state that the impact of climate change is also relative depending on different locations and also in the societies around the different places. The adaptations of the food systems can only happen through deliberate interventions at several levels ranging from the availability of the food, access to the food from the people and utilization of this food. The feedback of these interventions in relation to the systems of the earth has not been fully assessed (Gregory, Ingram, & Brklacich, 2005).
Food systems are viewed as resultant products of the long dynamic interactions that occur within and between the human and the biogeophysical environments. These environments are said to have led to activities such as production, processing, supplying, packaging and consumption of the food. The nature of this food system is characterized by the availability of the food, access to the food and the final utilization of the food. The whole process under which this food moves translates to a phenomenon termed as the food security. Food security is in the long-run affected by stressors which result from the interaction of the human with the environment as well as their own value and all these aspects which reduce the food security are termed stressors which may act independently or in combination with other stressors (Gregory, Ingram, & Brklacich, 2005).
Global Water Crisis and Future Food Security in an Era of Climate Change
This article looks into the interrelationship that exists between food supply, water, and climate change. It views the food policy as a measure aimed at ensuring that extreme poverty and hunger are eradicated from the human populations. The goal to implement the policy is hampered by several forces which are essentially crisis factors. Among the various impediments mentioned climate change, scarcity of water, energy and credit crisis factors stand out as the greatest forces of influence (Hanjra & Qureshi, 2010).
All the forces mentioned coupled with the ever-expanding human population have led to the redefinition of the food policy. The article goes ahead to explain the relationship and linkage between food security and water supply as well as the demand and supply forces related to the global availability of water. From the analysis, it is evident that the water for the food security issue is complicated and with time the issue might even prove to be very hard to solve in the future if no action is taken in these early stages. In particular, the only way to address this issue is by making investments to ensure that the various measures outlined in the article are actualized (Hanjra & Qureshi, 2010).
The Risk Perceptions in Both Articles
Both articles view food security as being subject to the influence of the changes in the climate. Therefore, in both climate change is viewed as being a key player in the determination of the available food for consumption on the planet. What also stands out in both articles is the fact that there is a prediction that in the future the food security is likely to diminish in terms of supply as the population is continuously rising.
The activities of human beings within different localities termed as societal groupings are the main contributors to the disruption of the climate and alteration of the environmental systems. This alteration causes an imbalance in the system reservoirs and in the long-run the system experiences a dis-continuum and this is what leads the authors of both articles to make the conclusion that it is likely in the future there will be a shortage in food security.
In both articles, the authors suggest that for the food security to be sustained and guarantee the security and availability of food within the environment in the future, then short term measures should be put in place collectively by addressing those factors which are key in the disruption of the current climate. Therefore, they both call for the active participation of human beings in controlling the bio-physical and social-economic aspects of the stressors which interfere with the climate. This will, in turn, contribute to the adaptation of the food system’s vulnerability to the climate changes for sustenance. In both articles, the environmental stressors are stated as varying with the region of the earth, however, the stressors in whichever region are a result of the way people manage the available food systems.
In the second article the author views food and water security as being interrelated with nature in affecting the climate, the article suggests that measures should be put in place at different spheres such as preservation of land, water conservation and reduction in the energy footprint to promote food security. In addition to this practical measures are also emphasized (Hanjra & Qureshi, 2010).
Conclusion
With the current trends concerning the climate impact on food security, it is evident that there is an urgent need to address the issues related to the climate. This calls for improved management of the food system as well as investing heavily in the maintenance and rehabilitation of the environment. This can be attained by reducing the factors which as a result of the human activities have led to the degradation of the environment over time. This can be achieved through investment in more research and innovations aimed at establishing the best alternatives which can substitute the environmental stressors without interfering with the environment. The World Food Program is already doing this to ensure that the food security measures and policies are actualized throughout the world.
References
Gregory, P., Ingram, J., & Brklacich, M. (2005). Climate change and food security. Philosophical Transactions Of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 360(1463), 2139-2148.
Hanjra, M. & Qureshi, M. (2010). Global water crisis and future food security in an era of climate change. Food Policy, 35(5), 365-377.
