Why are 925 million people living in hunger today, despite there being enough food in the world? There are many reasons, which together add up to: food insecurity.
Hunger and malnutrition kill more people than tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria combined, and are the world’s biggest health risks. Yet one-third of the UK population has never heard of food insecurity.
People are food insecure when they are unable to get enough food, or enough nutritious food. The reasons behind it are complex and varied – poverty, drought, floods, natural disasters, conflict and inflation are all factors.
The Red Cross is tackling food insecurity by helping people protect their health, their homes and means of earning a living when times get tough.
Our Seeds of Change campaign, which ran throughout October 2011, aimed to explain what food insecurity is, the issues behind it, and what can be done to help break the cycle of poverty and hunger.