Education Phase 4 Food security

What is food security? There are many different definitions of food security. The definition below is frequently used. The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing “when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life”.

What is food security? Food security includes the following aspects: Availability Access Affordability Quality Nutrition Safety Think of an example of an issue which may affect each aspect of food security.

What are some of the issues affecting world food security? Food security is one of the biggest challenges facing humankind. There are many factors which have combined to make food security such a large issue. This includes: Increasing population - In 2009, the world population was 6 billion. By 2050, it is predicted to reach 9 billion. Our current output of food is not enough to feed a population of 9 billion. Changing diets - As countries develop and people become richer they tend to eat a more varied diet, including more meat, which requires more energy to produce. This also means there is more competition for the same types of food. Reduced arable land - The drive to produce more biofuels for transport uses edible crops and has reduced arable land.

What are some of the issues affecting world food security? Transport costs - The relatively high price of oil in recent years has increased the price of food storage and distribution. Climate change - Climate change is leading to a warmer world which will affect what crops can be grown where. Climate change can also lead to more frequent extreme weather events (e.g. floods) which can damage crops. Pests and diseases - Pests and diseases are becoming more resistant to pesticides and sprays. The changing climate is also bringing pest and diseases into new areas where they could not previously survive.

What is being done? There are a number of EU funded projects investigating how food security can be improved.

PROteINSECT – background An important of aspect of food security is food availability. As previously discussed, the global population is increasing, along with a rise of per-captia meat consumption in developing countries. This has led to a need to investigate alternative sustainable sources of protein for use in animal feed. For generations, a variety of insects have been a valuable source of protein for both human consumption and animal feed across continents other than Europe. For example, insects and insect protein are natural daily feeds for many species of wild fish and monogastric livestock across the world. As consumption habits shift to pork, chicken and fish, insects have the potential to be utilised more effectively as a natural ingredient in high-protein feed. Currently, more than 80% of the protein required for livestock rearing in the European Union is imported from non-EU countries. The European parliament has stated that urgent action is needed to replace imported protein crops with alternative European sources to address the EU’s protein deficit.

PROteINSECT – the project PROteINSECT is an EU funded project investigating how flies can contribute to the growing demand for protein in animal feed. Insects need a feed source themselves, and to avoid competing with other uses, PROteINSECT will focus on the use of waste materials for production of fly larvae. The PROteINSECT project is working with two types of fly – the black soldier fly and the domestic household fly. PROteINSECT is running production and feeding trails with insect derived proteins with pigs, chicken and fish. The project is also running safety, quality and life-cycle analyses, as well as creating a Pro-Insect Platform across Europe to support legislative and regulatory change.

PROteINSECT – the project The PROteINSECT consortium brings together expertise from non-EU countries who have already made advances in rearing insects for incorporation in animal feed (e.g. China), together with European insect breeders and feed production companies, to optimise systems and set up pilot scale production facilities in the EU and improve quality issues in non-EU countries.

Would you be happy to eat chicken reared on fly larvae? What do you think about the PROteINSECT project? Look on for more information about the product.

Veg-i-Trade One aspect of food security is food safety. Global trade makes the management of food safety extremely difficult and concerns have emerged regarding fresh produce safety in response to recent outbreaks and alerts linked with these products. Veg-i-Trade is an EU funded project which provides platforms for the identification of the impact of anticipated climate change and globalisation of trade on food safety of fresh produce, focusing on microbial safety and safety related to pesticide residues and emerging mycotoxins. Veg-i-Trade is aiming to create quality assurance recommendations on a EU and global level, to guarantee food safety of produce on agricultural, processing and trading level and setting performance criteria and performance objectives for the fresh produce chain.

Veg-i-Trade Objectives Veg-i-Trade has set specific objectives to achieve in their project. Examples include: Development and validation of diagnostic instruments as a tool for the systematic assessment of the performance of Horticulture Safety Management Systems in the fresh produce chain. Modelling of water treatment technology with respect to the adequacy of the microbiological quality of water used in the fresh produce supply chain and evaluation of production of chemical by-products. Risk communication in order to respect the principle of food sovereignty in the setting of risk management strategies.

Veg-i-Trade Webinar Why not watch the Veg-i-Trade Webinar presented by Mieke Uyttendaele, one of the Veg-i-Trade researchers. The webinar introduces viewers to the world of microbial bugs and other hazards and how to deal with them.