“Food security [is] a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”. (FAO. 2002. The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2001. Rome)

Recent data by FAO and other international organizations concerned with Food Security reveal that the number of hungry, malnourished people around the globe is still extremely high. Despite considerable efforts of the international community, national governments and an almost uncountable number of NGO organizations, the Millennium Development Goal 1 to ”eradicate extreme hunger and poverty“ is far out of sight.  On the contrary, when the Goals were formulated in 1990 about 850 million people suffered from hunger and malnourishment; today when only 3.67 years are left to reach the goal, almost 900 million people are still in a desperate situation and there is no end to be seen (http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/mdgoverview/mdg_goals/mdg1.html).

The problems involving Food Security or better Food Insecurity are being approached in practical terms, but theoretically discussed and analyzed in a vast literature reflecting viewpoints from almost all fields of science.  The question arises as to whether there is a need for the Food Science Community (for IUFoST) to take part in a systematic way in the theoretical discussions and the practical efforts to remediate Food Insecurity.

In case the discussion is not restricted to a situation of simply providing a sufficient food supply but takes into account all present and future factors of relevance to global Food Security, the international literature demonstrates that the voice of the Food Science Community is relatively weak or almost scarcely audible, with the effect that important insights into the problem are missing or neglected.

In the area of practical support/knowledge transfer, many valuable efforts are in progress.  An import aspect, however, is again the rather weakly represented, introduction of relevant, new, and simple science-based technologies into local food industries in Developing Countries.  The initial question regarding the need for the Food Science Community, for IUFoST, to be more active in fighting hunger therefore is clearly answered in an affirmative way.

It is important that IUFoST develops a clear and focused position to relevant questions and a strategy about how the Union wants to approach the various problems.  The major topics have to be defined and, if possible, teams to deal with individual aspects have to be composed.

Areas with direct and indirect relevance to Food Security that need clear positions/answers by IUFoST  

Direct relevance

• Sustainable food processing
• Reduction of processing losses (Post Harvest losses)
• Water management in the Food Industry
• Utilization of unconventional biological materials for food and feed purposes
• Utilization of waste materials
• Foods with dense nutritional quality
• Impact of food structure and composition on bioavailability and human health (including strategy development for global campaigns)
• Optimization of storage and long and short distance distribution
• Development of technology transfer and communication systems
• Food Law application and development
• The future: Food Science and Technology in 2030 and beyond, including ’The Food Factory of the Future.’

Indirect relevance

• Environmental management, water/GHG– footprint
• Development, introduction, and use of Plant/Animal GMO.  The use of modern methods of biotechnology can not be dismissed from areas where they can bring benefits.
• Utilization of unused land/sea resources for agricultural/hydro-cultural production
• Prevention of non-communicable diseases
• Recycling of food processing auxiliary materials (paper, plastic materials, glass and others)
• Bio-Fuel production and food availability

Practical actions to remediate Food Insecurity

Food insecurity exists because of many reasons (see: Improving the Utilization of Agricultural Raw Materials to reduce Food Insecurity; IUFoST Web-Site……….). Some of those factors can be controlled by technical intervention processes while others, like natural disasters, are not controllable by man.

In the case of situations where Food Insecurity exists because natural resources are underutilized or poorly utilized, Food Science/Technology can play a decisive role in improving the situation. The role of the Food Science Community in such cases is twofold; one - the Community needs to provide the necessary knowledge base for coping with the problems and their remediation. Second,  it is the Community’s obligation to support –at the very end also through IUFoST-- the extension of knowledge down to the roots, i.e. farmers and SMEs.

In more practical terms IUFoST would have to identify processes/technologies which can be used and applied for correcting deficit situations and support their implementation.  IUFoST has a portfolio of material ready to be used in various formats, e.g., Distance Education, Courses, Workshops, etc. The Distant Education approach by IUFoST has already been successfully tested. Through its Adhering Bodies, IUFoST has access to Food Science Departments/Centers in Developing Countries.  Those centers could form the nuclei for dissemination activities. Those Centers are, in the long run, much more suited to knowledge transfer than any expert coming from the outside.  They understand the people and the problems and they have the knowledge, or at least have access to the knowledge, to solve local problems. It is the task of IUFoST and of the international community to support (financially, when possible, and by other approaches) and encourage young scientists in those Centers to recognize the challenge and respond to it. 

An excellent example is the Aflatoxin Elimination project initiated by the UGA-GP3MT - Global Peanut Product, Processing and Marketing Team (University of Georgia, USA) and co-sponsored by IUFoST. The team demonstrated in two Workshop/Conferences in West and East Africa, to about 80 peanut processors/experts, how to eliminate aflatoxin-contaminated material from larger bulk samples. The technique is now introduced by workshop participants to farmers and small processors in rural areas. Further support is required; however, an extremely valuable activity has been launched.