The European Year for Development: Food Security

Briefing 01-10-2015

Food security is a multilayered concept, covering availability, access, use and stability. It is recognised as a global public good. To be free from hunger and malnutrition is also a human right. Following the 2007/2008 food crisis, the international community committed to investing more in agriculture and to better governance. The MDG target to halve the proportion of hungry people was nearly achieved, but 795 million people remain undernourished. The Sustainable Development Goals include an ambitious zero hunger target and address the structural causes of food insecurity. Helping small farmers to enhance sustainable production is one important way to address food insecurity in developing countries. The EU has made food and nutrition security a focal area of development cooperation. The EU and its Member States committed to reducing the number of stunted children by 7 million before 2025. Parliament has supported a human rights-based approach to addressing food security and has expressed strong concerns over land grabbing.