More than Hangry: What’s Really at Stake in Global Food Insecurity?
Do you remember what a trip to the grocery store was like at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, or thereafter?
Store shelves sat void of product as packers and shippers were unable to keep up with consumer demand. Trade slowed to a pace that led to a bottleneck of ships and trucks at ports and warehouses respectively.
D.C. made note of these supply chain downfalls and tried to pivot with funding, pop-up ports and weakened transportation regulations. While some of those supply chain links have been soldered in the past year, Russia’s war against Ukraine has added new pressure to global food security.
But the pressure doesn’t stop short of the supply chain, according to many government officials.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), someone known to say, “food security is national security,” shared a conversation with Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen, along with a panel of policy, science and agricultural experts in Ames, Iowa, on Thursday to break down what’s really at stake in rising global food security.
Food Fuels Peace
The United Nations estimates that world hunger increased 1.5 percent in 2020 to roughly 800 million people.
With rising world hunger numbers, Ernst points to the war in Ukraine, extreme weather and the COVID-19 pandemic as fuel on the food insecurity fire. Ernst, along with Larry Sailer, an Iowa farmer and a farmer ambassador with Farm Journal Foundation, say these challenges pose an increasing threat to national security.
“Agriculture is the first building block of any economy, so maintaining a vibrant and innovative farming sector is absolutely critical to lift people out of poverty, build strong economies and eliminate hunger,” said Sailer. “A hungry person is not a peaceful person. National security for all countries depends on less hunger.”
Minimizing Global Hunger
The answer, according to Katie Lee, vice president of government affairs at Farm Journal Foundation, is rooted in ag research and development.
“The challenges we are seeing today, and the resulting impact on food prices and global hunger, should be a wakeup call that we need to invest more in agricultural research and development,” said Lee.
Following a tour of Iowa State University’s Seed Science Center, the largest seed lab in the world, Lee shared that ag innovation, like Iowa State’s, will be “vital” as populations continue to grow and natural resources are strained.
Up the Ante
Global hunger has been addressed for decades by groups like United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme. However, attention has been diverted from science, especially in the public sector, according to Wendy Wintersteen, Iowa State University president.
“Agricultural research and innovation like that happening at Iowa State University impacts nearly every major societal challenge, but this area of science has been massively underfunded for decades,” said Wintersteen. “Increasing our national investment in agricultural research is vital to support the public good and ensure our country’s leadership and competitiveness.”
While private sector research has significantly impacted yields for commodity groups like corn and soybeans, the public sector can support early research to “pave the way for long-term innovations,” according to Farm Journal Foundation’s press release of the event.
“The innovative agricultural research happening at Iowa State University is vital to finding the necessary solutions to combat global hunger,” said Ernst. “Ultimately food security is national security.”
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