Food security and women's health

Abstract

English Food security is increasingly affected by global economic and environmental phenomena. Food price increases and food scarcity cause social and political instability, and can escalate to humanitarian crises. As women are particularly likely to be affected by threats to food security, this paper argues for feminist analyses in social work responses and research. French La sécurité alimentaire est de plus en plus affectée par l’économie mondiale et par les phénomènes environnementaux. Les prix des aliments augmentent et la raréfaction de la nourriture est cause d’instabilité sociale et politique, et peut dégénérer en crises humanitaires. Dans la mesure où les femmes sont susceptibles d’être particulièrement affectées par les menaces sur la sécurité alimentaire, cet article argumente en faveur des analyses féministes dans la recherche et les réponses apportées par le travail social. Spanish Los fenómenos del medioambiente y la globalización afectan cada vez más a la seguridad alimenticia. El precio de los alimentos y su escasez causan inestabilidad social y política que pueden abocar a crisis humanitarias. Ya que la seguridad alimenticia tiende a afectar a las mujeres de una forma particular, este artículo arguye a favor de un análisis feminista por parte del trabajo social y la investigación.

Bread and Roses: A Gender Perspective on Environmental Justice and Public Health

“…For example, they are more likely to experience fuel poverty because of their lower incomes and increased likelihood of living in draughty, poorly insulated or damp accommodation [31]. Women are also more likely to make food sacrifices for other family members when there are food shortages in a household [34]. Furthermore, they are more likely to be impacted by climate change, since it is a risk multiplier, impacting on populations that are already disadvantaged [35,36].…”

Key Informants’ Perspectives on Food Security Among Female-Headed Households in Kenya

“…The combination of moderate and severe levels of food insecurity brings the estimate to 26.4 percent of the world population, amounting to a total of about 2 billion people who are food insecure (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP & WHO, 2019:xvii). Food security is thus a key issue from a global political economy perspective, because, as policy-makers in international institutions such as the World Trade Organization and the UN argue, it is directly related to the way in which developing countries can benefit from constant changes in global agricultural trade (Phillips, 2009). Nutrition is central to the UN's (2015) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as good nutrition lays the foundation for achieving many of the SDGs (FAO et al, 2018:13).…”

“…Food and nutrition security and gender equality are also closely linked and mutually constitutive (Brody, Hossain, Oswald & Smith, 2015:2). If women are to lead poverty recovery at the grassroots level, their health has to be a primary consideration (Phillips, 2009). Women play a central role in food security and therefore experience double jeopardy when the food supply diminishes, or food becomes inaccessible because of price increases.…”

Food insecurity and social work: A comprehensive literature review

“…Recent data show one in nine individuals is undernourished, globally (FAO, 2015). Food insecurity can have significant implications for individual wellbeing and further, is embedded in a vast range of complex global issues (Phillips, 2009).…”

“…Furthermore, the production of food itself has implications for national economies: agriculture remains a large employment sector among developing countries, and international agricultural trade agreements have vital importance for national food security (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2015). Moreover, food production methods can have disastrous implications for the environment (Kaiser et al, 2015) and so too can the environment have implications for food production and sustainability (Phillips, 2009).…”