The Hunger Games (2012)

[Kapil Grunewald]

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012 (SOFI), jointly published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP), presents better estimates of chronic undernourishment based on an improved methodology and data for the last two decades.

The global number of hungry people declined by 132 million between 1990-92 and 2010-12, or from 18.6 percent to 12.5 percent of the world's population, and from 23.2 percent to 14.9 percent in developing countries - putting the MDG target within reach if adequate, appropriate actions are taken.

"In today's world of unprecedented technical and economic opportunities, we find it entirely unacceptable that more than 100 million children under five are underweight, and therefore unable to realize their full human and socio-economic potential, and that childhood malnutrition is a cause of death for more than 2.5 million children every year," say Jos Graziano da Silva, Kanayo F. Nwanze and Ertharin Cousin, respectively the Heads of FAO, IFAD and WFP, in a foreword to the report.

"We note with particular concern that the recovery of the world economy from the recent global financial crisis remains fragile. We nonetheless appeal to the international community to make extra efforts to assist the poorest in realizing their basic human right to adequate food. The world has the knowledge and the means to eliminate all forms of food insecurity and malnutrition," they add.

The new estimates suggest that the increase in hunger during 2007-2010 was less severe than previously thought. The 2008-2009 economic crisis did not cause an immediate sharp economic slowdown in many developing countries as was feared could happen; the transmission of international food prices to domestic markets was less pronounced than was assumed at the time while many governments succeeded in cushioning the shocks and protecting the most vulnerable from the effects of the price spike.

The numbers of hunger released today are part of a revised series that go back to 1990. It uses updated information on population, food supply, food losses, dietary energy requirements and other factors. They also better estimate the distribution of food (as measured in terms of dietary energy supply) within countries.

SOFI 2012 notes that the methodology does not capture the short-term effects of food price surges and other economic shocks. FAO is also working to develop a wider set of indicators to better capture dietary quality and other dimensions of food security.

The report suggests that if appropriate actions are taken to reverse the slowdown in 2007-08 and to feed the hungry, achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing by half the share of hungry people in the developing world by 2015 is still within reach.

"If the average annual hunger reduction of the past 20 years continues through to 2015, the percentage of undernourishment in the developing countries would reach 12.5 percent - still above the MDG target of 11.6 percent, but much closer to it than previously estimated," the report says.

Among the regions, undernourishment in the past two decades decreased nearly 30 percent in Asia and the Pacific, from 739 million to 563 million, largely due to socio-economic progress in many countries in the region. Despite population growth, the prevalence of undernourishment in the region decreased from 23.7 percent to 13.9 percent.

Latin America and the Caribbean also made progress, falling from 65 million hungry in 1990-1992 to 49 million in 2010-2012, while the prevalence of undernourishment dipped from 14.6 percent to 8.3 percent. But the rate of progress has slowed recently.

Africa was the only region where the number of hungry grew over the period, from 175 million to 239 million, with nearly 20 million added in the past four years. The prevalence of hunger, although reduced over the entire period, has risen slightly over the past three years, from 22.6 percent to 22.9 percent - with more than one in four hungry. And in sub-Saharan Africa, the modest progress achieved in recent years up to 2007 was reversed, with hunger rising 2 percent per year since then.

The report underlines that overall growth is necessary but not sufficient for a sustained hunger reduction. Agricultural growth is particularly effective in reducing hunger and malnutrition in poor countries since most of the poor depend on agriculture and related activities for at least part of their livelihoods. Agricultural growth involving smallholders, especially women, will be most effective in reducing extreme poverty and hunger when it generates employment for the poor.

Growth must not only benefit the poor, but must also be "nutrition-sensitive" in order to reduce various forms of malnutrition. Reducing hunger is about more than just increasing the quantity of food it is also about increasing the quality of food in terms of diversity, nutrient content and safety.

For even while 870 million people remain hungry, the world is increasingly faced with a double burden of malnutrition, with chronic undernourishment and micronutrient malnutrition co-existing with obesity, overweight and related non-communicable diseases (affecting more than 1.4 billion people worldwide).

Growth is clearly important, but it is not always sufficient, or rapid enough. Hence, social protection systems are needed to ensure that the most vulnerable are not left behind and can also participate in, contribute to and benefit from growth.

Measures such as cash transfers, food vouchers or health insurance are needed for the most vulnerable who often cannot take immediate advantage of growth opportunities. Social protection can improve nutrition for young children - an investment that will pay off in the future with better educated, stronger and healthier adults. With effective social protection complementing inclusive economic growth, hunger and malnutrition can be eliminated.

Nordics in Hollywood is back with The Hunger Games (2012)! American-Danish actress Amandla Stenberg stars as Rue in this action/sci-fi set in a post-apocalyptic future. After her younger sister is chosen to take part, 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen volunteers to compete in her place in a cruel televised tournament in which 24 teenagers from a postapocalyptic society fight to the death for the entertainment of the masses in a competition known as the "Hunger Games," which are broadcast across the nation as entertainment, and to reinforce the government's total power.

Enjoy The Hunger Games under the stars at the National Nordic Museum! The film will be screened behind the Museum, in our parking lot. Please bring family and friends, as well as folding chairs or something soft to serve as your seats. Pop's Popcorn will be onsite for snacking during the film! Screening will begin at sunset, approximately 8:00 pm. Come early (seating will open around 7:30 pm) and enjoy a trivia game (7:40 pm)! Please note that start times are dependent on sunset. If raining, this movie will be held in Osberg Great Hall.

Nordics in Hollywood is a film series of fan favorites. Watch Hollywood-produced iconic films and cult classics that feature Nordic and Nordic American actors. Films are screened outdoors and presented free of charge.

Sustainable development is simply not possible in a world where nearly 1 billion people are hungry every day. Ending hunger is not only vital for our peace and security, it is essential for our collective future.

Fifth, prevent food from being lost or wasted. As much as one third of all food gets lost between harvesting and consumption. That is just too much. We must reduce these tragic losses. We must also produce and consume food responsibly, mindful of the environment and of our long-term health.

In Chad, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that the country is grappling with an array of challenges that are driving humanitarian needs. These include the arrival of hundreds of thousands of people fleeing the conflict in neighbouring Sudan.

Using these standardized modules and procedures will strengthen validity and reliability of the resulting measures and assure maximum comparability with national statistics on food security and hunger.

Since publication of the Guide, USDA has introduced new labels for describing ranges of food security and food insecurity (high, marginal, low, and very low food security). These labels are consistent with recommendations by the Committee on National Statistics, and USDA, ERS recommends that they be used consistently throughout the U.S. food security monitoring and research effort.

Since publication of the Guide, there have been minor changes in wording of questions, and the order of presentation of questions has been changed. Use the modules below rather than those in the Guide to include these changes.

(18 items) Three-stage design with screeners. Screening keeps respondent burden to the minimum needed to get reliable data. Most households in a general population survey are asked only three questions (five if there are children in the household). The questionnaire has been modified slightly from that in the Guide, and the questions have been re-ordered to group the child-referenced questions after the adult-referenced questions; download it in PDF or Microsoft Word.

(10 items) Three-stage design with screeners. Screening keeps respondent burden to the minimum needed to get reliable data. Most households in a general population survey are asked only three questions. The questionnaire has been modified very slightly from that specified for households without children in the Guide; download it in PDF or Microsoft Word.

For surveys that cannot implement the 18-item or 10-item measures, this "Short Form" 6-item scale provides a reasonably reliable substitute. It uses a subset of the standard 18 items. This is the same 6-item questionnaire that is in the Guide; download it in PDF or Microsoft Word.

c80f0f1006