Implementing EU food and nutrition security policy commitments: Third biennial report

Summary:

This is the third report highlighting the progress the EU and its Member States have achieved towards implementing their common policy on food security. The report is accompanied by a Commission Staff Working Document (SWD) which provides further information on analyses and case studies.

Further information:

With 821 million people suffering from hunger worldwide, in 2017 food and nutrition insecurity was on the rise for a second year, after steadily declining for over a decade. Chronic child malnutrition has been declining, although one in four children under five is still affected.

Global population is expected to reach over 9 billion by 2050, resulting in increased competition for finite resources. This will be compounded by the accelerating impacts of climate change, conflicts and growing pressures on land and natural resources as well as on food, water and energy supplies. These challenges will significantly affect the ability of the agri-food system to deliver healthy and nutritious diets to a rapidly increasing population.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular SDG 2, seek to renew momentum and rally countries around targets to “end hunger, achieve food security and improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” by 2030. Consistent with the EU’s rights-based approach, including the right to food, ending hunger and improving the nutritional status of the most vulnerable are key responsibilities within the new European Consensus on Development.

The 2016 Global Strategy for the EU’s Foreign and Security Policy emphasizes redoubling efforts on the prevention of conflicts and in tackling the root causes, such as inequality, resource stress and climate change, in light of their impact on desertification, land degradation, water scarcity and food crises. Through this, the EU and Member States are supporting governments to lead sustainable prevention and response strategies that contribute to resilience building.

EUR-Lex: SWD(2018)440: Annexes https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2018:440:FIN

---