UNEP released its Global Food Security Report Avoiding Future Famines

The United Nations Environment Programme released its food security report Avoiding Future Famines: Strengthening the Ecological Basis of Food Security through Sustainable Food Systems during Rio+20 Summit on sustainable development in Rio de Janeirio,  Brazil on 20 June 2012 . The report noted that food security must be at the top of the priority list of country’s policy if the world has to provide food to its seven billion population - a number expected to cross nine billion mark by 2050.

The report, based on a study conducted by a team of researchers from Swedish Institute of Food & Biotechnology and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, pointed out that an astounding 1.3 billion tones of food is wasted every year. A staggering 220 million tones of food is wasted every year in North America and Europe alone, the report figured out.

The UNEP report seeks to draw the attention of global community on key environmental aspects, which are largely being ignored by economic activities like overfishing, unsustainable water use and other human activities. The report also kicks off a debate with respect to the Green Economy and sought for a food security mechanism which does not undermine the crucial ecosystem services.

The report, which has been written by a team of eleven scientists and experts, covered several areas of expertise including food consumption patterns, agricultural production, marine fisheries and inland fisheries. International organizations including the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Bank, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), also made their contribution in the first of its kind study, which links global food security to ecological system.