What is food security?

The food security concept includes six interrelated and interdependent dimensions: availability, access, nutrition, resilience, agency and sustainability. The definition has evolved over time as our understanding of the complexities of hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity have deepened. The state of food insecurity is constantly in flux. The depth and severity can change over the short or long term. Very few governments have direct food security policies or strategies (plans of action to enact policies) regarding food security. Many policies involve trade-offs for food security. In most cases, a diverse range of public policies affect food security, often indirectly and, in many cases, in unintended adverse ways. Since the causes of food insecurity are diverse and cut across multiple sectors of society, almost all public policy affects food security at national, sub-national, household and individual levels in some way. The range of possible trade-offs and implications for policies seeking to improve food security or those with potential direct or indirect effects on food security need the expert input of professionals trained in a wide range of disciplines and fields, each with their own set of theoretical approaches and practical tools. Only by working together as a team to inform policy can a range of experts carefully consider these potential direct and indirect impacts and accurately and confidently inform policy choices.