Why some countries stay fed through crises while others go hungry
Béné C, Sasso A, Abdulai AR, Battersby J, Cattaneo A
Food Security
Your backyard beds and seed-saving shelf are a small-scale version of the food-supply redundancy that helped countries keep hunger in check, since growing several crops and varieties spreads the risk when one fails.
Researchers compared countries hit by disasters, wars, and economic crashes to see who kept people fed. Bad shocks didn't always mean more hunger. Countries with capable governments, a wide mix of food sources, more wealth, and tight community bonds held up best, and several hard-hit Asian countries did surprisingly well.
Key Findings
More severe shocks did not systematically lead to worse food security; several highly affected countries, particularly in Asia, showed encouraging outcomes despite severe disturbances.
Within-country gains in government effectiveness, food-supply redundancy, and GDP per capita significantly reduced increases in the prevalence of undernourishment during shocks.
Stronger social capital was linked to long-term improvement in food security across countries, supporting resilience defined as decoupling food-security outcomes from shock severity.
chevron_right Technical Summary
A global analysis found that harsh shocks like droughts, conflicts, and economic crises don't automatically cause more hunger. Countries with effective governments, varied food supplies, higher incomes, and strong community ties kept undernourishment from rising much, even under severe stress.
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Original paper
Decoupling food insecurity from shocks: A global analysis of food system resilience.
Food systems worldwide are increasingly exposed to climate extremes, conflicts, pandemics, and economic shocks, raising concerns about their capacity to safeguard food security and nutrition. Altho...
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