Michael Nichols/NG ImageCollectionGlobal
LocatorBRAZILNG Mapsand food insecurity is inescap-
able. Since 2002, price increases
have contributed to food inse-
curity worldwide (}ÕÀiÊ Ó°£Ó).
In addition, food prices have be-
come more volatile, changing from week to week or day
to day. Such uncertainty is particularly challenging for the
world’s poorest people, who spend disproportionate per-
centages of their income on food.
Improving agriculture is one of the highest priorities for
achieving global sustainability. In general, grain production
per person has kept pace with human population growth
over the past 50 years. However, expanded agricultural pro-
ductivity has taken place at high environmental costs. More-
over, the global population continues to expand, putting
additional pressure on food production.
Much of Earth’s agriculturally suitable land is either
already under cultivation or covered by development
such as roads and buildings. One way to increase the pro-
ductivity of agricultural land is through multicropping,
or growing more than one crop per year. For example,Biological diversity and human cultural diversity are
intertwined: They are, in fact, two sides of the same coin.
Cultural diversity is Earth’s variety of human communities,
each with its individual languages, traditions, and identities
(}ÕÀiÊÓ°££). Cultural diversity enriches the collective
human experience. For that reason, the U.N. Educational,
Scientific, and Cultural Organization supports the protec-
tion of minorities in the context of cultural diversity.
Recommendation 3:
Provide Adequate Food for All People
Globally, more than 800 million people lack access to
the food needed for healthy, productive lives. This esti-
mate, according to a 2011 report by the U.N. Food and
Agriculture Organization, includes a high percentage
of children. Children are particularly susceptible to
food deficiencies because their brains and bodies can-
not develop properly without adequate nutrition.
Most malnourished people live in rural areas of the
poorest developing nations. The link between poverty
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Portrait of a Yanomami father and son in Roraima State, Brazil. The Yanomami are Brazil’s last large Stone Age tribe. Intrusion into
isolated areas such as the Amazon Basin threatens both biological diversity and the cultures of indigenous people who have lived in
harmony with nature for hundreds of generations.
food insecurity
The condition in
which people live with
chronic hunger and
malnutrition.