The Impact Of Food Security In Ethiopia

American mothers stereotypically guilt their children who won’t eat their vegetables by telling them that there are starving children in Africa, based on the idea that any food waste is disrespectful to hunger in developing countries. An eight-year-old eating a full dinner, however, doesn’t actually make a difference to the millions of people in in the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) who lack consistent nutritional meals. Instead, actual initiatives are necessary to increase food security.

In one such effort, the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) recently released seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs). These goals aim to solve a variety of issues facing today’s people, spanning from safe energy access to reduced inequalities

In their article “Sustainable Development in the Globalized World,” Olsson, Hourcade, and Kohler define sustainable development using four principles. First, modern science and technology are utilized in an effective and ecological manner. Second, externalities must be internalized in order for the market to be sustainable. Third, private organizations should be socially responsible and take initiative without the government. Last, members of social movements need to take an active part in development. These four factors combine concerns regarding peace, justice, development, and the earth into the single category (Olsson, Hourcade, and Kohler). These concerns are all important in the movement to effectively reduce hunger in Ethiopia; therefore, sustainable development is key to food

Major rainfall has been shifting North to where few people live because it historically has been dry. As Dan Charles reported in his article “As Big Food Feels Threat of Climate Change, Companies Speak Up,” Ethiopians do not know whether or not moving North is a smart idea, and whether their way of farming will transfer well to the different region. Another climate concern in Ethiopia, as well as the rest of the world, is related to meat and other animal product farming. According to Christine Negra et al, 40% of Ethiopian greenhouse gas emissions are related to livestock (Negra et al). As added greenhouse gases in the atmosphere continue to increase the effects of climate change, it is important to recognize what sources are large outputters of carbon, and current agriculture is a large one. Many Ethiopian businesses and universities have recognized that food security concerns must be addressed through sustainability initiatives and begun to do so. These movements, with a large variety of goals and methods, and they typically recognize climate concerns. For example, the international corporation Mars, which relies on Ethiopian production of chocolate, is responding to the noted change in climate and rainfall by setting a goal to be carbon neutral by 2040. According to Charles, Mars has already cut their carbon emissions by 25% in the past eight years