TO W ARDS A

S u stain a bl e World
 Learning Outcomes
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1. Differentiate stability from sustainability;
2.Articulate models of global sustainable development;
3. Define global food security; and
4. Critique existing models of global food security
 Climate Change
Some perspectives frame globalization as
the producer and perpetrator of climate
change. Especially economic globalization
which is highly capitalistic—everything
revolves around the source of production
and capital that encourages economies of
countries to operate on industries. And
industries in turn capitalize on natural
resources. As industries demand more raw
material, the natural resources deplete.
In terms of our increasing global
population, the challenge is to equip
future generations with resources that
they can still utilize. As the population
increases, pollution is widespread, land-
use is maximized, crop-producing lands
are turned into residential areas,
mountains are flattened to accommodate
housing projects and/or industrialization,
and carrying capacity used beyond its
limit. Feeding the current population is a
pressing problem of today, what more
feeding the future generations.
The ecological crisis, pollution problems,
climate change, and global warming are among
the most pressing problems we face at the
ENVIRONMENTAL
global level when it comes to the relationship CRISIS
of development (under economic
globalization) with the environment. These
problems are largely shaped by human actions
and by how human populations interact with
their environment in light of their pressing
needs. According to Conserve Energy Future
(as cited in Claudio & Abinales, 2018: 120),
there are numerous environmental challenges
that the world faces today:
 1.The destruction caused by industrial and transportation toxins and plastic in the ground
2.Changes in global weather patterns
3.Overpopulation
4.The exhaustion of the world’s natural non-renewable resources from oil reserves to minerals
and potable water
5.A waste disposal catastrophe due to the excessive amount of waste
6.The destruction of million-year-old ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity
7. Deforestation
8.The depletion of the ozone layer protecting the planet from the sun’s deadly ultraviolet rays due
to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the atmosphere
9.Deadly Acid Rain
10.Water pollution
11.Urban sprawls
12.Pandemic and public health system
13.Radical alteration of food systems
These environmental problems are global in scale but
affect people unevenly. Affluent people can ‘tolerate’
environmental degradation because they have the
means and access to healthcare, unpolluted areas for
their residence, healthy food items, and clean water
among others. While poor people suffer even more as
they usually live in urban slums with a high
concentration of waste pollution, they have no access
to healthy food items and clean water, air pollution
from vehicles lead to respiratory diseases (they
cannot afford healthcare services), and because of
their lower purchasing power, they can only afford to
buy goods that are packed in plastic packaging (which
in turn perpetuates the waste pollution they have in
their areas) among others.
In another perspective, richer nations in the global
north produce wastes, pollution, and environmental
problems in third world countries where their
industries are located. The irony is that these
environmental problems from first world industries
and corporations are projected as the sole problem of
the third world country and that the third world
country should solve these problems for the sake of
the whole world. Third world countries are left with all
these environmental problems reinforcing their
poverty, ‘under-development’, and ecological
disadvantage when the root of all these comes from
uneven economic globalization and the ills of
capitalism.
In the Brundtland Report of the United Nations in 1987, sustainability, in its
economic sense, was defined as “development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs” (Plóciennik, 2014: 162). The definition of sustainability has
three fundamental components: environmental protection, economic
growth, and social equity. In the Sustainable Development Framework, the
aspect of the environment in relation to economic development is given
more focus and importance, calling out institutional practices (in economy
and politics) that will help preserve the environment and make the people
responsible for the use of resources.
The United Nations is leading the call for action in mitigating environmental
degradation, climate change, and global warming with their Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) initiative which started in 2015 and with the
participation of 193 nationstates. These goals are desired to be achieved by
the year 2030.

According to the UN, [t]he Sustainable Development Goals are the

blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They
address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty,
inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice.
The 17 Goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is
important that we achieve them all by 2030 (n.d.).
IThe UN-SDGs envisions the solutions to the intersecting economic,
political, institutional, and environmental problems many countries face
today through the 17 Goals. These goals are set at the global governance
level of the UN mandate, it is still up to the respective nation-states if their
governments will align their programs, policies, and actions to the 17 Goals.
1. No poverty – end extreme poverty in all forms by 2030
2. Zero Hunger – end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition
and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Good health and well-being – ensure healthy lives and promote well-
being for all at all ages
4. Quality education – ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and
promote lifelong learning and opportunities for all
5. Gender equality – achieve gender equality and empower all women and
girls
6. Clean water and sanitation – ensure availability and sustainable
management of water and sanitation for all
7. Affordable and clean energy – ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and
modern energy for all
8. Decent work and economic growth – promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable
economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Industry, innovation, and infrastructure – build resilient infrastructure, promote
inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
10. Reduced inequalities – reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Sustainable cities and communities – make cities and human
settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable
12. Responsible consumption and production – ensure sustainable
consumption and production patterns
13. Climate action – take urgent action to combat climate changes and their impacts
14. Life below water – conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine
resources for sustainable development
15. Life on land – protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse
land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Peace, justice, and strong institutions – promote peaceful and inclusive
societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and
build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Partnership for the goals – strengthen the means of implementation
and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development
TOPIC 2: GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY
1The current status and challenges with global food
security are largely anchored
on the pressing environmental crises, demographic
changes, socioeconomic inequalities,
and related issues we face today. International
organizations, nation-states, and
concerned civil society are turning their focus on the
topic and discourse of global food
security and its implications to human life in an ever-
complex and complicated
contemporary world.
The discourse on global food security catalyzes on the
issue of feedingthe increasing population of the
world, and the prevalence of hunger and
malnutritionthat people, mostly from poor and/or
developing countries, experience. According to
Barthwal-Datta (2014), “the challenge of food
security in a globalized world is complex, multi-
dimensional and multi-sectoral—and one being
compounded by the impacts of climate change” (p.
122). Global food security is complex, multi-
dimensional, and multi-sectoral as it is influenced by
the intersecting processes of economy, politics,
demography, climate change, human rights, and
sustainability. Even in the Sustainable Development
Goals discussed in the previous topic, “Zero Hunger”
is the second goal hoped to achieve by 2030.
GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY DISCOURSE

According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), “food

security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and
economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meet
their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy
life” (FAO, 2002 as cited in Barthwal-Datta, 2014: 122). This
conceptualization comprises four key dimensions of food security:
availability, stability, access, and utilization(Schmidhuber & Tubiello,
2007).
 AVAILABILITY

The overall ability ofthe agricultural system to meet food

demand
The agro-climatic fundamentals of crop and pasture
production
The entire range of socio-economic and cultural factors that
determine where and how farmers perform in response to
markets
 STABILITY
Relates to individuals who are at high risk of temporarily or permanently
losing
their access to the resources needed to consume adequate food,
eitherbecause
these individuals cannot ensure ex-anteagainst income shocks or they
lack
enough ‘‘reserves’’ to smooth consumption ex-postor both
An important cause of unstable access is climate variability
 ACESS
Covers access by individuals to adequate resources (entitlements) to
acquire
appropriate foods for a nutritious diet
A key element is the purchasing power of consumers and the evolution
of real
 UTILIZATION
Encompasses all food safety and quality aspects of nutrition
its sub-dimensions are related to health, including the sanitary
conditions across the entire food chain
Other perspectives on global food security associate it on the wider concept
of human securityin various reasons (Barthwal-Datta, 2014: 123):

1. Proponents of human security see hunger as the most prevalent and

gravest threat to human security.
2. Food insecurity by way of hunger and malnourishment is a deeply
incapacitating threat to individuals and one that leaves them unable to
conduct basic functions
of life.
3. Poverty is the main cause of food insecurity, which is in turn linked more
broadly to ‘political security, socio-economic development, human rights
and the environment’, placing it at the heart of all human security concerns.
4. The links between poverty, food security, and human security are
particularly evident in the face of food price spikes—sudden
increases in food prices are most harmful to those who are poor,
such households become particularly vulnerable to hunger and
malnourishment; and, in certain socio-political contexts, food price
spikes may also help fuel civil unrest in the form of protests and
riots.
Looking at the issues of global food security as embedded in the
very nature of human security is a perspective that can help further
pinpoint structural, institutional, and systemic processes
influencing how human beings approach food supply and
demand, crop production and consumption, and the ways by
which food security can be sustained both at the local and
international levels. Meeting the four dimensions of food security is
the key to ending hunger and malnutrition.
FACTORS SHAPING GLOBL FOOD SECURITY
DYNAMICS
combat food insecurity, hunger, and malnutrition and ensure a future of
global food security, nation-states, international organizations, and other
actors should be able to respond to and address complex, intersecting, and
multi-faceted forces affecting food systems around the world (Barthwal-
Datta, 2014: 125). Moreover, with the increased interconnectedness of
peoples and networks brought by globalization, food system activities,
outcomes, and interactions become increasingly tied up and this is
reinforced by global networks such as transport, telecommunications, and
finance.
 Five trends are shaping global food
security dynamics in the contemporary
world (Barthwal-Datta, 2014: 125):
 1.Rising food prices and poverty

the impact of food price spikes has been most devastating for those who live in, or
precariously close to, poverty
sharp and sudden increases in food prices are detrimental to small farmers who
cannot often respond to such price increases in time to be able to take advantage of
them
rising food prices is harmful to the farming households that are net consumers of
food, and rely on the market to fulfill their security needs
the role of deeper structural issues related to the corporate food regime, and the
recent global food price spikes have occurred in the context of artificial cheapening
of traded food
 2.Population growth and urbanization
as population sizes increase in the coming years, the world is
faced with a challenge of feeding billions of people as more
andmore people move from the rural to urban areas in
search of better livelihoods, there are fewer people of
working age left behind to produce the growing quantities
of food required to meet the rising demands in urban areas
as urban populations expand further, the pressure on food
systems in terms of the increased demand for land and
water, and environmental degradation and pollution from
urban and industrial waste, are set to intensify further
 3.Rising incomes and changing diets

an overall growing global population means a corresponding

increase in the total demand for food at the global level
as incomes in developing countries continue to grow, more
and more people can access food in greater quantities (not
only in cereals but also in meat and food items with sugar)
the overall demand for grains for direct consumption and
indirect consumption through animal products (poultry,
pork, eggs, and dairy items) continues to expand
4.Biofuel production, land-use change, and access to land

biofuel production involves using plant starch, oils, animal fats, and sugars to
create an alternative fuel and lessen the use of fossil fuels; in this manner, crops
are produced to be used as biofuel and not to be eaten by people
thereareseriousrisks of creating a battlebetween food and fuel that will leave the
poor and hungry at the mercy of the rapidly rising prices for food, land, and water
in diverting food crops away from use as food and livestock feed, biofuel
production puts pressure within the food system to bring other lands into
cultivation for food purposes, with implications for greenhouse gas emissions
there are land grabbing cases by which small farmers are being forcibly
4.Biofuel production, land-use change, and access to land
removed from their landswithout compensation,
therebycontributing to both land concentration (inthe hands of
wealthier farmers and large agribusiness) and landlessness in
these communities
without tenure security, small farmers tend to refrain from
investing in practices that ensure the sustainable use and
management of natural resources such as land and water, this has
negative consequences for the environment and farm
productivity
 5.Climate change

climate change affects all four dimensions of food security: food

availability, food accessibility, food utilization, and food
systemsstability—it has an impact on human health, livelihood
assets, food production, and distribution channels, as well as
changing purchasing power and market flows
agriculture is highly sensitive to climate, and food production is
affected directly by variations in agro-ecological conditions for
growing crops
 5.Climate change

the impacts of climate change will be mixed and uneven

across regions
the geographic location of most poor, developing countries
around the world and their continuing dependence on
agriculture as the single most source of livelihoods, means
that climate change will bring them high costs and few
benefits, their heightened vulnerabilities to the impacts of
climate change are also an impediment to adaptation
 5.Climate change

the impacts of climate change may further damage the

agricultural resource base by shrinking the availability of suitable
land for crop production and freshwater resources
climate change is expected to have a corresponding impact on
incomes, worsening poverty, and the ability of households to invest
in a better future, forcing them to use up meager saving just to
survive
 5.Climate change
GROUP 5
climate change is expected to cause further increases in
global food prices
LEADER: and continue
MENDOZA ISLEto drive people out from
their homes within countries across borders in search of
MEMBERS: PACHECO DIANNE
food, water, and livelihoods
TAYCO KYLA
many crops reliant on irrigation are requiring greater
SAGUN AIZA
amounts of waterMANZANO
as temperatures
ERMA rise, while the availability
of freshwater resources is being threatened by rising seas
levels that cause saltwater intrusion in groundwater