Chelsea Auma and Azaad Sadiq
While food insecurity has been traditionally viewed as a problem plaguing the developing world, a quick look beyond campus would reveal otherwise. In the past decade, food insecurity has exponentially risen in the UK, affecting 5.3 million people in 2014 (Field, 2016). That such staggering numbers of people do not have regular access to nutritious food is shameful for one of the richest countries in the world, especially one that promotes itself on the international stage as an exemplar of human rights promotion and protection. Under Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone is entitled to an adequate standard of living that covers food security (United Nations General Assembly, 1948). While socioeconomic rights such as food security are not always recognised on par with civil and political liberties, their existence lays an important foundation upon which a thriving democracy can be built.
Of course, the issue of food insecurity does not exist in a vacuum; it is tied to a wider poverty epidemic. Ever since the implementation of austerity by the Cameron government, low-income families in the UK have struggled to maintain food security in the face of cuts to public services and stagnant wages (Trussell Trust, 2014). With the government “delegating” (some may say abdicating) its responsibilities to the tertiary sector, the spread of food insecurity throughout the UK can be evidenced by the staggering rise of foodbanks. Foodbanks are charities that distribute food to those who can’t afford to pay for it, either directly or through other channels (British foodbanks tend to operate on the former model), collecting donations from institutions such as households, schools, religious organisations and businesses. According to the Trussell Trust, the network that supports the vast majority (more than 1200) of foodbanks throughout the UK, 1.6 million food supplies were donated to those suffering from food insecurity (Trussell Trust, 2019).
Foodbanks are often celebrated as living proof of British generosity and compassion, with the Work and Pensions Secretary defending them as a “perfect way” to mitigate food insecurity at a local level this week in Parliament (House of Commons Hansard, 2020). While dedicated volunteers and generous donors should be lauded, they should not have to volunteer and donate in the first place. Governments, whether at the local or national level, have a duty of care to ensure that citizens have adequate social security, and characterising foodbanks as a solution rather than as a symptom of governmental deficiencies in combatting food insecurity is a gross dereliction of duty. Volunteers and donors lack the resources to provide sustainable long-term solutions to food insecurity, a multifaceted problem that can only be alleviated by changes across the spectrum of government policy.
Hunger today cannot be blamed on a general shortage of food alone. Overall food production is not falling behind population growth. People go hungry because of persistent poverty resulting from austerity measures, rising inequality, and social security reforms such as the introduction of the Universal Credit (Human Rights Watch, 2019). These factors disproportionately affect the most impoverished communities in the UK and make it difficult to establish ownership over an adequate amount of quality food. Food insecurity has re-emerged in London, particularly in economically and socially less developed London boroughs such as Croydon and Southwark (Williams, 2017). Amnesty International’s recent ‘Food Security UK’ campaign aims to highlight this inequality and find practical ways for students to contribute to food poverty reduction in the most affected areas. The campaign brings attention to this critical problem and emphasizes how (nutritious) food is not only enshrined in human rights law, but is a strong moral imperative that we must uphold for an egalitarian society.
Environmental concerns are also tied to food insecurity. Even without considering the issue of food waste, food production is responsible for around 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions (Garnett et al., 2016) . Given the role of rising emissions in exacerbating supply-side shocks to food production (i.e. the link between global warming and extreme weather events), a toxic cycle is in play here, with unsustainable food production contributing not only to environmental degradation but also global food poverty. Whilst the UK may not be directly affected by the worst developments in the climate crisis, any country which sources 48% of their food from outside their borders will have their citizens’ food security compromised by environmental disasters around the world (Food Security, 2008).
As part of Amnesty’s food security week, four LSE students volunteered at the Felix Project, a charity that centres around providing ‘Good Food for Good Causes’. The London-based charity aims to rescue edible surplus food that would otherwise be discarded by food industries. These perishable foods are thrown away primarily due to small aesthetic defects, labelling errors, and foods that will not reach the shopper before the ‘best before’ and ‘use by’ expiry date. The nutritious and high-quality food is donated to over 350 charities across London, which ensures that it does not go to waste, and instead reaches some of the most vulnerable populations of our London community (The Felix Project, 2020). Ariba Fatima, a first-year student at LSE who volunteered at the Felix Project reflects that “students should get involved [in volunteering] as it provides an on the ground, hands-on experience that tangibly affects people every day. Hopefully, this will encourage people to be more mindful of food wastage even on days they are not volunteering!”. Amnesty calls on students to be proactive and involved in food security, and in reducing our food waste. Food waste is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than any country save for China and the USA (Hanson, 2015).
Food waste and food poverty reduction are two sides of the same coin. Supporting charitable food recovery organisations which turn ‘waste into a resource’ and donating foods that would otherwise be thrown away tackle both food poverty and waste (NCASS, 2020). Ultimately, while food banks are essential, they should they are not a long term solution to food insecurity. We urge governments to tackle the deeply entrenched causes of food poverty, such as inadequate social security measures and living wages, so that everyone has access to nourishing food.
Works Cited
Field, F. (2016). 5.3 million people in the UK at risk of being hungry. [online] Frankfield.co.uk. Available at: http://www.frankfield.co.uk/latest-news/press-releases/news.aspx?p=1021255 [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
Assembly, U. G. (1948). Universal declaration of human rights. UN General Assembly, 302(2).
The Trussell Trust. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.trusselltrust.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/01/Below-the-Breadline-The-Trussell-Trust.pdf [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
The Trussell Trust. (2016). The Trussell Trust – End of Year Stats. [online] Available at: https://www.trusselltrust.org/news-and-blog/latest-stats/end-year-stats/ [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
House of Commons Hansard. (2020). Commons Chamber – Hansard. [online] Available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2020-01-27/debates/0560edad-d12c-4677-b625-ffa3b500e2f4/CommonsChamber [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
Human Rights Watch. (2019). Nothing Left in the Cupboards | Austerity, Welfare Cuts, and the Right to Food in the UK. [online] Available at: https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/05/20/nothing-left-cupboards/austerity-welfare-cuts-and-right-food-uk [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
Williams, S. (2017). [online] Sustainablefoodcities.org. Available at: http://sustainablefoodcities.org/Portals/4/Documents/BeyondTheFoodBank_2017.pdf [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
Garnett, T., Smith, P., Nicholson, W., & Finch, J. (2016). Food systems and greenhouse gas emissions (Foodsource: chapters). Food Climate Research Network, University of Oxford.
Food Security. (2008). The UK cross-government programme on food security research. [online] Available at: https://foodsource.org.uk/31-what-food-system’s-contribution-global-ghg-emissions-total [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
The Felix Project | London charity fighting food waste and hunger. (2020). Our Story. [online] Available at: https://thefelixproject.org/about/our-story [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
Hanson, C. (2015). What’s Food Loss and Waste Got to Do with Climate Change? A Lot, Actually.. [online] World Resources Institute. Available at: https://www.wri.org/blog/2015/12/whats-food-loss-and-waste-got-do-climate-change-lot-actually [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
NCASS. (2020). Food Waste vs. Food Poverty. [online] Available at: https://ncass.org.uk/mobile-catering-home/articles/food-waste-vs-food-poverty/ [Accessed 1 Feb. 2020].
LSESU AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL 