Editors' Foreword

The United Nations’ second Sustainable Development Goal, "Zero Hunger," aims to end all forms of hunger and malnutrition by 2030.^[1]  This involves ensuring equitable access to good-quality food, supporting small-scale producers, and promoting sustainable agriculture. Despite some progress, hunger remains a critical global challenge, claiming thousands of lives daily.^[2] Over 2.4 billion people faced moderate or severe food insecurity in 2022, and projections show nearly 600 million people will be chronically undernourished in 2030.^[3]

A decade ago, the Journal of International Affairs published a print issue entitled Global Food Security, offering a wide range of policy recommendations to achieve food security, from agroecological intensification to the application of new molecular technologies. The ongoing prevalence of hunger and food insecurity ten years later underscores the immense challenge of achieving the "Zero Hunger" target by 2030.

This Special Issue is a collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an international financial institution and a specialized agency of the United Nations dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. We bring together experts from various international organizations to dissect the complex roots of global food insecurity and chart practical solutions from different perspectives.

Glenn Denning, Professor of Professional Practice at Columbia University, leverages his decades of experience as a scientist and practitioner to lay out key priorities for achieving universal food security. Meanwhile, Marsha Echols, Professor of Law at Howard University, explores the use of trade measures to achieve food sovereignty. Jessica Fanzo, Professor of Climate and Food at Columbia University, discusses policy interventions governments can implement to promote access to healthy diets. Katherine Meighan, Associate Vice-President and General Counsel of IFAD, argues for a gender-focused approach to building resilient food systems, emphasizing gender-based equity, inclusivity, and economic empowerment. Rhoda Weeks-Brown, General Counsel and Director of the Legal Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), examines food insecurity through a macroeconomic lens. Her article explores how rising geopolitical fragmentation impacts food security and discusses the IMF’s role in tackling this global challenge.

Two articles bring a regional perspective to this issue. Diana Wilson Patrick, General Counsel and Bank Secretary of the Caribbean Development Bank, uses her article to shed light on the unique food security challenges facing Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean. Looking East, Vivienne Yeda, Director General of the East African Development Bank, focuses on the future of food security in Africa and highlights regional efforts to build resilience and support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

There is no doubt the fight against hunger and food insecurity demands a global response. As agrifood systems face mounting pressures from population growth, rapid urbanization, climate change, and conflict, international cooperation, innovative solutions, and increased investment are crucial to ending hunger in all its forms and achieving global food security.

The Journal would like to thank IFAD’s Office of the General Counsel for their support and collaboration on this article series, including Katherine Meighan, Associate Vice-President and General Counsel of IFAD; Phoebe Bower, Legal Officer; the External Relations Department; and the intern team, including Valentina Bonomo, Nina Weytjens, Francesco Totaro, Mira Ghazzoul, and Alexandra Gudaitis.

--The Editors

^[1] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, (2023) Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture, UN.

^[2] John Holmes (2008), Losing 25,000 to Hunger Every Day from Vol. XLV, Nos. 2-3, “Speaking to Our Common Humanity… 60 Years of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, The UN Chronicle.

^[3] FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2023. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023. Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural–urban continuum. Rome, FAO.