The state of food in a changing climate

This video shows the state of food security and nutrition in the world. It is based on the report from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations produced to complement the assessment of food security and nutrition with projections of what the world may look like in 2030.

Food security has four dimensions according to its definition: availability, accessibility, utilisation, and stability. To achieve food security goals, all four pillars must be addressed at the same time. These pillars are sometimes looked at together as a Food Security Index. One important aspect to construct this index is the monitoring of the first and last dimensions, food availability and stability. This monitoring is most effective at a large spatial scale and repeated frequency. Satellite observations are very well suited for the task, as they provide a synoptic view of many terrestrial variables. Particular to monitoring the food availability and stability are the long data records of terrestrial essential climate variables. The Climate Change Initiative, CCI of the European Space Agency provides a large suite of consistent data that can be used to describe the climate and monitor land productivity and stability in response to climate changes. Some of these terrestrial climate variables are reviewed later in this week.

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In the next discussion, you will step into the role of a policy maker and look at the Special Report on the Land in a Changing Climate.