TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE WORLD

CHAPTER OVERVIEW:

This Chapter discusses the essence and reality of a sustainable world. Section 1. Sustainable
Development, focuses on the importance of highlighting environmental considerations in terms of
development and how counties must be conscious of the role of the environment in development. Section 2.
Food Security talks about the worlds issue on hunger and poverty. Food security is viewed as an integral
component in achieving domestic and regional stability. It also focuses on discussions about the concept of
the global village and human social responsibility. It deals with overarching concept of global citizenship
and the future global village. This also tackles the development of individuals from national citizenship to
global social responsibility and its importance to human society at the international level.

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS/CONCEPTS OF UNLOCKING OF DIFFICULTIES

Sustainability - the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level

Unrelenting - not yielding in strength, severity, or determination.

Armed conflict - a contested incompatibility that concerns government and or territory where the use of
armed force between two parties.

Microsystem - a microscopic system, especially a system using microscopic electromechanical components.

The system of groups and institutions with the most immediate and direct impact on the individuals
development.

Global village - the world considered as a single community linked by a telecommunication.

International trade - the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories.

Global citizenship - is the idea that one’s identity transcends geography or political borders and that
responsibilities or rights are derived from membership in a broader class: “humanity”
 LESSON 1
FOOD SECURITY

This lesson introduces the concept of food security and its importance to the eradication of hunger
and alleviation of poverty.
A vital resources for humans, regardless of race, nationality, religious affiliation, economic status, or
educational attainment, is food. It is the basic necessity for survival. Therefore, it is important for nations to
secure a constant supply of food for the consumption of people.

However, it is a fact that food security, defined as the “physical and economic access, at all times, to
sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for the people to meet their dietary needs and foods preferences for an
active and healthy life” (Swaminathan, 2003) is a worldwide issue which must be given considerable
attention. Food security challenges countries with large populations such as China and India. With the
growing and persistent demand for food corporations in a nation must be able to meet demands by
increasing production capacity and overall productivity. Rationing of food, especially in developing or
underdeveloped countries, is also a solution to address food security issues, although this solution can lead
to even more problems. It may ultimately worsen food security as in the experience of India with its targeted
Public Distribution System(PDS)in the 1990’s (Swaminathan, 2003).
International trade is viewed as a solution to potentially dampen the blows on food security in nations. While
relatively subsidies from rich countries, the latter will be pressured to increase food production capabilities.
Rich countries may also struggle with handling food security issues at the domestic and the foreign level
(Kannan, Mahendra Dev, &Narain Sharman, 2000).

Economic and agricultural reforms have proven viable in addressing food security issues like in the case of
China, one of the most populated countries in the world. In 1978, China began reforms in these sectors to
ensure food security for the country and its people. Nutrition-wise, China was able to reduce the number of
undernourished people by seventy million from 1990 to 2000 (Jiang, 2008). Both gain production and
household income increased, creating a synchronized and self-sufficient domestic environment. Couple
these with relevant market and pricing policies, domestic food security can be relatively achieved at a
considerable degree.
One of the contributing factor that further cripples and weakens food security on a domestic and
international levels is armed conflict. In the recent decades, internal strife has debilitated food production
and supplies in countries such as Israel, Turkey, and Syria. Armed groups against a legitimate government
target to prevent, seize, and / or destroy food aid that is intended for government armed forces. Farmers are
also driven away from their lands because of conflict, and production is then halted (Choen, Pinstrup-
Andersen, 1999) the effects of these circumstances also spill over to neighboring countries due to
international trade.

Conversely, hunger also leads to conflicts and, as mentioned, leads to increased shortage in food. Food
shortage is not only limited to rural areas but is also an issue plaguing urban sectors especially in countries
with internal conflicts. Lack of food was one of the factors that ignited the French Revolution of 1789
(Choen,Pinstrup-Andersen, 1999) and somehow is resembled by the Vanezuelan food crisis in the present
era. As the economy of Vanezuela continues to plummet, prices commodities skyrocket to unreasonable
figures. Although the Vanezuelan government sells some food packets at regulated price, only 12.6, million
Venezuelans have access to these packets which is only about one-third of the total population of the
country (Singer, 2018).

Indeed, food plays an integral role in maintaining a healthy, functioning, and even peaceful domestic and
international environment. Therefore, food security must be one of the priorities of any government in the
world. Ensuring that the economy can weather downturns will help cushion the adverse effects of food
security issues. Establishing an international network with countries that respond to the food security
challenges of other countries is a goal that all members of the international community must strive for.
 ACTIVITY 1

Name: _________________________________________________ Date: _______

Course & Year: _________________________________________ Score: ______

Instructions:
Discuss the importance of food security in the following aspects
1. Politics and Governance
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2. Social stability and health
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3. International/ Foreign economic relations
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 LESSON 3
GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP

This lesson presents the concept of different citizens as members of global village.

After the advent of globalization and a multitude of technological advancement, the nations, as well as many
citizens of the world, have gotten closer than they did before. Communication has been made easier
inaccessible parts of the world, and of acquiring and transmitting information which are quite literally at
everyone’s fingertips. This constant state of being interconnected brings about the notion of
global village where citizens of the world are members, not only of their respective home countries, but also
of the global world.

Considering these premises, there must be an ever-developing awareness that decisions and actions in a
domestic level can and will have international repercussions. As global citizens, individuals must be aware
of the wider world; respect and value diversity; have an understanding of how the world works
economically, politically, socially, culturally, technologically, and environmentally; outraged by social
injustice; participate in and contribute to the community at all levels from local to global; willing to act to
make the world a more equitable and sustainable place; and take responsibility for their actions
(Douglas,2001).
 These characteristics can all be acquired through
education, particularly the one that focuses on
global and multicultural aspects. Education, in this
regard, helps the learner to understand the impact
of one’s own actions to other cultures and the
effect of other people’s actions based on a
different culture to one’s own (Pae, 2003). In
brief, global education opens learners’ minds to
the multitude of customs, norms and traditions
lessening one’s prejudices. This is necessary
because, as mentioned, the evident
interconnectedness and constant interaction pf
people from all over the world pit individuals
from different nations and cultures

against one another. For such interaction to be successful, such set of conduct mentioned above must
exhibited by a global citizen.

Moreover, the role of microsystems such as families and local communities is of great importance in
solidifying a global perspective. In essence, global education must be holistic and requires the effort not only
of the educators but of parents, peers, and even policy makers (Pae, 2003).

In a sense, this form of education focuses not only on giving learners life skills but also on teaching them the
importance of values which will help them gain a more inclusive perspective of a global community and
enable them to effectively interact with people from other cultures.

Engaging with people of different nationalities with these attributes will be beneficial for the rest of
humanity in the long run since an individual is not only confined to the pursuit of personal interest but also
conscious about the lives, desires, and needs of other individuals hailing from other cultures. It is a fact that
some of the world’s resources are running scarce due to the persistent demands of human consumptions.
Being able to peacefully coexist with one another with a shared global perspective in mind can enable
individuals to efficiently distribute and consume resources without the need for coercion. Global citizens
have a great understanding of the truth that for the global society to survive, one must do away with myopic
and self-centered ideas and must rather take into great consideration the needs of other individuals.

Indeed, in this era of interconnectivity between and among human being, a global perspective is necessary.
As the means of communications and the degree of technology congruently take higher ground, so must the
mindset of individuals living in the relatively same ecosystem, accessing and sharing nearly the same
resources, and facing relatively similar threats and challenges to human existence, be it natural or artificial.
Global citizens know that humankind must acquire a symbiotic relationship with one another for the entire
human species and human culture to survive.
 ACTIVITY 2

Name: ______________________________________________ Date: ________

Course & Year: ______________________________________ Score: _______

Instructions: In a short essay, discuss your personal definition of global citizenship and how you, as a
Filipino, can become an active member of the global village. What are the advantages of global citizenship
for a Filipino and for the entire country?

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