Taylor-Marshall 1

Myah Taylor-Marshall 400018333

Carolyn Walkes

FOUN 1008 Intro to Professional writing

12 November 2023

The lack of food security in Barbados is currently a crucial issue that needs to be addressed.
This review serves to shed light on the overall causes, social impact, economic impact, and
the possible solutions by evaluating information on a wider scope.

Climate change is a shift in the climate’s condition that lasts for an extended period, that
may be detected by changes in the means of its parameters. Causes of climate change
include the disposal of food items derived from agriculture, forestry, or fisheries, are
collectively called food systems. Finally, food security is the condition in which all individuals
consistently have physical and financial access to adequate safe, nutritious food that
satisfies their dietary needs and food choices for an active and healthy life (Duran-Sandoval
et al 1). Climate change and food security are both intertwined, as food security can be
affected by climate change but in efforts to attain it, it can otherwise be a cause of climate
change, food systems contribute to approximately 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions
that cause climate change (Duran-Sandoval et al 1). Though these systems can play a key
role in obtaining food security, they can also play such a role in preventing it by contributing
to one of the head causes of insecurity, climate change (Duran-Sandoval et al 1).
Supporting these points are authors who had conducted a study in
Sweden, these authors highlight the significance of food security and the large impact that it
has, with several nations and the Caribbean being the ones who are mostly afflicted by it
(Horn, Ferreira, Kalantari 1). They found that food insecurity stems from the globalization of
food systems and climate change. While conducting their research they discovered that
most of these countries live on land that can only produce a limited range of crops,
consequently forcing them to import the crops they cannot grow. These ‘import-dependent
countries’ make up 80% of the world’s population, making every one of them vulnerable if
any one of their food supply chains were to be cut off (Horn, Ferreira, Kalantari 1). With all
this trade, by land or by sea, the use of crude oil to power these air or land vessels and their
emissions contribute significantly to climate change, making trade globalization a direct
cause of climate change and a double-edged sword for said dependent countries in their
cause to fight against both climate change and food insecurity.
Providing a different but similar view on the topic,
researchers in Mexico evaluated the causes of food insecurity and food accessibility. They
saw that while food security has always been a worldwide problem, it only gained attention
after COVID 19 and the war in Ukraine interfered with the supply chains, which
consequently lead to global inflation (Martinez-Martinez, Gil-Vasquez, Romero-Gonzalez 1).
 Taylor-Marshall 2

Over 50 million people in Mexico experience

food insecurity, with individuals living in inhumane conditions being hungry for days on end.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has worsened levels of poverty and inequality” (De Wet-Billings
1). This author also takes on the stance that the Covid 19 Pandemic has had a huge impact
on food security in many countries. She goes on to state that food insecurity is an outcome
of climate change, farming skills shortages and a few other things. Her research was done in
Africa, where she found that many farmers and their households had been affected by the
lack of skilled laborers during the early stages of the pandemic, which resulted in the closure
of their small farms (De Wet-Billings 1). Lastly in discussing the causes of food
insecurity, three researchers, who focused on the role of young farmers in food security,
"Young farmers have an important role as the future of food security and sustainable
agriculture depends on them” (Karahan, Abay, Ito 1). By further conducting their study, it
was found that not many young farmers are motivated to stay in their countries and farm.
Some may leave their country and pursue other opportunities elsewhere while others may
see farming to be an unimportant or low-class profession. To combat this, countries should
bring awareness to the importance of farming and its relation to food security and overall
well-being of the country to the younger generation. (Karahan, Abay, Ito 1).
The social impact of food insecurity spans over a wide range of a multitude of things,
from mental health to unemployment, the impact is great. In the study conducted in Africa
by De Wet-Billings, it was found that the long-term effects of food insecurity contribute to
the malnutrition of young children and elderly persons, diminishing the learning capacity of
young children and further increasing their inability to pay attention in class (De Wet-Billings
2). It was also seen in some cases, adults who are experiencing food insecurity are
unemployed and are more likely to be involved in drug use and ‘transactional sexual
intercourse’, all of this, contributing to poor mental health among all persons affected (De
Wet-Billings 2). Martinez-Martinez, Gil-Vasquez, Romero-Gonzalez also have a
similar view on the social impact of food insecurity, with respect to mental and physical
health. With food playing a key role in one’s overall satisfaction and health the absence of it
impacts negatively on both of those (Martinez-Martinez, Gil-Vasquez, Romero-Gonzalez 2).
Persons affected by food insecurity have had a decline in their physical and mental
conditions, with persons experiencing insomnia, diabetes, and obesity in some cases where
persons overconsume unhealthy cheap items. Without enough food to sustain them, or
knowing how they will get it, some people also experienced depression (Martinez-Martinez,
Gil-Vasquez, Romero-Gonzalez 2).
Food insecurity by way of climate change severely undermines
the economic and agricultural sectors, with the effects of climate change including frequent
periods of famine, even within some highly developed countries. Those who rely on
agricultural exportation as one of their primary sources of national income are most
affected by this (Duran-Sandoval et al 2). Furthermore, in a study conducted by Karahan,
Abay and Ito, they saw that young farmers are unmotivated to stay in their countries, seeing
farming as a low-class profession and unimportant, leaving their lands and pursuing
opportunities abroad. This contributes to ‘Brain drain’, leaving their countries with less
 Taylor-Marshall 3

skilled workers when they leave, overall affecting the country's economy (Karahan, Abay, Ito
2).
As seen in some studies before there are a few possible solutions to this problem, as
seen with Duran-Sandoval et al, the solution lies within addressing climate change at its
root, by finding innovative ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate
change it can subsequently reduce food insecurity in some countries (Duran-Sandoval et al
2). With a differing view of how to solve this problem, Karahan, Abay and Ito. They believe,
to combat this, countries should bring awareness to the importance of farming and its
relation to food security and overall well-being of the country to the younger generation
(Karahan, Abay and Ito 2).

In conclusion, food insecurity along with its many causes, is a serious issue, the ways
in which it affects peoples lives and countries as a whole are devastating and needs to be
addressed urgently.
 Taylor-Marshall 4

Works Cited
De Wet-Billings, Nicole. “Perpetuation of Household Food Insecurity during COVID-19 in

South Africa.” Journal of Health, Population & Nutrition, vol. 42, no. 1, Sept. 2023,

pp. 1–8. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-023-00441-

Durán-Sandoval, Daniel, et al. “Food, Climate Change, and the Challenge of

Innovation.” Encyclopedia, vol. 3, no. 3, Sept. 2023, pp. 839–52. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.3390/encyclopedia3030060.

Horn, Blaze, et al. “Links between Food Trade, Climate Change and Food Security in

Developed Countries: A Case Study of Sweden.” AMBIO - A Journal of the Human

Environment, vol. 51, no. 4, Apr. 2022, pp. 943–54. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-021-01623-w.

Karahan, Mizgin, et al. “Determining Factors of Retaining Young Farmers in Agriculture: A

Case Study in Turkey and Japan.” Agris On-Line Papers in Economics & Informatics,

vol. 15, no. 2, June 2023, pp. 41–54. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.7160/aol.2023.150204.
 Taylor-Marshall 5

Martínez-Martínez, Oscar A., et al. “Food Insecurity and Levels of Marginalization:

Food Accessibility, Consumption and Concern in Mexico.” International Journal for

Equity in Health, vol. 22, no. 1, Sept. 2023, pp. 1–13. EBSCOhost,

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12939-023-01977-5.