What do plant-based diets have to do with food security?

Food security is defined as having "physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life (The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2008, p. 1)."

It is believed that about one billion people in the world do not get enough food and about two billion people are eating diets that are nutritionally deficient (Smith et al, 2013).

The USDA estimates that 14.3% (17.5 million) of households in the US do not have enough money to eat nutritious food.  Demographics with the highest food insecurity are households below the poverty line, Black or African-American families, households with small children led by a single female parent, and people living in major cities or in the South.

Fortunately, households in Virginia are experiencing less food insecurity than the than the national average (Coleman-Jensen & Gregory, 2014).

So what do plant-based diets have to do with increasing food security?

Livestock production, from an economic point of view, is an inefficient use of resources.  According to the International Livestock Institute, in an article by Smith et al.,the following statistics are mentioned:

• Livestock production claims 4/5 of the land used in agriculture. 
• Half of grain is used to feed animals, reducing human food supply.  
• For 77 million tons of plant protein that is used, we get 58 tons of animal protein.  This shift of demand can also lead to higher prices for grains (Steinfeld, et al., 2006).  
• It can also decrease food production in the long run by contributing to global warming, which decreases crop yields.  
• Up to 18% of greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock production, which is greater than that which is produced when we drive our cars and all other forms of transportation (Steinfeld,et al., 2006).

Most people view increased meat demand and industrial production as inevitable.  However, reducing subsidies to the livestock sector could lead to the a reduction in this overuse of resources and lead to meat's true market value and price level (Steinfeld, et al., 2006).  As consumers, we can also reduce some of these effects by having healthier diets and eating less meat.
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Coleman-Jensen, A. & Gregory, C. (2014, September 3).  Key statistics and graphics.  Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/food-security-in-the-us/key-statistics-graphics.aspx#.VA1GZ_ldUQg

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.  (2008).  An introduction to the basic concepts of food security.  Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/al936e/al936e00.pdf

Smith, J. et al. (2013).  Beyond milk, meat, and eggs:  Role of livestock in food and nutrition security.  Animal Frontiers 3(1) Retrieved from http://www.animalfrontiers.org/content/3/1/6.full.pdf+html

Steinfeld, H. et al. (2006).  Livestock's long shadow. FAO.  Retrieved from  ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/a0701e07.pdf