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Rethinking the food security debate in Asia: some missing ecological and health dimensions and solutions

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Abstract

Food security is a global and regional concern of rapidly increasing consequence. It is at risk of inattention because of competing crises, because of its theoretical amenability to previously effective, if temporary measures, most impressively with the so-called Green Revolution and because of the recourse to the global trade paradigm as a putative solution. We identify some missing or under-emphasised dimensions in this analysis, with particular reference to Asia, which in spite of recent growth—or in some cases because of it—faces particularly daunting food problems. Greater emphasis needs to be given to population size and distribution through more concerted family planning and enlightened migration policy; public policy to retain or encourage plant-based diets; integration of food, health and environmental approaches to create resilient regional food systems; and the incorporation of food into the broader human security agenda. While regional organisations, along with their NGO counterparts and nation states, have an over-arching role to strategise in this way, substantial progress could still be made at the community and household levels, especially with current technologies which can marshal their collective and coherent action.

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Conflict of interest

None of the authors has a conflict of interest in regard to this paper. They have each contributed substantively to its content. Copyright is assignable to the Journal as required.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Preventive Medicine and Health Services Research, Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, No. 35, Keyan Road, Zhunan, Miaoli County, 350, Taiwan

    Mark L. Wahlqvist, Ya-Chen Chang & Ya-Wen Chiu

  2. Monash Asia Institute, Monash University, Caulfield, Melbourne, Victoria, 3145, Australia

    Mark L. Wahlqvist

  3. APCNS Centre for Nutrition and Food Safety, Zhejiang University, 268 Kaixuan Road, Hangzhou, 310029, China

    Mark L. Wahlqvist

  4. Analysis International and Australian APEC Study Centre, 1/6 Marne Street, South Yarra, Melbourne, Victoria, 3141, Australia

    John McKay

  5. School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia

    John McKay

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  1. Mark L. Wahlqvist
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  4. Ya-Wen Chiu
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Wahlqvist, M.L., McKay, J., Chang, YC. et al. Rethinking the food security debate in Asia: some missing ecological and health dimensions and solutions. Food Sec. 4, 657–670 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-012-0211-2

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