Topic:
Country: Spain
Delegate Name: Eve Orban
United Nations Development Programme
Food Instability and Political Crises
Kingdom of Spain
Eve Orban
Forest Hills Eastern
A person is considered food insecure when they do not have a reliable source of clean, healthy food at their disposal. People who are food insecure may have to go without food for a day or more and sacrifice basic necessities in order to guarantee their next meal. With foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables being harder to come by, many food insecure families primarily consume highly processed and non-nutritious foods. This, along with the psychological stress of uncertain food access, contributes to a high risk of obesity, chronic diseases, and diabetes in food insecure individuals. Without a stable food supply, a record of around 828 million people are suffering from hunger today. This is due to conflicts, climate shocks, the economic effects of COVID-19, and costs, with WFP (World Food Programme)’s operating costs skyrocketing 73.6 million above their 2019 average. Individuals suffering from food insecurity lose their fidelity in the government and their community, leading to civil unrest. This loss of trust often entails violent revolts, revolutions, and strikes. This is a trend that must not continue. Talk about the political crises problem a little. Like how food instability causes revolts, revolutions, and strikes.
Roughly 13.3% of Spanish households suffer from food insecurity. It has been an enduring difficulty that sharply increased during the 2008 financial crisis, in which Spain has never fully rebounded. More recently, Spain’s failed efforts to combat the poverty induced by the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed heavily to the crisis, especially in low-income districts such as Madrid and Barcelona. In addition, the war in Ukraine has created food shortages and high inflation throughout Spain. Due to these struggles, there have been many protests within Madrid in the name of poverty, and, more recently, in COVID-19 prevention measures. Spain, however, is firmly committed to the elimination of poverty and hunger throughout the world, with efforts against hunger and malnutrition at the top of Spain’s political agenda. The current president of the UN Committee on Food Security, CFS, is Gabriel Ferrero of Spain, who seeks to eradicate poverty, fight climate change, promote conservation, and achieve Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger). Spain works very closely with FAO, particularly in the fisheries sector, and works to promote policies that guarantee the right to food security. Queen Letiza of Spain is FAO Special Ambassador for Nutrition. In this role, she spreads awareness and builds support for hunger eradication. Spain supports projects that help to reduce food insecurity in Latin America, the Caribbean, and various parts of Africa. Again, talk about some of the political crises in Spain(revolts, strikes, revolutions, attacks)
Spain is working to bounce back from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic on Spain’s hunger issue. The creation of food banks, community fridges, and government distributed meals is helping Spaniards to find relief after the pandemic. Unfortunately, this has not been enough to absolve the issue completely. Spain would like to see the realization of projects such as Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and the Hunger Free Latin America and Caribbean Initiative. They would like to continue their work and further their collaborative efforts with FAO in order to achieve the prospect of global food security, which will aid the world in solving political crises.
