The U.S. is no longer the most food-secure nation in the world.
The sixth annual Global Food Security Index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit was released Tuesday
, and it had previously ranked the U.S. as the most food-secure nation in the world.
The ranking measures how well countries can feed its own inhabitants, and the fact is that the U.S. has not been able to improve the affordability, availability, quality and safety of its food, while other countries have charged ahead.
The U.S. is now number four on the list, with France ranked at number three, Austria is two and Ireland takes the top spot. “Food security is in reverse,” said Robert Powell, a senior consultant with the Economist Intelligence Unit in New York. “If we’re aiming for zero hunger, we’re going in the wrong direction.”
Food security around the world fell for the first time in five years due to the number of refugees, natural disasters and lower political stability that have hit us all. The number of people suffering from hunger rose by 38 million in 2016 to a total of 815 million.
The various hurricanes that hit the world took a toll on food availability, while food shortages in South Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen lowered this figure further.
Richer nations have less issues providing food to its citizens, but not all is well in these nations yet.