Acute food insecurity
Food insecurity found in a specified area at a specific point in time and of a severity that threatens lives, livelihoods, or both, regardless of the causes, context or duration. It has relevance in providing strategic guidance to actions being made at the humanitarian–development–peace nexus, to provide humanitarian assistance to the population involved and to prevent or decrease the impact of food crises.25
Affordability of a healthy diet
The ability of people to buy the foods needed to consume healthy diets in their local environment, while protecting their access to other essential goods and services.bf
Agricultural commodity price
The price at which raw agricultural products – such as wheat, maize, rice or soybean – are traded on global or local markets. These prices reflect both supply and demand dynamics and are influenced by factors such as weather, input costs, trade policies, and geopolitical events.
Agrifood systems
Cover the journey of food from farm to table – including when it is grown, fished, harvested, processed, packaged, transported, distributed, traded, bought, prepared, eaten and disposed of. They also encompass non-food products that constitute livelihoods and all of the people, activities, investments and choices that play a part in making available these food and agricultural products. In the FAO Constitution, the term “agriculture” and its derivatives include fisheries, marine products, forestry and primary forestry products.
Animal source foods
All types of meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, insects, grubs, eggs, milk, cheese, yoghurt and other milk products.26, 27
Basic starchy staples
Include major cereals and potatoes that are unprocessed or minimally processed (defined using NOVA 1), including rice, wheat or maize flour, fresh potatoes, millet, bulgur, and similar products that provide a high proportion of dietary energy intake for many population groups. For the purpose of the analysis in Chapter 3 of this report, products made from these same foods when they are processed or ultra-processed (as defined by NOVA 3 and 4) are excluded.
Buffer stock
Large supply of a commodity that is bought and stored when available in abundance, and sold when in short supply, in order to control its price and quantity in the economy. The report makes reference to food grain reserves maintained by governments to stabilize prices and ensure food security during periods of scarcity or high prices. This involves buying up excess supplies during times of abundance and releasing them when prices rise or supplies are low.
Cash transfer programmes
Direct payments of money, provided by governments or humanitarian organizations, to help individuals meet their basic needs, particularly in emergencies or during periods of poverty. These programmes can be either unconditional, meaning no conditions are required for receiving the cash, or conditional, with requirements such as school attendance or health checks.28
Core inflation
A measure of inflation that excludes volatile items such as food and energy, aiming to reflect the underlying trend in price changes.
Cost of a healthy diet
The amount of money needed to purchase the least expensive combination of locally available foods that satisfy the recommendations provided in food-based dietary guidelines.bg
Currency appreciation
An increase in the value of a country’s currency relative to other currencies. When a currency appreciates, fewer units of the local currency are needed to buy a given amount of foreign currency or imported goods. When a currency appreciates, imports become cheaper.
Currency depreciation
A decline in the value of a country’s currency relative to another currency, typically measured against major global currencies such as the US dollar (USD). When a currency depreciates, more local currency is needed to buy the same amount of foreign currency or imported goods. When a currency depreciates, imports become more expensive, and can exacerbate food price inflation, especially in countries that rely heavily on imported foods.
Demand-side shock
A sudden and unexpected change in consumer demand for goods and services that disrupts the normal functioning of the economy and can cause significant price changes. Shock can be driven by different factors such as economic recovery or recession, sudden increases in household income or government spending, and changes in consumer behaviour (e.g. panic buying during a crisis).
Diet quality (or healthy diets)
Comprising four key aspects: diversity (within and across food groups), adequacy (sufficiency of all essential nutrients compared to requirements), moderation (of foods and nutrients that are related to poor health outcomes) and balance (energy and macronutrient intake). Foods consumed should be safe.
Dietary diversity
The variety of different foods or food groups consumed over a given reference period. It reflects an important component of the quality of a person’s diet. Greater diversity is associated with a greater likelihood of adequate nutrient intake and reduced risk of deficiency.
Dietary energy requirements
The amount of dietary energy, measured in kilojoules or kilocalories (often referred to as calories), required by an individual to maintain body functions, health and normal activity. Dietary energy requirements are dependent upon age, sex, body size and level of physical activity. Additional energy is required to support optimal growth and development in children and in women during pregnancy, and for milk production during lactation, consistent with the good health of mother and child.
Economic downturn
A period of decline in economic activity or negative growth as measured by the growth rate in real gross domestic product (GDP). It is a synonym for economic recession, a temporary or short-term downturn in economic growth
Economic shock
An unexpected or unpredictable event that is external to the specific economy and can either harm or boost it. A global financial crisis causing bank lending or credit to fall, or an economic downturn in a major trading partner of a country both reflect demand-side shocks that can have multiple effects on spending and investment. A steep rise in oil and gas prices, natural disasters that result in sharp falls in production, or conflict that disrupts trade and production, are examples of supply-side shocks.
Economic slowdown
Economic activity that is growing at a slower pace compared to the previous period. An economic slowdown occurs when real GDP growth declines from one period to another, but it is still positive.
Emergency stock
Food reserves specifically maintained by governments to ensure access to essential food supplies for vulnerable populations during emergencies such as natural disasters, conflicts, or sudden supply disruptions.
Energy commodity prices
The market prices of basic energy sources that are traded globally, such as crude oil, natural gas, coal and electricity. These commodities serve as essential inputs for transportation, manufacturing, heating and agricultural production. Energy commodity prices are highly volatile and influenced by geopolitical events, market speculation, supply–demand dynamics, and climate conditions.
Energy price shock
A sudden and significant increase (or decrease) in the prices of energy commodities – such as oil, natural gas or electricity – often caused by geopolitical conflicts, supply disruptions or market volatility. These shocks can have wide-ranging effects on production costs, transportation, inflation and economic stability.
Energy-dense food
Food with a high content of calories (energy) with respect to its mass or volume.
Exchange rate
The price of one country’s currency expressed in terms of another currency. The exchange rate indicates how much of one currency is needed to purchase one unit of another. It affects international trade (exports/imports), influences inflation, interest rates, and foreign investment, and can impact the competitiveness of a country’s goods and services abroad.
Export bans
Government-imposed prohibition on the export of certain products, most commonly essential commodities like foodstuffs, with the aim of addressing domestic concerns such as food security. Export bans are typically enacted to increase domestic food availability, stabilize or reduce domestic food prices, and prevent or relieve critical shortages of food during sudden supply disruptions.
Export quotas
Government-imposed restrictions that restrict the quantity or value of exports of a particular good or service (usually considered essential) within a given period. These measures are enacted to ensure domestic supply stability.
Export restrictions
Government-imposed limitations on the quantity or value of goods – particularly food and agricultural products – that can be exported to other countries. These measures can take various forms, including export bans, quotas, taxes, licensing requirements, or other regulatory controls.
Extreme poverty
Refers to the percentage of people living on less than USD 2.15 a day (2017 PPP prices)bh in a country in a given year.29
Fiscal policy
The use of government spending and taxation to influence the economy. This involves changing the levels and types of taxes and the composition and extent of spending.30
Food Insecurity Experience Scale
An experience-based food security scale used to produce a measure of access to food at different levels of severity that can be compared across contexts. It relies on data obtained by asking people, directly in surveys, about the occurrence of conditions and behaviours that are known to reflect constrained access to food.
Food security
A situation that exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Based on this definition, four food security dimensions can be identified: food availability, economic and physical access to food, food utilization, and stability over time.
Food security dimensions
In this report, food security dimensions refer to the four traditional dimensions of food security:
- Availability – This dimension addresses whether or not food is actually or potentially physically present, including aspects of production, food reserves, markets and transportation, and wild foods.
- Access – If food is actually or potentially physically present, the next question is whether or not households and individuals have sufficient physical and economic access to that food.
- Utilization – If food is available and households have adequate access to it, the next question is whether or not households are maximizing the consumption of adequate nutrition and energy. Sufficient energy and nutrient intake by individuals is the result of good caring and feeding practices, food preparation, dietary diversity and intra-household distribution of food, and access to clean water, sanitation and health care. Combined with good biological utilization of food consumed, this determines the nutritional status of individuals.
- Stability – If the dimensions of availability, access and utilization are sufficiently met, stability is the condition in which the whole system is stable, thus ensuring that households are food secure at all times. Stability issues can refer to short-term instability (which can lead to acute food insecurity) or medium- to long-term instability (which can lead to chronic food insecurity). Climatic, economic, social and political factors can all be a source of instability.
Governance
Formal and informal rules, organizations and processes through which public and private actors articulate their interests and make and implement decisions.31
Health taxes
Excise taxes levied on products that have a negative public health impact. These are taxes targeting specific products, such as foods of high energy density and minimal nutritional value, to increase their relative cost compared to nutritious foods, thus reducing their consumption and preventing or mitigating these negative health outcomes while generating resources for government budgets.32
Healthy diets
See Diet quality definition.
Hunger
An uncomfortable or painful physical sensation caused by insufficient consumption of dietary energy. In this report, the term hunger is synonymous with chronic undernourishment and is measured by the prevalence of undernourishment.
Inequality
Economic inequality refers to the unequal distribution of income and opportunities between different groups in a society.33
Macronutrients
The major source of energy and bulk (volume) in our diets, macronutrients are needed in large quantities (in gram range). They include carbohydrates, proteins and fats. They are a main source of dietary energy, which is measured in calories. Obtaining sufficient energy is essential for everyone in order to maintain body growth, development and good health. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats, in addition to providing energy, each have very specific functions in the body and must be supplied in sufficient amounts to carry out those functions.
Malnutrition
An abnormal physiological condition caused by inadequate, unbalanced or excessive intake of macronutrients and/or micronutrients. Malnutrition includes undernutrition (child stunting and wasting, and vitamin and mineral deficiencies), as well as overweight and obesity.
Market concentration
The degree to which a small number of firms dominate total sales or market share in a particular industry. High market concentration often leads to reduced competition, potentially giving firms more pricing power and control over supply chains.
Market information system
A service that involves the regular collection of information on prices (and, in some cases, traded quantities) of agricultural products from wholesale and retail markets and the dissemination of this information on a timely basis to farmers, traders, government officials, policymakers, consumers and other stakeholders.34
Market power
The ability of a firm or group of firms to influence the price or supply of a product in the market, rather than being purely subject to competitive market forces. Firms with significant market power can raise prices above competitive levels and may limit output or exclude competitors. This often arises in markets characterized by high concentration (a small number of dominant firms).
Micronutrients
Including vitamins and minerals, micronutrients are required in very small (micro) but specific amounts. Vitamins and minerals in foods are necessary for the body to grow, develop and function properly, and are essential for our health and well-being. Our bodies require a number of different vitamins and minerals, each of which has a specific function in the body and must be supplied in different, sufficient amounts.
Minimally processed foods (NOVA 1)
Unprocessed foods altered in ways that do not add or introduce any substance, but that may involve subtracting parts of the food. Minimal processes include cleaning, scrubbing, washing; winnowing, hulling, peeling, grinding, grating, squeezing, flaking; skinning, boning, carving, portioning, scaling, filleting; pressing; drying, skimming, fat reduction; pasteurizing, sterilizing; chilling, refrigerating, freezing; sealing, bottling (as such); simple wrapping, vacuum- and gas-packing. Malting, which adds water, is a minimal process, as is fermenting, which adds living organisms, when it does not generate alcohol. The main aim of these processes is to extend the life of unprocessed foods, enabling their storage for longer use, or to make them edible, and, often, to make their preparation easier or more diverse.
Minimum dietary diversity
A measure of the diversity of a person’s diet through a simple count of the number of different food groups consumed within a specific time frame, typically a day. For children aged 6 to 23 months, minimum dietary diversity is achieved when they consumed foods from at least five out of eight defined food groups the previous day. For women aged 15 to 49 years, minimum dietary diversity is achieved when they consumed at least five out of ten defined food groups the previous day. Achieving minimum diet diversity indicates a greater likelihood that the diet is sufficient in essential nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals.
Minimum support price
Subsidy scheme that provides farmers with a government-set floor price at which select crops are purchased from farmers. It aims to safeguard farmers’ incomes from market price fluctuations.
Moderate food insecurity
The level of severity of food insecurity, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, at which people face uncertainties about their ability to obtain food and have been forced to reduce, at times during the year, the quality and/or quantity of food they consume due to lack of money or other resources. It thus refers to a lack of consistent access to food, which diminishes dietary quality, disrupts normal eating patterns, and can have negative consequences for nutrition, health and well-being.
Monetary policy
Set of actions and strategies implemented by Central Banks (or monetary authorities) to manage the overall money supply and the cost of borrowing to achieve key objectives such as price stability (low inflation), economic growth, and full employment.
Money supply
Also known as money stock, it refers to the total value of money (cash, coins, and balances in bank accounts) in circulation held by the public in an economy at a particular point in time.
Nutrient-dense foods
Foods with a high content of nutrients with respect to their mass or volume.
Nutritional status
The physiological state of an individual that results from the relationship between nutrient intake and requirements and the body’s ability to digest, absorb and use these nutrients.
Nutritious foods
Safe foods that contribute essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals (micronutrients), fibre and other components to healthy diets that are beneficial for growth, and health and development, guarding against malnutrition. In nutritious foods, the presence of nutrients of public health concern including saturated fats, free sugars, and salt/sodium is minimized, industrially produced trans fats are eliminated, and salt is iodized.
Overweight and obesity
Body weight that is above normal for height as a result of an excessive accumulation of fat. It is usually a manifestation of expending less energy than is consumed. In adults, overweight is defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 kg/m2 or more, and obesity as a BMI of 30 kg/m2 or more. In children under five years of age, overweight is defined as weight-for-height greater than 2 SD above the WHO Child Growth Standards median, and obesity as weight-for-height greater than 3 SD above the WHO Child Growth Standards median.35
Prevalence of undernourishment
An estimate of the proportion of the population that lacks enough dietary energy for a healthy, active life. It is FAO’s traditional indicator used to monitor hunger at the global and regional level, as well as SDG Indicator 2.1.1.
Price controls
Government-mandated minimum or maximum prices set for selected goods and services within a market. They may involve price ceilings or price floors to promote social and economic objectives. For example, they may be part of a government’s efforts to protect vulnerable consumers (from increases in the cost of essential goods) or maintain the incomes of producers (as part of price-support programmes).36
Price transmission
The process through which price changes in one part of the supply chain or market (often international) are passed through to other levels, such as wholesale, retail or consumer prices.
Price volatility
A measure of how much and how frequently prices fluctuate over time, often unpredictably. High price volatility means prices change rapidly and significantly, while low volatility indicates relatively stable prices.
Processed foods (NOVA 3)
Foods manufactured by adding salt or sugars (or other substances of culinary use such as oils or vinegar) to whole foods, to make them more durable and sometimes also to modify their palatability. They are directly derived from foods and recognizable as versions of the original foods. They are generally produced to be consumed as part of meals or dishes, or may be used, together with highly processed products, to replace food-based freshly prepared dishes and meals. Processes include canning and bottling using oils, sugars or salt, and methods of preservation such as salting, salt pickling, smoking and curing. Processes and ingredients are designed to increase the durability of group 1 foods and make them more enjoyable by modifying or enhancing their sensory qualities. Processed foods may contain additives that prolong product duration, protect original properties, or prevent proliferation of microorganisms. When alcoholic drinks are identified as foods, those produced by fermentation of group 1 foods, such as beer, cider and wine, are classified herein as group 3 foods.
Purchasing power parity
Rates of currency conversion that aim to equalize the purchasing power of different currencies by eliminating differences in price levels between countries. The basket of goods and services priced represents a sample of all those included in final consumption expenditure, actual consumption, gross fixed capital formation, and total goods and services.46
Real food wage
Wage adjusted for food price inflation. See Real wage definition.
Real income
The total income of an individual or household adjusted for changes in the price level, reflecting purchasing power. Real income includes wages, benefits and other sources.
Real wage
Wage adjusted for inflation, used to assess purchasing power. Real wage indicates the true value of earnings from work and how many goods and services a worker can buy with their earnings. When food prices rise faster than wages, real wages fall, reducing the ability to afford basic needs.
Resilience
The ability of individuals, households, communities, cities, institutions, systems and societies to prevent, resist, absorb, adapt, respond and recover positively, efficiently and effectively when faced with a wide range of risks, while maintaining an acceptable level of functioning and without compromising long-term prospects for sustainable development, peace and security, human rights and well-being for all.37
Risk
The probability or likelihood of the occurrence of hazardous events or trends multiplied by the impacts if these events or trends occur. Risk to food insecurity is the probability of food insecurity resulting from interactions between a natural or human-induced hazard, shock or stress and vulnerable conditions.
Severe food insecurity
The level of severity of food insecurity at which people have likely run out of food, experienced hunger and, at the most extreme, gone for days without eating, putting their health and well-being at grave risk, based on the Food Insecurity Experience Scale.
Social protection
“Social Protection as public intervention consists of policies and programmes designed to reduce poverty and vulnerability by assisting the poor, at risk and vulnerable groups such as but not limited to women, children, youth, persons with disabilities, migrant workers, older people, families and communities to enhance their capacities to better manage risks and enhance equal access to essential services and opportunities on a rights base/needs base”.38
Staple foods
Foods eaten regularly, and in such quantities as to constitute the dominant part of the diet and supply a major proportion of total dietary energy. The main kinds of staple foods are cereals (e.g. rice, maize, wheat, rye, barley, oats, millet, sorghum), roots and tubers (e.g. potatoes, cassava, yams) and legumes (e.g. beans, lentils, soybean).27
Strategic food reserves
Publicly owned inventories of food held in anticipation of events of acute food insecurity. In such episodes, governments or designated agencies release these reserves into markets or distribute them as emergency food assistance. Thus, they serve as a precautionary source of food during market disruptions. Strategic food reserves usually involve staple foods and, in particular, grains.39
Stunting
Low height-for-age, reflecting a past episode or episodes of sustained undernutrition. In children under five years of age, stunting is defined as height-for-age less than −2 SD below the WHO Child Growth Standards median.
Subsidies
Government actions that provide an advantage to consumers or producers in order to supplement their income or lower their costs.40
Supply-side shock
A sudden and unexpected disruption in the production, availability or delivery of goods and services, often leading to increased prices and reduced supply. In food systems, supply-side shocks can result from events affecting any part of the supply chain. Typical causes include weather extremes (e.g. droughts, floods, hurricanes), geopolitical conflicts (e.g. the war in Ukraine), trade restrictions, rising costs of inputs (e.g. energy, fertilizers), and pest outbreaks or animal diseases (e.g. African swine fever). The second wave of global food price inflation (2022 onwards) was driven largely by supply-side shocks such as the war in Ukraine, fertilizer shortages and energy price spikes.
Tariffs
Taxes or financial charges imposed by a government on goods and services imported from other countries. They provide a price advantage to domestically produced goods over similar imported ones and increase government revenues.
Trade restrictions
Trade restrictions are government-imposed measures or policies that limit, control, or influence the international exchange of goods and services across national borders. They include tariffs and non-tariff barriers to international trade.
Ultra-processed foods (NOVA 4)
Products formulated mostly or entirely from substances derived from foods or other organic sources, typically containing few or no whole foods. They are durable, convenient, accessible, highly or ultra-palatable, and often habit-forming. Ultra-processed foods are typically not recognizable as versions of foods, although they may imitate the appearance, shape and sensory qualities of foods. Many ingredients are not available in retail outlets. Some ingredients are directly derived from foods, such as oils, fats, flours, starches and sugars; others are obtained by further processing of food constituents or synthesized from other organic sources. Numerically, the majority of ingredients are preservatives; stabilizers, emulsifiers, solvents, binders, bulkers; sweeteners, sensory enhancers, colourings, flavourings; processing aids; other additives. Bulk may come from added air or water. Micronutrients may “fortify” the products. Most are designed to be consumed by themselves or in combination as snacks. Processes include hydrogenation, hydrolysis; extruding, moulding, reshaping; preprocessing by frying, baking. Processes and ingredients used to manufacture ultra-processed foods are designed to create highly profitable products (low-cost ingredients, long shelf-life, emphatic branding), convenience foods (ready-to-consume), hyper-palatable products liable to displace freshly prepared dishes and meals made from all other NOVA food groups. When alcoholic drinks are identified as foods, those produced by fermentation of group 1 foods followed by distillation of the resulting alcohol, such as whisky, gin, rum and vodka, are classified herein as group 4 foods.
Unaffordability
See Affordability of a healthy diet definition.
Undernourishment
The condition in which an individual’s habitual food consumption is insufficient to provide the amount of dietary energy required to maintain a normal, active and healthy life. For the purposes of this report, hunger is defined as being synonymous with chronic undernourishment. The prevalence of undernourishment is used to measure hunger.
Undernutrition
The outcome of poor nutritional intake in terms of quantity and/or quality, and/or poor absorption and/or poor biological use of nutrients consumed as a result of repeated instances of disease. It includes being underweight for one’s age, too short for one’s age (stunted), dangerously thin for one’s height (suffering from wasting) or deficient in vitamins and minerals (suffering from micronutrient deficiency).
Unprocessed foods (NOVA 1)
Foods of plant origin (leaves, stems, roots, tubers, fruits, nuts, seeds) or animal origin (meat, other flesh, tissue and organs, eggs, milk), consumed shortly after harvesting, gathering, slaughter or husbanding.
Vulnerability
The conditions determined by physical, social, economic and environmental factors or processes that increase the susceptibility of an individual, community, assets or systems to the impacts of hazards.41 Vulnerability to food insecurity is the range of conditions that increase the susceptibility of a household to the impact on food security in case of a shock or hazard.
Wasting
Low weight-for-height, generally the result of weight loss associated with a recent period of inadequate dietary energy intake and/or disease. In children under five years of age, wasting is defined as weight-for-height less than −2 SD below the WHO Child Growth Standards median.
