Extreme weather caused by climate change is impacting the yields and provision of food around the world, including Europe. This emerged from a report of the United Nations (UN) on food security that explained, among other things, how climate change is one of the main factors that is leading to more and more people experiencing hunger. 

The UN goal to eradicate hunger by 2030 is still far off. According to a UN report on food security, the number of people who are experiencing hunger has risen in the last three years. 820 million people suffer from chronic hunger, including 149 million boys and girls who are under five years old who stopped growing because of lack of food. 

The authors of the report state that 96 million people need to be provided with food or access to food so they do not die. The same authors estimate that about two billion people worldwide do not have sufficient access to clean and nutritious food. In every continent, more women than men struggle with food security. Eight per cent of the population of Europe and North America are impacted by lack of food security. Inequalities are increasing in almost half the countries in the world; the level of hunger increases when there is a high level of inequality in a country. 

According to the World Wealth Report that was published recently, there are about 18 million people in the world who have at least a million dollars (a little bit over €900,000). When financial income and cultivated lands are not equally distributed in a country, there can be hunger even when the citizens have a middle income. 

The United Nations report continues to state that not all those who are experiencing hunger are thin. It seems that there is a strong link between food insecurity, excessive weight and obesity. Two billion people are estimated to be overweight because they eat food that is not good for health because it is cheap. 

The United Nations report identifies three reasons for lack of access to food. Violent conflicts in some countries continue to exacerbate the hunger situation. In war zones, provision of the most essential things collapses because it is harder to cultivate lands and run shops. 

In some countries where there is inflation, prices are affected and this can impact people’s access to food, financial income and work. The report found that in 65 countries out of 77, a dip in the economic growth of the country led to a decrease in food and a dependence on exportation and importation. Countries need to diversify and transform their economies so that they are less dependent upon importation and exportation. 

Climate change has started to create problems not only in the African continent but also in Europe. The United Nations warns that, for hunger to be eradicated, there needs to be agreement or international arrangements that create peace and a sustainable economic changes to allow developing countries to better prepare themselves for the possibility of hunger.