ABSTRACT
It should come as no surprise then that the modern concept of food security for all has since become infinitely more complex with numerous multifaceted dimensions that invites definition, interpretation and division from all quarters. In its simplest form, food security is described by many in the 1983 FAO definition as ensuring that all people at all times have both physical and economic access to the basic food they need. This often quoted, carefully scripted rubric however belies the vast and often contentious nature of food security itself. Since these early days, the concept has evolved and so have the interpretations. In fact, definitions since then have spiraled so much so in fact that by the turn of the twenty-first century there were over 200 definitions in circulation. Many too, it has been said, were often moulded to suit institutions, organisations and academics’ own purposes. This continual redefinition of food security over the past four decades can also be seen as highlighting the considerable evolution of official thinking and one that has led to the present propensity for definitions to take a reductionist view that concentrates on the component parts of the whole. Indeed, so subjective is the concept that large bodies of literature attempting to interpret that which is implicit and explicit continues to surface regularly, although as IFAD commented in 2009 that
While the focus on the disaggregated has now become common, the various definitions of food security still differ. (IFAD 2009)
In examining if and how to improve on current definitions, I have chosen two of the most often quoted of the current choices available, these belong to the UN and the USDA.
