ABSTRACT
With regard to the notion of food security, despite what has been suggested in other literature, the modern concept did not begin in the 1970s. Instead, it borrowed, regurgitated and built on numerous age-old ideological and philosophical foundations. As surely as modern civilisation bears the idiosyncrasies of a melting pot of cultural history, so too does the notion of feeding the masses draw on millennia of acquired lessons learnt, of altered philosophies and changing paradigms. The quest to address hunger and malnutrition provides a long and colourful history, dating back to the earliest civilisations. It has also been shown that while the concept reached its zenith in the twentieth century, the idea of food as an inalienable right; one of the central tenets of the concept, also had its genesis in the centuries leading up to it. Migrating workforces and the buildup of urban civilisations, increased poverty and suffering coupled with the almost continuous misery of con¡ict, frequent famines and social injustice shaped much re¡ective discourse. New political and economic theories emerged while intellectual and philosophical thought fuelled by eminent thinkers collectively galvanised a growing social conscience during an ‘age of enlightenment’. This new collective social awakening was further fuelled by a new style of contemporary journalism where stories of hunger and starvation elicited a humanitarian outpouring among its readership. From here, increased philanthropy from individuals and humanitarian bodies solidified calls for perpetual peace and social justice while a growing international conscience led to the first real attempts at global governance. This convergence of political and social ideology became the driving force behind efforts to provide sufficient, safe and secure food for all. Thus, it can be said that the twentieth century stood apart as an era marked by extreme hardship, out of which considerable collective social growth effectively followed to ensure a future of social and political interdependence, promoting, among other things, social equality, accountability and fair trade.
