Food Insecurity as an Access Problem

Prompted by Sen’s entitlement debate, the international organizations’ conception of food security underwent a significant change in the mid-1980s. By analysing the causes of famine, especially in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and the Sahel, Sen showed that an adequate supply of food per capita, though necessary, is by no means enough to eliminate food insecurity or famine (Sen 1981). On the contrary, Sen concluded, the “Malthusian optimism” dominant in policy (Sen 1986, p. 6), i.e. the linking of food security to per capita food supply and thus the failure to take measures to increase food security as long as supply continues to rise, or at least does not fall, has contributed to growing malnutrition among certain population groups. Given the significance of the entitlement approach, the basic idea is briefly described in the following. ²⁵