Ireland Surpasses the USA in Ability to Feed Its Population

The United States has for the first time fallen from the top of the ranking of countries capable of feeding their populations. Ireland has taken that position as it is in this country that food is the safest and there is enough to feed the entire population. Ireland earned this title by improving food availability, its price, quality, and safety.

This is the conclusion of the sixth Global Food Security Index, a study conducted by The Economist, specifically Economist Intelligence Unit.

For the first time in five years, food safety is declining worldwide, reports Bloomberg. The decline is a result of the migrant crisis, natural disasters, and a decrease in global political stability.

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The analysis was conducted by Dupont Co., which also accounted for the consequences of natural disasters, the migration of larger numbers of people, and destabilization on the global political scene, resulting in Ireland in first place, the USA in second, and the United Kingdom in third.

Following are Singapore, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Canada, Sweden, and Austria. Croatia is not in the top 20.

– Food security has taken a turn for the worse. If we want to eradicate hunger, we must change this direction, said consultant Robert Powell from the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Last month, the UN announced that the number of hungry people in the world has increased by 38 million in just one year, meaning that in 2016, the consequences of unequal distribution of resources and goods, or hunger, affected as many as 815 million people.

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Weather adversities driven by global warming, rather than devastating wars, have contributed most to the resurgence of hunger in numerous countries. South Sudan, Nigeria, Yemen, and Somalia are countries where a combination of armed conflicts and extreme weather has caused hunger.

As for wealthy countries, certain problems have been recorded in ensuring sufficient quantities of cheap and safe food for their citizens. For example, the USA and Canada, which have efficient food production systems, use too much water, making them significantly more vulnerable in cases of drought, a frequent side effect of global warming. Europe is facing difficulties due to an aging population that pays fewer taxes while demanding more social welfare.

Change is also visible in the group of sub-Saharan countries. Change is evident in the implementation of technologies in food production, giving these countries a chance to increase productivity regarding food for the local population.

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Some countries have improved food security for specific reasons. Austria has climbed the rankings because it is a country with a stable climate and minimal soil erosion, while, for example, Singapore has fallen in the rankings due to exposure to extreme weather conditions, rising sea levels, and heavy dependence on food imports.

– The research also emphasizes the great importance of scientific research in agriculture as this is the only way to reduce the cost of nutrition and food availability, for which the need is continuously growing, added Robert Powell.

Ireland, a country whose population migrated en masse to the USA due to severe famine in the 1840s, is now a country fully capable of feeding all its inhabitants.

In the last 5 years, the Irish have invested significantly more in agricultural development and research relative to their GDP than the USA. The policy towards immigrants and global trade pursued by the USA has given Ireland an advantage, allowing it to take the top spot in this ranking.

– Ireland has bravely withstood the banking crisis while simultaneously investing in agricultural research and development. In the USA, we have not seen this kind of investment in the public sector, Powell said.

This research often serves as a source of information for corporations when allocating resources. It also serves numerous international institutions and governments as a guide to which parts of the world still lack food access for everyone and where significant efforts are still needed to minimize hunger.

– Let us hope it is also a wake-up call. Agriculture is a lasting investment that cannot be halted nor can its effects be undone, said former Deputy Secretary of Agriculture of the USA, Krysta Harden.