Frequently Asked Questions - Food security

Food security often refers to the availability of food, and an indivuals access to food. A person might be considered 'food secure' if they do not live in hunger or with a fear of starving.

Further than hunger and starvation, food security may also refer to the availability of sufficient nutrition to gurantee a healthy diet, avoiding the health implications of malnutrition.

Meeting demand and avoiding wastage - Pesticides ensure a healthy crop and limit crop losses by keeping crops free of pests and diseases as they grow and during storage and transportation. For some foods, such as potatoes, the losses of yield would reach up to 75% if no pesticide were used (See E.-C. OERKE, Crop losses to pest, Journal of Agricultural Science (2006), 144, 31–43. f 2005 Cambridge University Press ).

Over 35% of the world’s food supply would be lost without the use of crop protection products.

There will be 1.5 billion more mouths to feed by 2020. Pesticides will help to ensure that the productivity of the land can feed these people sustainability. Crops that are physically damaged can have reduced nutritional value. For example, apples affected by scab have lower levels of sugars, malic acids, minerals and vitamins; cereals damaged by mildew, rust, Septoria blotch, or competition from weeds have reduced starch, protein and mineral levels.