Abstract
Food insecurity is a substantial problem in nearly every advanced capitalist nation, with sizable portions of residents in many affluent countries struggling to eat healthily every day. Over time, a very large literature has developed that documents food insecurity, evaluates programs meant to reduce that insecurity, and proposes solutions to attenuate the problem. The purpose of the current review is to provide a very broad overview of the food insecurity literature, including definitions, measurement, areas of study, and impacts on health. Importantly, this review suggests there are two major causes of food insecurity in the advanced nations: economic inequality and neoliberalism. The food insecurity literature suggests that diminished government responsibility in advanced capitalist nations corresponds to an increase in feeding programs run by non-profit and charitable organizations. This review concludes by suggesting that, while a massive amount of research on food insecurity currently exists, more research is still needed to address gaps in the literature when it comes to significant events, coping strategies and disadvantaged populations.
Highlights
Food insecurity, a condition that occurs when individuals and households do not have regular access to a supply of healthy and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs, has become a substantial problem in the advanced capitalist world, with sizable portions of affluent countries struggling to eat healthily every day
Before we begin reviewing the literature on food insecurity and hunger in the advanced capitalist world, we first briefly discuss the roles of neoliberalism and income inequality in creating the situation in affluent nations where there are substantial numbers of food insecure citizens
Food insecurity exists in rich countries even when there is enough food to meet the needs of all citizens
Summary
A condition that occurs when individuals and households do not have regular access to a supply of healthy and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs, has become a substantial problem in the advanced capitalist world, with sizable portions of affluent countries struggling to eat healthily every day. We suggest that this review article be treated as an overview of the field of food insecurity and related concepts, rather than an exhaustive review of all food insecurity studies of affluent countries. Before we begin reviewing the literature on food insecurity and hunger in the advanced capitalist world, we first briefly discuss the roles of neoliberalism and income inequality in creating the situation in affluent nations where there are substantial numbers of food insecure citizens. This idea that food insecurity can be caused by structural conditions is not new. We situate our review in the rich history of extant food insecurity scholarship that stretches back to observations made by Sen [7] nearly 40 years ago by proposing that political economic conditions can influence food access in wealthy nations even when plenty of food exists to meet the needs of everyone living in those nations
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