The Link between Poverty and Undernourishment: Uncovering a Methodological Flaw-Reply

Abstract

of Agricultural Economics article by Senauer and Sur, Ending Hunger in the 21st Century: Projections of the Number of Food Insecure People. We welcome this exchange since widespread chronic hunger is a serious global challenge. Improving the estimates of the number of people who are undernourished and food insecure is an important contribution research can make to a better understanding of the problem and how to address it. We find ourselves largely in agreement with some of the points made by Gabbert and Weikard and find fault with others. As Gabbert and Weikard point out, the methodology used in Senauer and Sur is similar to that used by the Economic Research Service (ERS) in its annual Food Security Assessments (U.S. Department of Agriculture). Therefore, if the Gabbert and Weikard criticisms are valid they also are relevant to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) analysis. Gabbert and Weikard begin by finding fault with the Senauer and Sur baseline estimates of the overall number of undernourished since they are higher than those of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations reported in The State of Food Insecurity annually (FAO). The FAO figures are unquestionably the most widely referenced estimates of food insecurity and undernourishment and are generally used as the benchmark by which to gauge whether progress is being made in reducing hunger. Moreover, Gabbert and Weikard use certain aspects of the FAO methodology in their own proposed approach to calculating the number of food insecure. However, there has been substantial criticism of the reliability of the FAO estimates and the weaknesses of the underlying methodology by Svedberg, Smith, Gaiha, and others. In June 2002, FAO held a technical workshop on ways to improve their methodology for determining the prevalence of food insecurity and chronic hunger. No modifications to its technique have so far been introduced by FAO, though.