56 inequities, the UN established the Zero Hunger Sustainable Development Goal. The goal was designed as a response to the increase in the number of people suffering from hunger around the world. Without pursuit of this goal, the population affected by hunger would have surpassed 840 million by 2030. The original Zero Hunger goal outlined a plan to end all forms of malnutrition by 2025, while meeting agreed-upon targets of stunting and wasting in children under 5 years of age. Additionally, the UN sought to ensure sustainable food production systems and resilient agriculture practices globally. Although agreeing to work toward these goals, Argentina’s progress has looked grim compared to the rest of Latin America and globally (“Goal 2…,” 2015). Measures indicative of progress toward zero hunger include the prevalence of undernourishment and of moderate and severe food insecurity, along with stunting. From 2009 to 2017, Argentina had a 35% increase in the percent of population that was undernourished, whereas Latin America had only a 2.7% increase, and globally undernourishment decreased. Moderate food insecurity in Argentina in the same time period increased by 40%. For Latin America as a whole, there was only a 27% increase, and globally moderate food insecurity increased by 11%. Argentina also had the highest increase in severe food insecurity, specifically 95%. The only indicator that Argentina improved on was child stunting, where there was a 4% decrease between the years 2005 and 2019 (World Bank, 2019). This was the same decrease as indicated in global statistics. This almost total lack of progress leads to the obvious question of why Argentina’s record is so poor. Causes of Food Insecurity in Argentina Although signing onto the Sustainable Development Goals demonstrates that Argentina has the motivation to eradicate food insecurity, why is it the country has been unable to decrease the rate of malnutrition since then, and why is that rate increasing? One possible answer is the amount of food waste in Argentina. Annually, 40% of the total food produced in Argentina is wasted, rendered either not consumable or spoiled, 90% of which occurs during transportation and storage and 10% at the consumer level. Losses in transportation often come from trucks not regulating cargo temperature, leading to spoilage due to high heat. Additionally, there are supply and demand mismatches of perishables goods at the retail level resulting in the disposal at grocery stores of expired goods. On the consumer level, it is estimated that on average, every citizen throws away 38 kg of food a year (Campos, 2015). This is largely due to letting food expire in their homes. Compared to another large agricultural producer, the United States, Argentina wastes 30% more. Fruits and vegetables are 45% of what is wasted, which is on a similar relative scale to other countries as they are easily perishable and are subject to food aesthetics clauses (“National Program…,” 2017). In 2019, the Argentine legislature enacted a National Plan for Reduction of Food Losses and Waste to address these food waste issues. This plan had the goal of promoting research and coordinating activities involving those invested in the production, processing, and distribution of food. Additionally, it sought out inefficiencies in the facilities for storage and transportation. Along with focusing on waste during the production process, the Argentine government created an incentive for businesses to donate their excess foods to food banks and protected them from prosecution should the food they donate cause someone to get sick. Although a sign of action toward solving food insecurity, this national plan has faced serious criticism from Alianza Biodiversidad, a platform of 10 Latin American organizations focused on food security. Alianza Biodiversidad has stated that this law is simply burying the foundational issues causing hunger, by focusing only on food redistribution to food banks. This subsequently legitimizes the inefficient food production processes that cause waste to begin with, imposing stringent criteria on the aesthetics of fruits and vegetables and trading (Feeney & MacClay, 2016). Along with food waste, food production practices play a large role in contributing to hunger in Argentina. Argentina’s agricultural output has grown by 4.4% annually from 1990 to 2008 due to the increased use of farming
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTA0OTQ5OA==