Food security and livestock: The case of Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract The livestock sector faces an important challenge in the medium and long term since it must satisfy an increasing demand for animal products as a result of the increase in population and the world economy but safeguarding natural resources and at the same time minimizing the environmental contamination, especially the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions attributed to livestock husbandry. For Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), this becomes more relevant given the importance of the sector for the food security of rural communities, particularly for small-scale producers. In this manuscript, we address the main challenges of LAC in this context, from a global perspective that includes the demographic, economic, cultural, and environmental effects. The biggest global challenge for the LAC livestock sector for the coming decades is how to satisfy the growing human demand for animal protein in a sustainable way maintaining the food security of their communities. The efforts to achieve these goals require focusing on improving the efficiency of both animal husbandry and production systems. Therefore, it is necessary to implement technologies of sustainable intensification and it is urgent that those who make political decisions become aware of these issues.

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Development of performance indicators for Water-energy-food security and its application in Latin America and the Caribbean

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6166 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Jürgen Mahlknecht ◽

Ramon Gonzalez ◽

Frank Loge

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Food Security ◽

Green Infrastructure ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

Green Economy ◽

Electricity Production ◽

Country Level ◽

Research Areas ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Key Indicators

<p>Understanding water-energy-food interrelatedness and interdependencies (WEF Nexus) over environmental resources can result in improved water, energy, and food security by integrating management and governance across sectors and scales, reducing tradeoffs, and building synergies, overall promoting sustainability and a transition to green economy. One of the most relevant research areas on the Nexus is the development of indexes to assess the performance of the three sectors and their interlinkages. These tools are essential to understanding the Nexus concept and to determine areas for improvement, especially in developing countries. To evaluate the WEF Nexus for a developing region, namely Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), two approaches are proposed to evaluate water, energy and food security at intra-country level. First, a composite diagram was developed for LAC countries and subregions that considers three key indicators per sector: availability, access, and sustainability of the sector&#8217;s resources. Second, an analysis was performed for selected countries using internal factors that represent the most important interrelationships that exist within the WEF Nexus. The results show that access to food in LAC is relatively low in comparison to other developing regions. Regarding renewable energy sources, with the exception of some countries, the region&#8217;s share (including hydroelectricity) in electricity production is low. Water resources represent the most vulnerable sector for food and energy development of the countries (water for food, and water for energy), as well as the need to implement green infrastructure for sustainable water production (food for water).</p>

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Impact of slow-onset events related to Climate Change on food security in Latin America and the Caribbean

Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability ◽

10.1016/j.cosust.2021.04.011 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 50 ◽

pp. 215-224

Author(s):

Roberto A Abeldaño Zuñiga ◽

Gabriela N Lima ◽

Ana M González Villoria

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Latin America ◽

Food Security ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Slow Onset

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Critical Action Inquiry for the Establishment of a Global Food Security Graduate Certificate in Latin America and the Caribbean at Texas Tech University

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education ◽

10.5191/jiaee.2018.25305 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 66-80

Author(s):

Carla Andrea Millares Forno ◽

Todd Brashears ◽

Amy E. Boren-Alpizar ◽

Matt Baker ◽

Carlos Carpio

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Food Security ◽

Delphi Study ◽

Global Food Security ◽

Action Inquiry ◽

Critical Action ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Texas Tech University ◽

Graduate Certificate ◽

Global Food

The purpose of the study was to determine the topics and courses of a graduate certificate focusing on Global Food Security (GFS) for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) through critical action inquiry. GFS is a major issue worldwide that will continue to expand in years to come. Almost 795 million people are estimated to have suffered from chronic hunger globally in 2014-2016. Studies have shown the strong relationship between education and food security and we do not argue for causation, merely association. For this reason, curricula focused on teaching GFS to graduate students will enable professionals in international settings to manage the complexities of food security more effectively. For this critical action inquiry study, identification of the content was the result of a three-round Delphi study performed with experts from LAC and its comparison with the result of the Texas Tech University (TTU) professors survey to determine the topics and courses. Of the 91-originally-idenified topics, 40 reached experts’ consensus. The topics were then grouped into 23 courses. Faculty from TTU also ranked the courses. In the end, seven courses emerged from the research. The curriculum was approved and directed toward professionals in Latin America and the Caribbean. The courses for the online and face-to-face delivery of this multidisciplinary graduate certificate comprise the four pillars of food security and cross-cutting topics.

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