central focus of the work of his organization but, given the continuing opposition
of the major industrialized countries to any multilaterally controlled world food
security arrangement, he realized that a new approach was necessary. He therefore
launched a worldwide Freedom from Hunger Campaign to arose public awareness
through education and information, which was designed to bring pressure to bare
of governments to take action. One positive outcome was the development of
food aid as a resource not only to meet food emergencies caused by natural and
manmade disasters but also activities to foster economic and social development
in the developing countries, which led to the establishment of the World Food
Programme, the food aid arm of the United Nations system.
Food Conference of 1974, which is described in detail to show the attitudes of
the world leading powers, especially the United States, that led to the adoption
of 20 substantive resolutions by the conference to eradicate world hunger and
malnutrition. There follows a description of the action taken on some of the more
prominent resolutions including: the International Undertaking on World Food
Security; an international grain reserve system; an International Emergency Food
Reserve; a General Information and Early Warning System to predict and forestall
food emergencies; and international trade, stability and agricultural adjustment.
The first comprehensive account of the work of the World Food Council that was
set up to coordinated the activities of the UN bodies concerned with world food
security is given, including the reasons for its demise in 1993. The ILO employ-
ment conference of 1976 is also described, including the concept of `basic needs',
which encompassed food security. The concept of food `entitlement' originated by
Amartya Sen, who was to receive the Nobel Prize in Economics, is then described
as yet another approach to achieve food security.
years, ushered in a period of pragmatism and politics in the search for world
food security. Like his predecessors, he saw food security as the central focus of
the work of his organization. Pragmatically, he continued work started before
he assumed office, including on: FAO's General Information and Early Warning
System; preparations for large-scale and acute food shortages; a Food Security
Assistance Scheme; a Special Action Programme for the Prevention of Food Losses
(some countries suffered up to 20 per cent of food losses after harvest); and expan-
sion of national and regional food storage facilities. Critically, in 1983, he revised
FAO's concept of world food security by adding to the two pillars of increased
food production and stability of food supplies, the third pillar of access to food
by the poor, no doubt influences by Sen's concept of food entitlement. This
differentiated the world food problem from the world food security problem and
brought in issues that went beyond FAO's mandate. To obtain a perspective of
the future dimensions of world food security, he continued the publication of
FAO's world food surveys and converted work started on an Indicative World Plan