The State of Food Security in the Caribbean: Issues and Challenges

Abstract

It could be argued that while the issue of food security is a global concern, Caribbean peoples and governments are just now fully grasping its significance for the region. Through the mass media, many people in the Caribbean are aware of the chronic food shortages in other parts of the world and the phenomenon of hunger. With the exception of perhaps Haiti, however, the sensationalized and dramatic incidence of food shortages and hunger seen especially in parts of Asia and sub-Saharan Africa is absent from the Caribbean. This has perhaps led to an underestimation of the problem of food insecurity in the region and a complacent attitude. There is serious doubt, for example, about the extent to which there is accurate knowledge and full understanding of the extent of hunger in the region. We argue that given certain realities, food security in the Caribbean is at best precarious. These realities include impact of climate change and the ubiquitous natural hazards, the decline in local food production in the region; the growing dependence on imported food, the estrangement of Caribbean populations from their traditional foods and diets and a movement toward North American—style fast food diets, and disruptions in the economic base and livelihoods in Caribbean rural communities. Food security in the Caribbean requires the revitalization of sustainable local food production systems.