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A food shortage arises when the food supply within a region does not provide the nutrients and energy required by the population of that region. It is most commonly explained as a shortage of production, but issues such as storage and importing may also contribute to the situation. History shows that a shortage can also arise when food is exported from regions with adequate levels of production.

When the shortage is due to production, there may be different reasons for the shortfall. It can be the result of natural disasters including flood, hurricane, or drought. It may also have political causes such as economic price controls or civil unrest. Each of these situations decreases the production levels of necessary foods.

Currently, the world’s agricultural industry produces enough food to meet the needs of the current population. Increased production and dissemination levels in developing countries have helped the industry keep up with the demand for food. The security of the world’s food supply is increased by carry-over stocks of cereal. Almost 20 percent of the world’s annual consumption of cereal is carried over to the following year in order to provide food in case of production failure.

However, there are still regional food shortages in some developing areas because the population has grown quicker than has the rate of food production. This situation is the worst in the sub-Saharan regions of Africa and in South Asia. It is not easily rectified by importing food, because civil unrest, lack of infrastructure, and low economic productivity also play a role.

In 2007, the United Nations Environment Program reported that a food and water shortage threatened the survival of humanity. It claimed that the demand for water will become unbearable in countries that have only scarce supplies of the substance. The report estimated that up to one-third of the global population feels the effects of nutrient depletion, water scarcity, and soil erosion. Studies such as this show that addressing and resolving issues that negatively affect the world’s food supply need to be made high priorities.

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