Thinking about 'food security' : engaging with UK consumers

'Food security' has recently gained policy salience in the UK and internationally. Definitions vary, but the term is generally used by policy makers to imply sustained access by all consumers to sufficient food that is affordable, safe, nutritious and appropriate for an active and healthy life. Recent attention partly reflects anxiety over possible resource and environmental instabilities within the food system and the effects of economic recession. Food prices are often used to signal potential food insecurity; prices have risen recently in Britain as elsewhere, along with increased fuel costs and significant financial and job insecurities. All of these factors are likely to have differential effects on food management in households living in different social and economic circumstances. Recent research using a mixed methods approach explored some of these complexities by engaging with UK consumers to examine people's reactions to increasing food prices, and their views on responsibility for 'food security'. Well aware of increased food costs, most could identify key commodities, and many cited increased oil and input prices as causes; some made links to the larger financial crisis. Few knew the term 'food security'; though most initially interpreted it as food safety and quality, the idea that affordable, healthy food should be available and accessible for all was widely recognised. Many saw this as increasingly difficult for themselves and others in current circumstances and, while acknowledging commercial realities, look to government primarily to secure nutrition and food security for all

Consumers and food security : uncertain or empowered?

Provoked by concerns about climate change, resource depletion and economic recession, the concept of food security has experienced a renaissance in international policy and research agendas. Despite this interest, the problem of food insecurity in wealthy countries has still not received enough attention. We argue that it is worthy of research and policy focus, because by examining the experiences and perceptions of food security amongst the 'global rich', we can develop more critical understandings of the implications of neoliberal constructions of the consumer as a driving force in moves towards more secure food systems. The paper draws on empirical data from shoppers in the United Kingdom to make three key arguments. First, it is important to retain the issue of economic access to food at the heart of discussions of food security, so that the concept is not reduced to the problem of how to increase agricultural productivity. Second, it is necessary to recognize the importance of food quality to consumer perceptions of household food security. Third, consumers do not necessarily share the neoliberal view that consumer choice is the engine for sustainability and food security. On the contrary, consumers in our research were well aware that food prices and the choices made available are shaped by forces beyond the control of individual shoppers. Overall, they expressed uncertainty about what food security means, about the causes of problems in the food system and about who should be responsible for ensuring access to affordable food for healthy living, for all