The third academic meeting of the International Center for Developing Peace, Culture and Rationality, titled "Food Security, for Sustainable Peace" was presented by Dr. Mohammad Reza Jahansouz. This meeting was held in the conference hall of Qom Provincial Office.
A faculty member of the University of Tehran, in the introduction to the discussion, noted: after the severe crises caused by food shortages, the issue of food security was raised and the World Food Conference was established in 1974.
He addressed an adequate food supply for society, access to food, poverty reduction as major points regarding food security. These points have their special dimensions.
Food security "exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life" the head of the country's Agricultural Engineers Basij Organization said.
He stressed that the definition does not emphasis on crucial issues such as sustainable food security, protection of environment, moral values, and taking advantages by multinational corporations.
Jahansuoz added: we should present a new native definition of food security which come from inferential principles of the Islamic-Iranian Islamic model of progress, regarding climatic, cultural, economic, political, social, geographical condition of Iran, including all various world definitions, attention to Islamic sciences. He emphasized we should use the potential of Iranian scientists and thinkers. Self-sufficient should be politically important aspect of this native definition.
The faculty member at the University of Tehran said that food security affect national security in other words food insecurity threaten national security.
He pointed out that the food security issue is constantly being monitored by armed security forces, he said, "The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense and other Western intelligence agencies consider famine and drought are major factor that cause conflict.
Jahansuz noted that former US President Barack Obama had 38 senior advisers who report that global climate change is causing drought then food shortages occur after famine and drought. According to this report food insecurity threatens national security.
This researcher and environmental activist expressed that our country has long been experiencing the lack of food security. This problem has been well illustrated in a recent movie titled "Iran's orphanage".
He continued statistics show that 82 countries of Asia and Africa encounter food security: out of these 82 countries, 34 are Islamic countries.
A member of the faculty of the University of Tehran said that there is one third of the global rainfall in Iran, but its evaporation three times more. Unfortunately, we have the first rank of soil erosion in the world; by 2080, Iran's food and agriculture products will decrease by 50%.
At the end he stressed there are opportunities in the country to provide food supplies. We can overcome problems of food supplies by developing poultry industry and reaching agricultural standards.