food crisis

CG:  (n)

 
N: 

  1. While food and crisis are ancient terms, their combination as a neologism became widely used in the mid-20th century with the rise of global food crises.
  • food (n): the same Germanic base as feed v. (see discussion at that entry) < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek πατεῖσθαι to eat, and perhaps also (with different suffix) classical Latin pāscere, Tocharian B pāsk- (see pascent adj.). Compare feed n., feeding n. Forms with different suffixation ultimately < the same base are shown by foster n.1 and fodder n.
  • crisis (n): The word originates from the Ancient Greek “krisis”, meaning “decision” or “judgment,” and was adopted into Latin as “crisis”. In English, its usage dates back to the 15th century, initially in medical contexts to describe a critical point in the progression of a disease. Over time, its meaning broadened to include any situation of emergency or significant change.
  1. Situation where acute food insecurity requires urgent action to protect and save lives and livelihoods at local or national levels and exceeds the local resources and capacities to respond.

  2.  The term food crisis is primarily used in the fields of food security, economics, and humanitarian aid to describe critical situations where food availability, access, or quality is severely compromised. It is widely employed by international organizations such as the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), WFP (World Food Programme), and others to classify food-related emergencies that demand immediate action. The term is closely related to acute food insecurity and famine, with distinctions in severity as categorized by the IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification).

  1.  It functions as a technical term in humanitarian, economic, and environmental discourse, often used interchangeably with related concepts like acute food insecurity or famine, though it is broader and less specific in severity.

 

S:  

  1. OED – Oxford English Dictionary. Available from: Oxford English Dictionary https://www.oed.com/?tl=true (not to be confused with OED = Online Etymology Dictionary = Etymonline). https://www.oed.com/dictionary/food_n?tab=etymology#3958707 &

https://www.oed.com/dictionary/crisis_n?tab=factsheet#7813670 

 (Accessed: 10.12.2024) 


  1.  FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available from: https://www.fao.org/home/en & https://www.fao.org/hunger/en & https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/global-report-on-food-crises-is-a-wake-up-call/en (Accessed: 10.12.2024) 

UN – United Nations. The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States. The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. Available from: http://www.un.org/en/index.html &

 https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/rwss/docs/2011/chapter4.pdf (Accessed: 10.12.2024) 

UNWFP / WPF – United Nations World Food Program. Available from: http://www.wfp.org/ & https://www.wfp.org/global-hunger-crisis (Accessed: 10.12.2024) 

  1. FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available from: https://www.fao.org/home/en & Global Strategic Programme (GSP) of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) https://openknowledge.fao.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/0895bc1b-af40-434d-866b-56d80230f70d/content (Accessed: 10.12.2024) 

 

  1. FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available from: https://www.fao.org/home/en & https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/global-report-on-food-crises—acute-hunger-remains-persistently-high-in-59-countries-with-1-in-5-people-assessed-in-need-of-critical-urgent-action/en (Accessed: 10.12.2024) 

 

SIN:  Acute food insecurity.

S: FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Available from: https://www.fao.org/home/en & https://www.fao.org/newsroom/detail/report-warns-of-conflict-induced-famine-and-catastrophic-hunger/en (Accessed: 10.12.2024) 

UNWFP / WPF – United Nations World Food Program. Available from: http://www.wfp.org/ & https://www.wfp.org/publications/hunger-hotspots-fao-wfp-early-warnings-acute-food-insecurity  (Accessed: 10.12.2024) 

CR: acute undernutrition, humanitarian crisis, humanitarian disaster