Securitising Food: Hunger As a Defence Requirement

The document examines the 'hunger-climate-conflict nexus,' where food insecurity acts as a 'threat multiplier' for instability. It argues that while military forces have historically played ad-hoc support roles in humanitarian aid, the increasing frequency of climate-driven food crises necessitates a shift in military training, doctrine, and interagency coordination. The author highlights barriers to this transition, including the risk of 'over-securitisation' and existing institutional silos between defence and development agencies, while specifically noting the implications for the Irish Defence Forces regarding peacekeeping and domestic disaster response.

• Food insecurity functions as a "threat multiplier" that exacerbates existing instability factors such as ethnic tensions, weak institutions, and socioeconomic inequality, potentially serving as a tipping point for political violence.
• There is a reciprocal feedback loop between conflict and hunger: conflict damages agricultural resources and supply chains, while hunger drives civilians toward violence or alignment with armed non-state actors for survival.
• Military forces are increasingly acting as ad-hoc food security actors, with examples including Indonesia's military assisting rice planting during El Niño, Pakistan's army managing over 1 million acres of farmland, and China's military planting trees.
• Significant institutional barriers hinder a whole-of-government approach, specifically the 'siloing' of food security agendas from defence sectors; for instance, the U.S. 'Feed the Future' initiative does not include the Department of Defense or Intelligence Community as partners.
• The Irish Defence Forces face specific challenges where climate-driven food insecurity may impact their core competencies in peacekeeping and humanitarian relief, compounded by existing recruitment and manning deficits.
• There is a growing disparity between the funding of humanitarian actors and military expenditures; in 2023, the World Food Programme faced a shortfall, raising only $7.5 billion of $23.5 billion in projected costs, while global military spending reached record highs.
• Integrating early warning systems for climate security indicators—such as crop failures and price spikes—could reduce disaster damage by 30% with only a 24-hour warning and potentially reduce losses by $3-16 billion.

APA

Cicarelli, S. (n.d.). Securitising Food: Hunger As a Defence Requirement. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Securitising-Food-Hunger-As-a-Defence-Requirement.pdf

Chicago

Cicarelli, Siena. Securitising Food: Hunger As a Defence Requirement. The Council on Strategic Risks, n.d. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Securitising-Food-Hunger-As-a-Defence-Requirement.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cicarelli |first1=Siena |title=Securitising Food: Hunger As a Defence Requirement |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Securitising-Food-Hunger-As-a-Defence-Requirement.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cicarellindsecuritising, author = {Cicarelli, Siena}, title = {{Securitising Food: Hunger As a Defence Requirement}}, institution = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Securitising-Food-Hunger-As-a-Defence-Requirement.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }