Food security in the Sustainable Development Goals: Where is the process heading?

The document analyzes the transition from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on the shift toward a universal, integrated approach to food security and sustainable agriculture. It reviews proposals from the Open Working Group (OWG) and other entities, highlighting a consensus on increasing productivity and resource efficiency while prioritizing vulnerable populations. However, it notes that specific implementation strategies and the integration of cross-sectoral synergies remain underdeveloped.

• The SDGs represent a shift from the MDGs by being universally applicable to all countries and adopting an integrated approach to social, economic, and environmental issues to address systemic barriers and root causes of poverty.
• There is a general consensus that SDGs for sustainable agriculture and food security should focus on increasing productivity and resource efficiency, with a shift in focus from simple caloric intake to the nutritional value of food, including the first 1000 days of a child's life.
• The SDGs process emphasizes the role of smallholders and small-scale farming systems as both vulnerable groups and key agents of change, stressing the need for their resilience, decision-making involvement, and access to land and markets.
• The Open Working Group's 'Zero draft' (June 2) proposed Goal 2 to "End hunger, achieve food security and adequate nutrition for all, and promote sustainable agriculture," which includes eight targets.
• Despite consensus on goals, the document identifies a lack of developed strategies for achievement, noting that proposals are weak on research, technology transfer, and the practical integration of goals to avoid contradictions.
• Certain areas of the food security agenda remain politically contested, including the production of biofuels, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), land-grabbing, and trade-distorting subsidies.

APA

Weitz, N. (2014). Food security in the Sustainable Development Goals: Where is the process heading? Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SIANI-SDG-Brief-long.pdf

Chicago

Weitz, Nina. Food security in the Sustainable Development Goals: Where is the process heading? Stockholm Environment Institute, 2014. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SIANI-SDG-Brief-long.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Weitz |first1=Nina |title=Food security in the Sustainable Development Goals: Where is the process heading? |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=28 June 2014 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SIANI-SDG-Brief-long.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{weitz2014food, author = {Weitz, Nina}, title = {{Food security in the Sustainable Development Goals: Where is the process heading?}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2014}, month = jun, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SIANI-SDG-Brief-long.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }