Abstract
Two hundred years ago, over 80% of the world’s 1 billion people lived in extreme poverty. Today, with a global population nearing 8 billion, that number has fallen below 10%. By all accounts, we have made remarkable progress – building systems, creating wealth, and proving that global cooperation can lift billions out of hardship.
But try telling that to the 720 million people who still go to bed hungry.
Food insecurity today is not a result of insufficient supply – we produce more food per person than at any point in human history. It is a failure of access, stability, and political will. And it’s no longer just a moral crisis – it’s a looming economic one. Hunger drives conflict, fuels mass migration, destabilizes markets, and burdens public systems from health to education. No country is immune to its ripple effects.
From my years leading the World Food Programme, I’ve seen firsthand how much cheaper it is to address root causes than to react to disaster. Investing in food systems, smallholder farmers, and sustainable agricultural infrastructure is not an act of charity – it is sound economic policy. It builds resilience, prevents crises, and pays back in stability and growth for poor and rich nations alike.
In my Nobel Lecture, I said, “Food is the pathway to peace.” I’ll say now: it is also the pathway to prosperity. The time to act is not when famine arrives, but long before – while we still have the chance to do what is right, and what is smart.
