Blake Selzer, International Policy Manager and Kyla Thurston, Congressional Black Caucus Institute Fannie Lou Hamer Fellow
Climate change represents one of the most daunting global challenges of our time, directly impacting issues of hunger and malnutrition. You cannot solve global hunger without addressing climate change. The Alliance to End Hunger – which encompasses a broad coalition of the private sector, non-profits, religious organizations, and others – views the conversation around climate change through the lens of our mission to eliminate hunger. It is crucial to amplify the interconnectedness of environmental sustainability and food security, especially the effects of climate change on smallholder farmers and those with little access to financing.
Moving Forward with a Unified Approach
The Alliance to End Hunger promotes a unified approach to tackling climate change, emphasizing the need for cooperation across political ideologies and sectors. By fostering dialogue and collaboration among its diverse members, the Alliance advocates for comprehensive policies that address both the root causes and immediate impacts of climate change on global hunger, particularly as it affects smallholder farmers.
The challenge lies in balancing immediate relief with long-term sustainability strategies. Both adaptation (adapting to current changes) and mitigation (preventing further climate damage) are essential to this balance, ensuring that today’s solutions do not compromise future generations’ ability to meet their own needs. The bipartisan nature of the recent discussions around climate adaptation policy provides a hopeful outlook for substantial progress in aligning environmental sustainability with global food security objectives. By addressing climate change comprehensively, we can not only help to reduce global hunger, but also advance the broader agenda of sustainable development. This is a prime example of how intertwined our modern challenges are and how holistic solutions can benefit multiple objectives simultaneously.
Climate Resiliency: Impact on Hunger
For smallholder farmers who are often the hardest hit and see the effects of climate change firsthand, the implementation of climate resiliency programs is not just beneficial but essential. These farmers are pivotal in the fight against hunger as they are significant producers of food in many parts of the world. Enhancing their resilience to climate change is directly linked to improving food security for the global population. Programs that focus on sustainable farming practices, integrated pest management, and access to climate-resilient seeds are examples of how adaptation strategies can lead to more reliable food sources. These measures not only help protect against the impact of extreme weather but also ensure that agricultural land remains productive and capable of feeding the growing global population.
Climate Change Adaptation: Policy Suggestions
There is an opportunity to garner bipartisan support for climate policy which transcends party lines. The issue of climate change is often seen through a partisan lens, with differing views on its causes and solutions. However, its impact on agriculture and food security is increasingly recognized as a bipartisan concern. This shift is driven by the undeniable consequences of changing weather patterns on agricultural productivity and food availability, which are crucial issues in states and congressional districts. The backing of climate resiliency programs that aim to safeguard agriculture from extreme weather events is vital. These programs, which often receive bipartisan support, focus on enhancing the ability of small stakeholder farmers to adapt to climate variability. Initiatives include funding for agricultural research into drought-resistant crops, improving water management systems, and supporting soil health initiatives aimed at reducing vulnerability to floods and droughts.
Policy-Level Solutions
Addressing the root causes of food insecurity, including climate change, requires comprehensive policy-level interventions. The Alliance to End Hunger advocates for:
Increased Funding for Agricultural Research: Investing in research to develop climate-resilient crops and sustainable farming practices that can withstand extreme weather conditions.- Increased Support for Climate Adaptation Policy: Investing in climate adaptation and resiliency efforts, specifically programs that enhance smallholder farmers’ abilities to adapt to the changing climate, and ensure their households and communities are prepared for future shocks.
The Alliance to End Hunger Perspectives in the Fight Against Climate Change
While Alliance to End Hunger members come from diverse backgrounds and sectors, we are united by a common goal: ending hunger everywhere is both essential and possible. We recognize that the fight against hunger is intrinsically linked to the battle against climate change. These challenges are deeply connected and must be addressed in tandem. The strength of our coalition lies in its diversity and collaborative spirit. By bringing together different sectors, we can meet today’s urgent hunger and malnutrition needs while also tackling the root causes, including climate change. Our members contribute unique perspectives, resources, and expertise, allowing us to craft and implement strategies that are not only effective but also sustainable for the long term.
Perspectives from Our Partners
Bread for the World: “At Bread for the World, we envision a world without hunger. Ending hunger is not just about providing food; it’s about ensuring everyone has access to the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, active lives and fulfill their human potential. The climate crisis is a threat to food and nutrition security everywhere, but especially in low- and middle-income countries. These areas will be disproportionately affected by climate impacts on food security—despite contributing little to human-induced climate change.”
Cargill: “Our food system is resilient, but it’s never faced challenges quite like this. Our population is growing, our water sources are dwindling, and our climate is changing. We’re doing everything we can to meet the challenge across the global food system, from reducing emissions across our global supply chains to building sustainable practices in farming processes around the world. Addressing climate change and helping farmers isn’t mutually exclusive. In fact, farmers and agriculture are how the world can solve today’s challenges. We’re committed to working with our partners around the world to improve their environmental impact and to supporting and empowering farmers, whose livelihoods are increasingly affected by the impacts of climate change.”
Church World Service: “The world is feeling the fallout from rising temperatures and changing climates. Disasters are getting stronger and more frequent. Droughts are lasting longer. Weather patterns are less predictable. Farming practices that were once stable are no longer effective. Smaller harvests leave families with less to eat and sell. And as a result, families are struggling to earn a living or put food on the table. The people who are suffering the most are also the people who have contributed to the problem the least. The world’s poorest communities and countries did not produce the greenhouse gases that science has proved cause climate change.”
Farm Journal Foundation: “Climate change dramatically impacts global nutrition. Extreme weather events over the past several years have led to lower harvests, lost agricultural incomes, and soaring food prices, all of which contribute to increasing rates of malnutrition. Today, about 3 billion people around the world are unable to afford a well-balanced, healthy diet that includes whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and animal-sourced foods. People in low- and middle-income countries, where farming is often the main source of income, have been hit the hardest, as families struggle to purchase sufficient nutritious foods. More investments are needed in agricultural development, research, and innovation to ensure that farmers can produce enough safe, healthy food for everyone, and that consumers have access to nutritious foods at affordable prices.”
World Food Program USA: “Rising global temperatures are fueling a global hunger crisis. Higher temperatures are making extreme weather events like floods, cyclones, and heat waves more frequent and more intense – with catastrophic effects on people’s lives and livelihoods around the world. It is the poorest communities that are suffering the most despite contributing the least to the climate crisis. While fixing the root causes of climate change may take decades, we can provide immediate relief and solutions to help people become more climate-resilient today.”
