Foods of many types and nutritional value are produced and consumed in varied ways and different amounts across the world. The patterns of the stability of both production and consumption are affected by a wide range of bio-physical and socio-economic drivers, and these are further conditioned by political and cultural contexts. Who produces and who consumes what types and amounts of food are reflections of existing levels of assets inequity at all scales – from the global and national to the community and household. The people with least assets and, therefore, the most vulnerable in terms of regular access to adequate food, are the poor in countries of the Global South. In some cases the vulnerability of poverty is compounded by prolonged military conflict, disease epidemics, as well as the inequitable competition for agricultural land and water in rural areas, and for affordable retailed food in urban centres.
