This guide describes methods and tools with which to undertake a right to adequate food assessment. The guide attempts to be practical, and to provide the most relevant methodological and operational information.

Forest degradation is a serious environmental, social and economic problem, particularly in developing countries. Yet it is difficult to define and assess. Forest degradation is viewed and perceived differently by various stakeholders who have different objectives.

The Codex basic texts on food hygiene lay a firm foundation for understanding how rules and regulations on food hygiene are developed and applied. The General Principles of Food Hygiene cover hygiene practices from primary production through to final consumption, highlighting the key hygiene controls at each stage.

Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The four pillars of food security are availability, access, utilization and stability. The nutritional dimension is integral to the concept of food security and to the work of CFS.

Two key challenges facing humanity today stem from changes within global food and climate systems. The 2008 food price crisis and global warming have brought food security and

Agriculture both affects and is affected by climate change. No other sector is more climate-sensitive. Agricultural and food production in developing countries will be adversely affected by climate change, especially in countries that are already climate-vulnerable (drought, flood and cyclone prone), and that have low incomes and high incidence of hunger and poverty.

This report details the investment required to ensure food security in 2050, noting both the impacts of climate change on agricultural production, as well as the mitigation potential of agriculture.

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2009 presents the latest statistics on global undernourishment and concludes that structural problems of underinvestment have impeded progress toward the World Food Summit goal and the first Millennium Development Goal hunger reduction target.

Agriculture in the 21st century faces multiple challenges: it has to produce more food and fibre to feed a growing population, more feedstocks for a potentially huge bioenergy market, contribute to overall development in the many agriculture-dependent developing countries, adopt more sustainable production methods and adapt to climate change.

In the first half of 2008, the world was facing the highest food price levels in 30 years and a global food insecurity crisis. Although international food prices have since fallen, they are still above the levels seen in recent years and are expected to remain so.