29% Of Humanity Was ‘Moderately’ or ‘Severely’ Food Insecure in 2021, UN Says

2.3 billion people faced moderate to severe food insecurity in 2021 — about 350 million more than before the COVID-19 pandemic — according to a U.N. report released Wednesday. 

That was before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which hampered trade and raised prices for food, fuel and fertilizers. U.N. World Food Programme chief David Beasley said these price spikes threatened to spark famine, “global destabilization, starvation, and mass migration on an unprecedented scale,” adding, “We have to act today to avert this looming catastrophe.”

“This year’s report should dispel any lingering doubts that the world is moving backwards in its efforts to end hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition in all its forms,” the U.N. report concluded. Hunger, which the report distinguished from the more financially-based “food insecurity,” affected as many as 828 million people in 2021; in 2020, roughly 3.1 billion people could not afford a “healthy diet.” Furthermore, an estimated 22% of children under 5 were stunted in 2020; while 5.7% were overweight, 6.7% suffered from wasting, the deadliest form of malnutrition. 

Coverage was relatively less common across the spectrum following the report’s release, with major outlets like NBC News (Lean Left bias) often republishing coverage from the Associated Press (Center bias).