What is food security?
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Worldwide, between 713 and 757 million people faced hunger in 2023. With the world population projected to exceed nine billion people by 2050, global agricultural output must expand by an estimated 60 percent to meet global food needs.
FAO’s role:
- FAO convenes and facilities global policy processes related to forestry, food security and nutrition to build a consensus around the issues and solutions.
- FAO organizes regional policy dialogues, workshops and training and provides information to its member countries, civil society and private sector.
- FAO provides technical capacity development support, collects and disseminates data on the links between forests, food security and nutrition.
- FAO implements and backstops field projects to enhance the contribution of forests to food security and offers assistance to countries to strengthen forest tenure rights and governance processes in the context of national food security.
Highlights
International Day of Forests 2025: Forests and foods
Forests have an important role to play in food security, nutrition and livelihoods. Forest foods offer essential nutrients that sustain millions of people, especially for those living near forests. From fruits, nuts and honey to edible insects and mushrooms, forests are nature’s supermarkets.
Did you know?
#1
Between 713 and 757 million people are undernourished globally, most of them in developing countries (State of Food Insecurity in the World 2024, FAO).
#2
Millions of people depend on food from forests and trees outside forests to increase the nutritional quality and diversity of their diets. About 2.6 billion people use woodfuel for cooking, mainly in developing countries.
#3
The harvest of food from forests is an important strategy, especially among the very poor, for coping with periods of food insecurity, such as those caused by natural disasters and war.
#4
Forests and trees outside forests are essential for agricultural production because they protect soil and water, maintain soil fertility, help regulate climate, provide habitat for wild pollinators and the predators of agricultural pests, and constitute a rich store of biodiversity of potential use in agriculture.
#5
Greater attention on forests and trees outside forests would therefore strengthen the four pillars of food security (availability, access, utilization and stability) while facilitating consumption of nutritionally adequate diets (in terms of quantity, variety, diversity and nutrient content).
Latest publications
UN Chronicle: Forests and foods – nourishing people, sustaining the planet
03/2025
It is estimated that nearly one third of the global population depends on forest goods and services for their livelihoods, food security and nutrition.
Podcast: Sustainable forest management and the nexus of climate change, biodiversity and nutrition
03/2025
In this episode, FAO Forestry Officer Jin Sooyeon explores the link between sustainable forest management and the nexus of climate change, biodiversity and nutrition.
Forests, trees and wild species in agrifood systems - Optimizing benefits for biodiversity, climate and health
10/2024
This brief is a product of an ongoing collaboration between FAO, People and Plants International, and the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). It serves as a background document for partner countries and stakeholders involved in the FAO Technical Cooperation Programme Project on “Strengthening country capacities to enable forest-based contributions to healthy and sustainable agrifood systems”.
Relevant links
- Forestry Division
- Committee on Forestry
- Committee on World Food Security
- FAO Nutrition
- Forest and Farm Facility
- Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme
- The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2024
Infographic - Sustainable forestry for food security and nutrition
01/07/2017
Worldwide, 815 million people go hungry every day. This figure could be reduced, benefiting millions of people, through the wider adoption and implementation...
International Day of Forests event: Forests and foods - celebrating the role of forests in food systems
On the 21 March, join the FAO at an online technical event to celebrate the International Day of Forests 2025. The event will give a global overview of the links between forests and foods, followed by stories from the field.
Contact
Sooyeon Laura Jin
Forestry Officer
Food security and nutrition
Forestry Division
[email protected]