Analysis of food supply problems. Problems of food security in Russia

The problem of food security for modern Russian society is one of the most important. This is due to the systemic crisis and decline in all sectors of the national economy. The Federal Law “On Food Security of the Russian Federation” defines food security as a state of the economy that ensures the country's food independence and guarantees the availability of food for the entire population in the quantities necessary for an active and healthy life. As for the criteria, in order to ensure food security for Russian citizens, 80% of the food they consume must be produced by its own agricultural sector. The real state of affairs today indicates a complete loss of food security in our country.

Food security is characterized by:

1) physical accessibility food products, which is ensured by their constant availability at places of purchase in volumes sufficient to meet the needs of citizens;

2) economic accessibility, i.e. the opportunity for the population to purchase food in accordance with physiological nutritional standards;

3) sustainability of availability, which should be provided by the existing socio-economic system in the country;

4) food safety, guaranteed by compliance with relevant norms and standards.

In recent years, a new danger in the nutrition problem has arisen - the flow of food products and all kinds of food additives based on genetically modified formations . Examples include soy, starch, aspartame (widely used as a sugar substitute in the production of lemonade, drinks, and confectionery). Genetically modified soybeans and starch are constantly used in the production of sausages and other food products.

Another very dangerous genetically modified product is yeast, which is not found in the “wild” natural form. This yeast (GMO) is widely used in the food industry - alcohol, brewing and bakery. Scientists from Canada and England, as well as the French scientist Professor Etienne Wolf, in the course of research work with “cultured yeast”, established that regular consumption of fermentation products - beer, alcoholic beverages, baked goods obtained using these yeasts - leads to a “chronic tendency » to infectious diseases, including cancer, reduces the body’s resistance, increases susceptibility to ionization (from computers, copiers, etc.), to the effects of vibration, carcinogens and other factors that destroy the human body; contributes to rapid mental and physical fatigue, and this is always regarded as the first step to illness.

It is known that many different substances are added to poultry and cattle feed to make the animals healthy and grow faster. Small amounts of additives may remain in meat and thus enter the human body. The consequences are varied. For example, the hormonal drug diethylstilbystrol was used as a growth stimulant in cattle. However, this drug has caused cancer in children born to women who took it during pregnancy. There is evidence that it increased the risk of developing cancer in women themselves.

Another concern about drugs in feed is that animals can develop resistant strains of bacteria when antibiotics are routinely given to them. Animals raised in cramped feedlot conditions respond to antibiotics with greater weight gain. It has now been proven that such resistant bacteria can cause disease in humans. In England, there was a case where injections of large doses of antibiotics into dairy calves led to epidemics of antibiotic-resistant salmonellosis in humans.

It is known that the main part nitrates and nitrites enters the human body with water and food (with plant foods, especially when growing vegetables in conditions of increased amounts of nitrogen-containing fertilizers). In plants, nitrates are converted to nitrites by the enzyme nitrate reductase. This process occurs especially quickly when vegetables are stored at room temperature for a long time. The process of converting nitrates into nitrites in food products is sharply accelerated when they are contaminated with microorganisms. Boiling foods in a large volume of water reduces the content of nitrates and nitrites by 20-90%. On the other hand, cooking in aluminum cookware leads to the reduction of nitrates into nitrites.

The toxic effect of nitrates and nitrites is associated with their ability to form methemoglobin, as a result of which the reversible binding of oxygen to hemoglobin is disrupted and hypoxia develops (lack of oxygen in tissues). The greatest pathological changes are observed in the heart and lungs; the liver and brain tissue are also affected. High doses of nitrates and nitrites cause intrauterine fetal death and retardation in the development of offspring in experimental animals. It is believed that sodium nitrite causes the breakdown of vitamin A in the digestive tract. Nitrites can form nitrosamines- carcinogenic compounds that promote cancer development. Nitrosamines are mainly formed during smoking, salting, pickling, canning with the use of nitrites, as well as when drying products by contact. Most often they are found in smoked fish and sausages. Among dairy products, the most dangerous are cheeses that have gone through the fermentation phase, among vegetable products - salted and pickled products, and among drinks - beer.

Tomatoes, onions, grapes and eggplants accumulate the least nitrates; most of all - carrots, watermelons, beets, cabbage.

1) do not use aluminum cookware for cooking;

2) during heat treatment, some of the nitrates are destroyed, some go into the decoction, so it should not be used as food;

3) start cooking beef in cold water, this will transfer more toxins into the broth; after a five-minute boil, do not hesitate to pour out the first broth, cook soups only in the second broth;

4) peeled vegetables must be soaked in advance (at least an hour) in slightly salted boiled water to remove excess nitrates;

5) do not preserve damaged fruits;

6) trim the ends of radishes, the bases of carrots and beets.

There is another important source of food contamination - nutritional supplements. This is the addition of many synthetic chemical compounds to food products (for the purpose of canning, to improve taste, color, etc.), the negative effects of many of which on the body have not yet been fully studied. In particular, in the USA, 1000 food additives are allowed only in drinks like Coca-Cola.

Nowadays there is a wide variety of beautiful and ripe fruits on store shelves. If you look closely, a spotted gray coating is noticeable. These fruits are rich in highly concentrated preservatives, which kill not only putrefactive bacteria, but also the cells of the human body, the intestinal bactericidal environment. The consequence is loss of immunological protection, ulcerative and tumor processes. In addition to preservatives, apples, strawberries, grapes, and many other fruits are covered with an emulsion film for long-term storage. Not only fruits, but also pink sausages, sausages, salami, fish souffles, shiny dried apricots and raisins in wrappers, vegetable oils that do not go bitter from long-term storage, are stuffed with preservatives.

When purchasing imported products, first of all, carefully study the symbols printed on the packaging. The letter “E” on the product packaging means that the product complies with the European nutritional standard. Numbers are a coded type of food additive, many of which are hazardous to health.

For ease of use, all supplements are divided into target groups:

E-100 - E-182 - dyes;

E-700 - E-800 - spare indexes for other possible information;

In Russia, no less attention is paid to this problem than in other countries, but our situation is somewhat more complicated. The fact is that in 1994, when the main list of additives permitted and prohibited for use in the Russian Federation was compiled, some additives were either not imported to us, or there was not yet enough research on them. Therefore, there are three lists: additives allowed, additives prohibited, additives that are not directly prohibited, but also not permitted.

We also cannot use the latter in production. At the same time, some of the additives already banned in our country are still used in industry by other countries, and the additives banned in their countries are still completely legal in our country.

Your best chance of buying a product with additives that are prohibited in our country is at wholesale markets, where consignments of goods often arrive without sanitary service certificates. Moreover, prohibited additives may well be contained in products from developed countries - the fact is that there is a very there is a big difference between food produced for domestic use and food produced for export. So if you prefer food that is not only tasty, but also healthy, support domestic producers - after all, food produced in Russia is better checked by sanitary services, and the traditions of the domestic food industry still tend to be natural.

1) Do not eat moldy foods! Remember that mold releases toxins (aflatoxin, ochratoxins, etc.), which pass into the thickness of the product. Do not use moldy products to make juices, wine, marmalade, etc. Peanuts, lentils, nuts, and apricot kernels may contain aflatoxins without visible mold or a moldy smell.

2) When storing potatoes in the light, as well as during their germination, solanine is formed. It gives potatoes their green color. Solanine poisoning is not fatal, but it is still better to avoid it. Green potatoes should be thoroughly peeled, removing the “eyes”.

3) Do not store alcoholic tinctures on stone fruits for a long time, because A strong poison, hydrocyanic acid, passes into the solution.

4) Do not use newspaper to wrap food as it contains large amounts of lead and cadmium.

5) When using a cast iron frying pan, less iron is absorbed by food.

6) The degree of extraction of copper and lead by products depends on the degree of wear of the dishes. After a long period of use, the effectiveness of the protective layer of tin covering the copper decreases.

Introduction 3
1. The essence of food security. Main problems 4
2 Solving food security problems. National Food Security Program 9
Conclusion 15
Literature 16

Introduction

The problem of food security for modern Russian society is one of the most important.
This is due to the systemic crisis and decline in all sectors of the national economy. The concept of state policy in the field of ensuring food security has now been formulated, which is built on a strictly legal basis. The Federal Law “On Food Security of the Russian Federation” defines food security as a state of the economy that ensures the country’s food independence and guarantees the availability of food for the entire population in the quantities necessary for an active and healthy life. As for the criteria, in order to ensure food security for Russian citizens, 80% of the food they consume must be produced by its own agricultural sector. The real state of affairs today indicates a complete loss of food security in our country.
One of the most serious problems is the problem of food security. Since providing the population with food is, in the physical sense, ensuring its life activity, food security is the dominant object of analysis by economists. The theoretical problem arises of determining a strategy for ensuring food security - through internal or external mechanisms.
The purpose of this essay is to consider issues of food security and food quality assessment.

1. The essence of food security. Main problems

Food products play a special role in human life, and if we speak on a global scale, of humanity. Experts believe that within the lifetime of the current generation, the food problem could develop into a deep international crisis. 17 percent of the world's population today experiences hunger, and in the next decade this number may increase by one and a half times. There are many reasons for this. One of them is that food production in the world is declining. That is why in 1992, 1600 world scientists, including. 102 Nobel Prize winners issued a memorandum entitled "Scientists Warn Humanity." It directly states that an irresponsible attitude towards natural resources can change the planet so much that it will not be able to maintain human life at the current level.
In the last decade, bread and potatoes have dominated the diet of millions of our compatriots. Let's look at the official numbers. Thus, in 1999, compared to 1990, on average per person, meat consumption decreased by 44 percent, dairy products by 47 percent, eggs by 24 percent, fish by 51 percent, and sugar by 28 percent. These numbers are not only impressive, but also thought-provoking. In the next UN report “On the development of human resources in 1999,” Russia was ranked 71st! It is at the level of Somalia and Lebanon. Such changes in nutrition naturally affected the demographic situation in our country.
In Russia, food security problems exist mainly due to the large amount of defects supplied from near and far abroad.
Thus, the State Trade Inspectorate summed up the latest results of quality checks of goods on the Russian food market over the past nine months. Almost every second inspection led to the withdrawal of goods from the retail chain!
More than 300 thousand inspections were carried out - almost one and a half times more than during the corresponding period last year. Sellers received fines totaling 250 million rubles, and more than 1,000 trade licenses were revoked.
Here are the data on specific imported goods: of the total tested amount of vegetable oil and margarine, 36 percent were rejected and removed from sale, cheeses - 42, meat of all types - 35, sausages and smoked meats - 55, fish products - 50, canned fruits and vegetables - 40, vodka and liquor products – 75 percent.
There are also openly falsified goods - mainly food products: alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, butter, sausages and confectionery, canned meat, tea, coffee. For example, in retail outlets in the Kirov, Chita, Sverdlovsk, Ulyanovsk regions, Buryat, Mordovian republics, Moscow and St. Petersburg, a mixture of cooking fats was found that was passed off as ghee.
The State Trade Inspectorate pays special attention to the quality of imported alcohol. As a result of ten thousand inspections in January–September 1999, 22.2 percent of alcoholic beverages, 32.1 percent of wine, 20.8 percent of cognac (mostly falsified), and 44.2 percent of champagne were withdrawn from circulation. Most of all counterfeits are driven by Poland, Germany, Bulgaria, Spain, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine - that is, first of all, by the wine producers themselves.
What is the reason for such an influx of counterfeit products into Russia? At a recent meeting at the Ministry of Trade, it was once again noted: the lion’s share of imports into Russia is imported under contracts and agreements – deliveries in which the requirements for product quality and safety are not specified at all. The existing certification system does not guarantee the quality of goods. For example, tobacco products. In Russian standards, the maximum permissible levels of tar and nicotine content are much higher than in European standards - so why be surprised when foreign companies bring all the products that do not meet their requirements to us!
The actions of the territorial departments of the State Trade Inspectorate, other offices and supervisory authorities are bearing fruit. Although not by leaps and bounds, the quality of imported fish, fish products, canned meat, baby food, beer, and mineral water is still improving: now they are rejected on average 5 to 15 percent less often than a year ago.

The recent decision to destroy sanctioned food products has caused a real stir in Russian society. Two polar points of view immediately emerged. Supporters of the destruction of sanctioned products argue that Russia is quite capable of providing itself with food without the supply of foreign products. In addition, the destruction of products is also justified by considerations of concern for the health of Russians - after all, the quality of smuggled products brought from abroad is questionable. On the other hand, ardent opponents of food destruction believe that burning and bulldozing food is a real crime, especially in Russia, where millions of people live below the poverty line. According to sociological surveys conducted by the Levada Center, approximately half of the Russians surveyed are against the destruction of food. Representatives of some public and religious organizations also criticized the measures taken by the state to destroy sanctioned products. At the same time, 17% of Russians assess the government’s decision as definitely positive and 22% are inclined to perceive it also in a positive way - “rather positive.” That is, the opinions of the Russian population regarding the destruction of food products being carried out were divided almost in half.

In any case, both “truths” are not without foundation. And they make us think again about whether Russia can fully ensure its food security? After all, as a result of the economic reforms of the 1990s. Agriculture and the agro-industrial complex of Russia found themselves in an unenviable state and a significant part of food began to be imported from Europe, Asia, Latin America and even Africa, etc. But a country cannot make its food supply dependent on food imports. This creates a direct threat to its food security and, in the event of political or military conflicts, can lead to a sharp deterioration in the food supply of the population, accompanied by rising food prices, food shortages and other negative consequences.

There are almost a billion hungry people in the world

Despite the fact that in general the modern world is characterized by overproduction of food and every day hundreds of thousands of stores in developed countries “write off” a huge amount of food expired by one or two days, in the countries of the “third world” there is a food shortage that is developing into famine. The problem of hunger remains relevant for humanity in the 21st century. Almost a billion people on the planet receive insufficient food to support a healthy lifestyle. First of all, these are residents of the countries of South and Southeast Asia (half of the world's hungry) and Tropical Africa (a quarter of the world's hungry). According to World Health Organization reports, at least a third of children who die in Third World countries before the age of five are victims of hunger. The very fact that millions of people are starving indicates the inability of many countries in the world to solve the problems of food supply for their population, at least without humanitarian assistance from international organizations. The Director General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), José Graziano da Silva, emphasizes that in 2015 the number of hungry people on the planet fell to 795 million, but this is a very high figure - because it indicates that every ninth person on the planet experiences chronic hunger. Despite the efforts being made, the UN and other international organizations are not yet able to solve the problem of hunger for large masses of the population in Asian and African countries. Although the world produces a significant amount of food, in a number of countries around the world access to food for many categories of the population is not adequate. There are many reasons for this and they are of an economic, socio-demographic, climatic-geographical, and political nature.

The cause of hunger in the developing countries of South and Southeast Asia is, first of all, overpopulation, combined with mass unemployment and the inability of states to establish basic social security for the population. In the countries of Tropical Africa, the most difficult situation is in Somalia, Eritrea, Kenya, Sudan and is associated not only with overpopulation, but also with bloody wars, political instability, climatic conditions that impede the development of agriculture and the production of such quantities of food that could cover the needs population. But the risk of famine today faces not only the backward countries of the Third World, but also the former Soviet republics. It is clear that the Central Asian republics, Moldova, and since 2014 Ukraine, are in an extremely difficult situation, which is associated with economic problems and political instability. But Russia, which in the 1990s may well face the problem of hunger. experienced a real economic catastrophe, accompanied, among other things, by a sharp decline in the level of food supply for the population.

Over the past decade, Russia has begun to eat better

Statistics clearly show the frightening changes that occurred between 1990 and 2001. Thus, meat consumption decreased during this time from 75 to 48 kg. per year, fish - from 20 to 10 kg. per year, milk and dairy products - from 370 to 221 kg. per year per capita. And this despite the fact that the population of Russia has decreased, the number of people with high and extremely high incomes has increased. The situation began to change only after 2000, when the economic situation of the country improved, and at the same time the level of food consumption by the population began to increase. Thus, for the period from 2003 to 2012. meat consumption increased to 73 kg. per year - that is, it has practically reached the late Soviet level, fish - up to 22 kg. per year, milk and dairy products - up to 247 kg. per year per capita.

However, it should be taken into account that general indicators may not reflect the actual level of consumption of certain food products by specific social groups. In addition, the decline in the country's population between 1990 and 2015 plays a role. But, in any case, in the last decade the population has begun to eat better than in the first ten post-reform years. However, this does not give grounds to assert that the food problem in modern Russia has been solved. Of course, the overall level of food security in the country has increased significantly - for example, according to Natalya Shagaida, director of the Center for Agro-Industrial Policy of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, in 1999 the level of food security in the Russian Federation was less than 80%, and currently it is 89 %. It turns out that Russia is not able to cover 11% of food needs - and this is not such a small figure. However, the Russian Federation as a whole will be able to cover its food needs, so predictions of inevitable famine in the event of any political or economic contradictions are, to put it mildly, exaggerated. Yes, of course, there may be a shortage of certain food products and some inflation, but this will not lead to catastrophic consequences - which, in fact, all modern Russians can see in the example of the economic sanctions imposed against the Russian Federation by the countries of the European Union, the United States and their satellites in the context of the events in Ukraine . A study by the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, dedicated to monitoring development trends and identifying threats to food security of the Russian Federation, reports that the level of food independence of our country is quite high. So, for milk it is 80%, for meat - 75.9%. Russia can provide itself with pork and chicken on its own, but the level of beef supply is very low - Russia produces only 37%. At the same time, for such types of products as grain, sugar and vegetable oil, the Russian Federation significantly exceeds the threshold values. This means that it can meet its needs for these types of food in abundance. Russia produces a significant amount of agricultural products that can be exported to other countries. Currently, Russia ranks third in the world in grain exports, that is, it still remains the “breadbasket of the world.” Russia also plays a crucial role in the export of vegetable oil, since its production, as noted above, exceeds the needs of the Russian population for this product. In addition, Russia exports many unique types of caviar and fish that are not produced or practically not produced outside the Russian Federation.

Food security issues

At the same time, one should take into account the enormous differences that exist between the regions of the Russian Federation and are determined by the climatic-geographical, economic, social, and political specifics of certain regions of the country. In particular, a number of regions of the country are characterized by serious problems in the field of food supply. First of all, these are regions such as Ingushetia, Kalmykia and Tyva. The economically backward national republics of the Russian Federation are characterized by a low level of food consumption by the population, and local residents are forced to spend significant amounts of money on purchasing food, but these costs still do not contribute to improving the quality of nutrition. This situation is caused by general socio-economic problems faced by regions with an underdeveloped agro-industrial sector, or those located away from the main transit routes. The general level of material security of the population also has an impact, which in the listed republics is lower than the Russian average - since they have a high level of unemployment, and wages paid to employees are also low.

In the Food Security Doctrine, approved in 2010 by the then head of state D.A. Medvedev, emphasizes that “food security of the Russian Federation is one of the main directions of ensuring the country’s national security in the medium term, a factor in preserving its statehood and sovereignty, an important component of demographic policy, a necessary condition for the implementation of a strategic national priority - improving the quality of life of Russian citizens by guaranteeing high life support standards." The strategic goal of food security is to provide the population with safe agricultural products. The word “safe” is not used here in vain - in addition to providing the population with enough food for a healthy lifestyle, the state also turns to regulating the quality of manufactured and imported agricultural and agricultural products. It was precisely the claims to the quality of products that became one of the reasons for the restrictions imposed on the import of Western products into the country.

The Russian Federation faces a number of certain risks in the field of food security. Firstly, this is the monopolization of agricultural production by large companies and the squeezing out of small businessmen from the agro-industrial complex. This threat began to be especially actively recalled in the media after the initiative to introduce restrictions on citizens’ personal subsidiary plots. The proposed restrictions should apply to farms that contain more than 5 heads of cattle and 20 heads of small cattle. All owners of farms that have a large number of livestock will, according to the project, be required to register as individual entrepreneurs. Critics immediately accused the authors of the project of trying to destroy small businesses and reduce the already low level of material security of the rural population. However, there is nothing strange in the project outlined - on the contrary, what is abnormal is the situation when owners have herds of 1000 heads of livestock, but do not register as entrepreneurs, do not pay taxes, do not undergo the necessary quality control of the meat and dairy products produced, and pass off their farms as personal subsidiary plots. Of course, the figures of 5 and 20 heads of cattle and small cattle are controversial, but these figures can be changed, and the fact that the agro-industrial sector needs to be streamlined is obvious. At the same time, streamlining control over agricultural production should not lead to a real monopolization of agriculture by large companies and the displacement of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs from the agricultural sector. On the contrary, the development and stimulation of small business in agriculture is one of the key keys to the development of the latter. Donations and subsidies from the state, and tax breaks for emerging farms should not be avoided - as long as the agricultural sector develops.

Economist O.A. Glotov, in his article “Food security of the Russian Federation: risks and threats, main directions of state economic policy,” lists the main, in his opinion, risks of Russian food security. He includes among them, first of all, a decrease in the investment attractiveness of the domestic economy and the competitiveness of domestic products, as well as a technological lag behind developed countries, unfavorable climatic conditions (which is especially important for Russia, given that a significant part of the country’s territory is characterized by natural resources unsuitable for the development of agriculture conditions). In addition, according to Glotov, the level of food security in the Russian Federation is influenced by the low solvency of the population, which determines low demand for food; insufficient level of development of the domestic market infrastructure; social polarization of the urban and rural population of the Russian Federation; competitive advantages of foreign products, a number of types of which differ favorably from Russian ones; reduction of national animal and plant genetic resources; poor development of innovative technologies in agriculture; weakness of investment flows in agriculture. Of course, the listed factors have a negative impact on the food supply sector of the Russian Federation, but attention should also be paid to such a point as the ownership of a significant part of the food production facilities located on the territory of the Russian Federation by foreign companies. One cannot help but pay attention to the concentration of part of agricultural production and agro-trading activities in the hands of representatives of individual ethnic diasporas, which is also an alarming factor - after all, it is difficult to say how representatives of diasporas will behave in the event of a political or economic conflict with their country of origin. At the very least, monopolization of domestic agricultural resources by anyone should not be allowed. This equally applies to agricultural trading activities.

How to ensure food self-sufficiency?

The report of the Izborsk Club on food security issues in the Russian Federation emphasizes that there are several models for ensuring food security. Firstly, this is an autarkic model, implying self-sufficiency of society in terms of meeting food needs. As a rule, this model was characteristic of most feudal societies, and in the modern period of world history, in our opinion, the DPRK can be classified as an autarchic model. Secondly, this is an imperial model, based on the cheapness of food products imported into metropolitan countries from colonies and satellite countries. This model was characteristic of the period of colonial empires (XVIII - first half of the XX centuries) and became a thing of the past as the countries of the “third world” decolonized. The third model - dynamic - consists of the introduction of advanced technologies into the agricultural sector, accompanied by the development of the agricultural industry. This model was typical for the entire second half of the twentieth century. Finally, the fourth model is innovative, which, according to Izborsk Club experts, represents the development of biotechnologies and their application in ensuring the production of environmentally friendly agricultural products. If we apply this classification to the current state of Russian food security, it is obvious that Russia is still having difficulty restoring a dynamic model and is trying to move to an innovative model, but is faced with the consequences of the destruction of the country’s agriculture and agro-industrial sector in the 1990s and its transformation into a raw material appendage West. Meanwhile, without a transition to an innovative model of food security, the Russian Federation will never be able to fully meet the food needs of the population, which means it will be vulnerable to external political and economic pressure.

It should be understood that agriculture is a strategically important sector of the economy, perhaps even more so than industry. Without the development of domestic agriculture, the country's food security will always be at a low level. Accordingly, several fundamental principles must be followed in managing the agricultural industry. First, the state must take on the main regulatory and even managerial role in the agricultural sector. This does not mean that agricultural production should be completely nationalized, but the state must significantly increase the level of its presence in the agro-industrial complex. Secondly, the state must create conditions for the development of domestic agriculture and the agro-industrial complex through subsidies, investments, and benefits for agricultural producers. State support is one of the main conditions for the prosperity of the agricultural industry, and in many developed countries of the world the state ensures an acceptable level of agricultural development precisely through grants and subsidies. Thirdly, the state should strive to limit the presence of foreign companies in the food market - especially in the segment of “basic” products, i.e. meat and dairy, grain, vegetable products. At the same time, this does not mean the need to refuse to import those types of food that are not produced in the country, are scarce or delicacy. Finally, the state must develop a set of measures to control trade in agricultural products, in particular, to prevent monopolization of storage and trade of certain types of agricultural products, since in conditions of a political or economic crisis the presence of monopolistic traders can lead to very dangerous consequences for the country’s food security.

Sanctions and the country's food security

However, the implementation of the listed measures is possible only if the national political elite is truly concerned about the future of their state and the issue of ensuring the country’s national security is on the list of priorities. In the case of the dominance of compradors and the puppet elite controlled by them, it is not possible to ensure the country’s food security - examples include the fate of many “third world” countries, whose favorable climatic conditions, however, did not ensure genuine food prosperity. Thus, Central American or African states that produced significant volumes of agricultural products on plantations are actually unable to meet their own food needs. This is explained by the fact that each of these countries “specializes” in a certain type of agricultural product, which is exported, and the rest of the food products it, for the most part, imports from abroad. Accordingly, transnational corporations and developed Western countries that control world markets have the opportunity to completely control the economic situation in these countries and manage the policies of these countries with the help of imposed sanctions. “Sectoral specialization” is a sign that a country belongs to the “raw materials appendages” of the rich West. It is no coincidence that at one time the phrase “banana republics” spread as a name for such states - an allusion to the states of Central America in the first half of the twentieth century. were under the actual control of the American United Fruit Company. Sanctions are not scary only for those states that were able to create their own autonomous food supply, at least in the production of food products most necessary for the life of the population.

At the same time, introducing bans on the import of imported food in conditions when the country cannot fully provide itself with food seems to be a manifestation of the authorities’ disregard for the needs of ordinary citizens. Representatives of the elite strata of society, who have the financial ability to travel abroad, can afford imported food products and other types of products produced abroad - at least during trips to other countries. Ordinary citizens who do not have the means to leave the country are deprived of all this. It turns out that the state, in the event of an ill-conceived ban on the import of imported food, artificially stimulates a further worsening of the social polarization of society, and at the most obvious level - at the level of food consumption. Such measures are likely to harm the national security of the state, since they contribute to the growth of public dissatisfaction with the policies of the authorities, which can lead to the spread of opposition, including radical sentiments. Therefore, on the issue of introducing bans on the import of foreign food, the possible positive and negative consequences of such a decision should be analyzed and compared. It is advisable to introduce bans after new sources of supply for those types of food whose imports are sanctioned have been identified. So, for example, a significant part of agricultural products previously supplied by EU countries can be supplied to Russia by countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, with which our state maintains acceptable economic and political relations. Russian Minister of Agriculture Alexander Tkachev claims that Russia itself can cope with the production of those food products that were previously imported from other countries. In particular, the famous Icelandic herring may be replaced by Far Eastern herring produced in Russian waters, and Atlantic salmon supplied from Iceland, which imposed sanctions, may be replaced by supplies of the same salmon from Chile, with which Russia is successfully developing trade and economic relations.

German entrepreneur Stefan Duerr argues that sanctions play into the hands of Russian agriculture, citing as an example changes in the work of some well-known companies in the agro-industrial market: “the ban on the import of Western food helps the Russian agricultural sector. Recently, the main buyer of the Metro company in Russia came to see me. Previously, it was incredibly difficult for goods from domestic manufacturers to get onto the shelves of Metro stores. There was a so-called entrance fee, and the goods themselves were often paid for only after two or three months. Meanwhile, Metro is actively looking for Russian suppliers. The company is even ready to finance the development of new products” (Quoted from: Sanctions spurred Russian agriculture //http://www.bragazeta.ru/).

Without a strong village, food security will be at risk

Another problem is closely related to the problem of ensuring food security in Russia - the socio-demographic crisis of the Russian village. With the onset of industrialization, the country's rural population began to decline rapidly. The younger generation of villagers, and its most active, intelligent and talented representatives, moved to cities and chose professions not related to agricultural production. The demographic situation in rural areas has especially worsened since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The agro-industrial complex, as we know, became one of the hardest hit “victims” of the economic reforms of the 1990s. Therefore, in the 1990s - 2000s. the outflow of population from rural areas has increased. The main reason for migration to cities was the desire to improve social and living conditions and the reluctance to engage in hard and low-paid agricultural work. The trend towards a reduction in the rural population is very disappointing, since it confronts Russia with an insurmountable problem - who will work on the land and improve the country’s agriculture if rural youth migrate to cities. Some domestic politicians have even thought about replacing Russian peasants with migrants from near and far abroad countries. It should be noted that this trend already occurs in post-Soviet Russia. At least in climatically favorable regions of the country, there have long been enclaves of compact residence of national minorities who had not previously lived in these territories. Thus, in the Rostov region, Krasnodar and Stavropol territories live diasporas of Turks - Meskhetians, in the Krasnodar region, Adygea and a number of other regions - Kurds, Yezidis, Hemshils, in the Saratov region - Dungans (Chinese Muslims, immigrants from the Central Asian republics of the former USSR). However, the emergence of ethnic enclaves, especially in those regions where arriving migrants have never lived, poses certain risks. Firstly, this is a potential aggravation of interethnic relations in these regions, caused by possible economic competition between more successful migrants and the indigenous population. Secondly, there is the risk of the spread of political influence of other states, as well as political and religious organizations, to the territory of enclaves. Accordingly, there is a need for more active work by law enforcement agencies and intelligence services in these regions of the country. But, on the other hand, one cannot ignore the fact that many “ethno-enclaves” are quite successfully engaged in agriculture and produce a significant amount of agricultural products that are in demand on the domestic market.

Among the main problems of the modern village that influence the demographic behavior of the rural population are: 1) low wages in agriculture (workers in the industry remain among the least paid in Russia - of course, we are talking about hired workers, not farmers); 2) unsatisfactory social and living conditions in rural areas (lack of communications, low quality of education and healthcare, or even the possible absence of medical and educational institutions in a particular rural settlement, lack of leisure infrastructure); 3) the low prestige of agricultural labor in post-Soviet Russian society; 4) a high level of moral decomposition of the rural population (the village, which was once a stronghold of traditions and morality, is degenerating due to socio-economic processes - the level of crime, senseless and merciless, is increasing, alcoholism and drug addiction of rural youth is growing). The state's inattention to rural problems entails a further deepening of the socio-demographic crisis in rural areas and, of course, creates serious obstacles to the effective development of the domestic agro-industrial complex. Therefore, the “revitalization” of the Russian village should become one of the most important tasks for the country, the successful solution of which will determine the solution to other problems - both socio-demographic and food security.

What to do?

The Report of the Izborsk Club puts forward the following proposals to eliminate the threat to food security of the Russian Federation. Firstly, it is proposed to renationalize the land of the Russian Federation and put the historical traditions of Russian civilization, combined with modern international practice, at the head of land policy. In particular, unused agricultural land must be alienated in favor of the state after a certain period of time. At the same time, the tasks of influxing up to 15 million working-age people into rural areas of Russia must be solved. Secondly, it is proposed to change tax and credit policies in the field of agriculture and agricultural-related industries - agricultural engineering, production of mineral fertilizers, agrochemicals. Thirdly, the task of stimulating domestic agricultural production should also be achieved by tightening requirements for imported food. First of all, we are talking about monitoring the presence of components harmful to human health in imported food. Genetically modified products must be subject to quotas, while the requirements for domestic producers of agricultural products must be brought into line with international requirements (previously they were overestimated, which led to greater benefits from food imports than from its production in the Russian Federation). Fourthly, measures must be taken to develop infrastructure that ensures the growth of agricultural production. We are talking about gasification, electrification, water supply and sewerage, processing enterprises, and road infrastructure in rural areas, since without bringing the village into a state adequate to the modern level of infrastructure development, one can hardly count on a real improvement in the situation in the agro-industrial complex. Finally, regulatory, financial, information, scientific, technological and personnel support for the agricultural industry must be improved.

One can agree with all the proposals of the Izborsk Club in the field of agricultural development, but the real possibility of implementing some of them leaves many questions. First of all, we are talking about increasing the size of the rural population, especially on such a global scale as 15 million people of working age who, from nowhere, should arrive in the countryside. So far we have not seen an influx into the village, even at a much lower level. Despite the fact that housing prices in rural areas differ tenfold from urban ones, people are in no hurry to sell urban real estate and acquire housing in rural areas. Even though they may have an impressive amount left over from the difference in the sale and purchase of housing, which can be used to develop their own farm. The increase in the influx of population into the village is supposed to be solved through benefits and increased salaries for rural medical workers and education workers. However, doctors, paramedics, teachers, educators are just a few, especially since they are not directly involved in agricultural production. And there has not yet been a significant number of young professionals rushing to the village - and this despite the housing provided, normal salaries and numerous benefits.

Directly in the sphere of agricultural production, the situation is even worse - where are they planning to recruit millions of agricultural workers, those same combine operators and milkmaids? Even urban laborers are unlikely to go to the countryside, given the low level of wages in the agricultural industry and the low social prestige of not even agricultural work, but of life itself in rural areas. The word “village” is still used as an offensive word; it can be used to offend your interlocutor. Accordingly, before setting the goal of attracting millions of people to the agricultural sector and to the countryside, it is necessary to make the living conditions of people in the countryside so comfortable that even in everyday life they differ little from the city. First of all, a developed and modern infrastructure must be created in rural areas at public expense. This is transport accessibility, since many villages in Russia are practically deprived of developed transport links. This is gasification, sewerage and water supply to rural settlements, since the level of domestic comfort in rural areas still remains extremely low. We should not forget about the leisure infrastructure. If in Soviet times clubs and cinemas were built in almost every village, then in the post-reform period the overwhelming majority of leisure institutions in villages fell into disrepair, or were even actually destroyed. The leisure infrastructure in villages should also be brought to a normal state that meets the needs of modern people. And most importantly, normal working conditions must be ensured in agriculture, starting from the financial aspect and ending with the development of production automation. Agriculture feeds Russia and people working in this industry and living in rural areas should feel needed and in demand, and enjoy well-deserved respect from the state and society.

General provisions

World civilization is in a state of global crisis, the essence of which lies in the growing imbalance between limited natural resources, the limited capabilities of the trophic (nutrient) systems of the biosphere and the rapid increase in the planet's population. From 1950 to 1990 its population doubled from 2.5 to 5.3 billion. In 1997, the world's population exceeded 5.8 billion people, with an annual increase of millions. person per year.

An essential aspect of the global crisis is the food crisis. According to the calculations of the director of the Institute for World Observations (1997), thanks to the “green revolution” from 1950 to 1984. The growth in cereal production outpaced the growth in population. In the mid-1980s, a limit of 342 kg per person per year was reached, after which this level began to decline to 299 kg in 1995.

All this indicates the manifestation of a global food crisis, meaning that population growth has begun to exceed the growth of food production. In this situation, the population of developed countries (the “golden billion”) consumes an average of 3,350 kcal per person per day, which exceeds the recommended level by 700 kcal, and almost a billion people in Africa and Asia consume an average of 2,040 kcal, which is significantly lower than the physiological minimum (according to the World Food Forum, Rome, 1996). Since 1992, this group has included a number of countries of the former USSR, including Russia, where there are 2100 kcal per person per day in the presence of significant annual population decline.

An important characteristic of the food crisis is the division of all countries into two groups – grain exporters and grain importers. The surplus grain produced for world export is about 200 million tons per year, of which 50% is exported by the USA, % by Canada, 5 - 6% by Australia, the rest by Argentina, France, England, Italy. In recent years, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Cuba have become most dependent on grain imports (70% of needs). At the beginning of the 20th century, until 1913, Russia provided 50% of world grain exports. Currently, grain makes up approximately 40% of the total world food supply, meat – 3%, vegetables and fruits – 17%.

The International Food Policy Institute (Washington, USA) predicts that by 2010, agricultural production per capita will not even reach the 1990 level. As a result, large areas of agricultural depression can be expected to emerge in most regions of the CIS countries.

Countries of the world community are trying to counter the threat of a global food crisis with a whole system of measures and programs that have an international legal framework within the World Trade Organization (WTO), created in 1996 and which is the successor to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). 120 countries have become members of the WTO, and more than 30 countries, including Russia, are involved in negotiations regarding accession to the WTO.

At the initiative of the UN and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), the World Food Program (WFP) was founded and has been operating for about 40 years, promoting global food security by providing food and cash as socio-economic development assistance to countries in need and in emergency situations. Through WFP, assistance has been provided to 120 countries, including CIS countries, in the amount of over $5 billion, funds are allocated for the UN International Food Reserve, which is determined in the amount of 500 thousand tons of grain.

The Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the Plan of Action adopted by the World Food Conference (Rome, 1996) proclaimed the principles of achieving food security at the level of the individual, household, region, country and the entire world community. Within the framework of FAO, the Committee on Problems of World Food Security was created (1974), which is today responsible for the implementation of the Action Plan.

International food security experts are drawing attention to the serious crisis in agriculture in Eastern Europe and the former USSR. The influx of Western food into Ukraine and Russia after the “shock” destruction of the state monopoly on foreign trade created the most liberal foreign trade regime and at the same time sharply reduced support for its own food producers. The food situation in these states, as well as the socio-economic situation in general, is in many ways unique and non-standard. The state of food security is characterized mainly by the state of the spheres of consumption, agriculture, sales and distribution, and food reserves.

Increased food imports coupled with a decline in domestic production and a decrease in the purchasing power of the population led not to an increase, but to a reduction in consumption and a deterioration in its structure.

In the sphere of consumption in Russia, according to VNIESKh, the following changes have occurred: about 80 million people, unable to purchase food in an amount corresponding to physiological standards, found themselves below the poverty line. Consumption of basic food products compared to the levels of the late 80s. in 1996 it decreased: fish and fish products - by 2.5 times, milk and dairy products - by more than 40%, meat and meat products, eggs, sugar, fruits and berries - by almost 30%, vegetable oil and vegetables - by 20%. At the same time, the consumption of bread, bakery products and potatoes increased. According to various estimates, the daily energy content of a Russian resident's diet has decreased compared to 1990 from 3420 kcal to 2 kcal. The situation is approximately the same in other CIS countries.

Crisis phenomena are growing in the sphere of agro-industrial production. In 1996, the volume of gross agricultural output decreased compared to the annual average in 1 year. by 33%, production of food and processing products - by 60%. The number of cattle decreased in all categories of farms by 30%, pigs - by 41%, sheep and goats - by 51%.

A number of negative phenomena have arisen in the sphere of food sales and distribution, including an increase in the share of imports in retail trade. On average, this share is about 40%, with an acceptable threshold value of %, according to specialists from the Center for Economics and Mathematics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in large cities it reaches %. In food markets, intervention of imported food is carried out through opportunistic suppression of the sale and production of domestic products. At the same time, low-quality and unhealthy products that are not in demand in exporting countries are sold at the lowest prices.

The problem of replenishing the state strategic reserve of grain and operational reserves of other types of food has become more acute. Due to unfavorable conditions in recent decades, agricultural production has been declining by more than 15% per year, which requires the formation of sufficient seed and fodder funds in case of unfavorable weather conditions during the summer seasons, the creation of a crop insurance system against natural disasters, as well as government support for stable incomes of agricultural producers.

Radical liberalization of the economy at the turn of the century. and the unjustifiably rapid withdrawal of the state from it, the dismantling rather than constructive replacement of managerial, financial, credit, price, tax and other systems led to the exacerbation of old problems and the emergence of new ones. The radical reform was accompanied by a twofold decline in production and a reduction in real incomes of the population. As a result, a five-fold disparity in prices for agricultural products and industrial products for rural areas arose, and the problem of food security in countries and regions became seriously aggravated.

The need to develop a food security strategy lies in the fact that there is still no food security system that would be purposefully created and developed by subjects of state and local government, economic entities of all spheres and subsystems that ensure food security on a national, regional and local scale.

Awareness of the real situation and the need for a long-term approach to ensuring food security leads to the conclusion: the chaotic and uncontrollable state of subsystems designed to ensure food security, which are still functionally, organizationally, resourcefully and technologically unrelated to each other, should be replaced by a system of food security for the country and regions. It must be created through the efforts of central, regional and local authorities together with manufacturers, science, financial and agricultural businesses.

Providing nutritious food products for humanity is one of the most pressing problems of our time, the well-being of the planet, state, region, the most important indicator of the quality of human life, civilization as a whole and its territorial groups separately. Ensuring food security is an international problem. In fact, the food security of a country is guaranteed in the case of a stable and sufficient, according to medical standards, supply of the population with necessary food products, taking into account their energy content (food calories), as well as the content of digestible protein and microelements. In the international community, the problem of food security was formulated in the early 70s. last century as a problem of malnutrition and hunger in the world.

The number of chronically hungry people in the world has been falling by about 8 million per year over the past five years, but a higher rate (20 million per year) is required for hunger to be halved in 20 years. According to FAO*, the number of hungry people was especially noticeable in the 90s. increased in countries such as Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Cuba, North Korea, Liberia, Madagascar, Mongolia, Somalia and Tanzania.

Hunger is a constant companion of armed conflicts and wars. Over the past 30 years, armed crises have caused mass famine in 43 countries. Currently, fighting continues in 10 countries with the worst food situation. At the same time, hunger and malnutrition provoke armed conflicts (the war is for fertile lands, productive livestock, for the possession of grain reserves and other crops). The former German Chancellor famously said: “Where there is famine, there is war.”

On the other hand, armed conflicts lead to the undermining of agricultural production, crops and livestock breeding bases are destroyed, people are driven away from fertile lands, and the functioning of infrastructure is disrupted.

In addition to the constantly hungry population as a factor of poverty and economic backwardness, the number of people in dire need of food periodically increases as a result of various emergency situations caused by man-made disasters and natural disasters - floods, earthquakes, etc. In these cases, the problem is caused by serious disruptions in the existing food production and distribution infrastructure. Droughts are the most serious cause of hunger, mainly among the rural population. For example, in sub-Saharan African countries, droughts are a constant phenomenon. As a result of droughts and desertification, approximately 7 million hectares of agricultural land are lost from production in the world every year.

For the last half century, the traditional way to solve the food problem in poor countries has been the so-called food aid, which is based on grains. Annual supplies of grain under various international food aid programs have recently amounted to approximately 8-9 million tons. Products such as milk powder, meat, vegetable oil, and legumes are also supplied. These supplies averaged 1.3 million tons per year over the period. In addition to the international organizations that provide these supplies (UN World Food Program, FAO, independent humanitarian foundations, etc.), food aid is provided by individual states - the USA, EU, Japan and some others. These three countries account for 80% of all international food aid, including 56% from the United States.

However, the long history of international food assistance shows that it solves problems only in emergency situations caused by droughts, floods, disasters, and wars. The effect of food aid as a permanent phenomenon is often negative for agricultural development in Africa and Asia. Often, food supplies from aid programs enrich corrupt local government officials and are simply resold at commercial prices, meaning they remain inaccessible to those most in need. Therefore, a new approach to solving the problem of hunger and malnutrition in the world is needed, in which the main emphasis would be on stimulating the agricultural development of underdeveloped countries (so-called “development assistance”). Recently, international organizations, such as the World Bank, are increasingly leaning towards this option of food assistance.

Direct food assistance in kind already accounts for less than 40% of all EU assistance to maintain food security in the mentioned countries. In-kind food aid, as the European Union believes, should solve humanitarian problems and be used in emergency situations (natural disasters, armed conflicts, etc.).

A significant portion of food assistance is emergency supplies. Typically, the size of such supplies depends significantly on fluctuations in international grain prices: when prices fall, the size and share of emergency supplies increase. For example, in the share of emergency aid in all grain aid was at the level of one third, and in the years. – equaled 52-53%.

Although the food problem remains the province of mainly backward countries, all developed countries of the world, including the USA, Japan, and EU states, currently have their own programs, laws and sets of measures to ensure national food security. For example, in Germany, immediately after the outbreak of the military conflict between Iraq and Kuwait in August 1990, a law on food security was adopted, which provides for the inclusion of a federal mechanism for ensuring food supply for the population in case of crisis situations (establishing fixed prices, temporary state control over food resources of the trading network , introduction of normative distribution of food, etc.). The problem of food supply for the population in emergency conditions - as a factor in maintaining the political stability of society - is given much attention by the relevant services of foreign countries.

The growing international importance of the food security problem is evidenced, in particular, by the fact that the World Food Summit was held in Rome in 1996, which adopted the Rome Declaration on Ensuring Food Security in the World. In June 2002, the second World Food Summit was held in Rome. Leaders of more than 100 countries of the world took part in its work. Issues of providing economic, including food, assistance to African countries have been brought up for discussion at the G8 meetings for two years now. In 2006, a meeting of the heads of eight leading states of the world took place in Russia.

(Continued in No. 2 2009)

Food crises in human history

Currently, more than 800 million people around the world, especially in developing countries, do not have enough food to meet their basic food needs. This situation is unacceptable. Food supplies have increased substantially, but limited food access and continued mismatches between household and national income and food procurement prices, instability in supply and demand, and natural and man-made disasters have hampered the fulfillment of basic food needs.

In general, this problem has always existed; it has accompanied man since prehistoric times, from the era of his emergence.

At the beginning of the Neolithic, people (hunters, gatherers), having improved weapons, very quickly exterminated animals - the basis of the then diet - and found themselves on the verge of starvation. In order to survive, man was forced to invent agriculture, and somewhat later, cattle breeding, thereby creating artificial biogeochemical cycles - an artificial circulation of substances in nature. Thus, he qualitatively changed his ecological niche, laying the foundation for a civilization whose fruits humanity still enjoys today. This niche is associated with all those new difficulties, without overcoming which man is unlikely to be able to survive on Earth as a biological species.

At the same time, the process of creating a new ecological niche was spontaneous, so humanity paid a huge price for overcoming the crisis - the Earth's population probably decreased many times over. It was then, according to many scientists, that man was separated from the rest of nature: he stopped living the way other living beings live. Having mastered agriculture, cattle breeding, and minerals, man began to actively interfere with the natural circulation, creating artificial biogeochemical cycles, involving substances accumulated by former biospheres into the circulation. For example, currently humanity uses so much non-renewable hydrocarbon raw materials (gas, oil, coal) per year that it took nature about a hundred million years to create. Today, man has already reached those energy resources that appeared on Earth in the earliest period of its existence as a celestial body - nuclear energy reserves.

Today, humanity has approached the threshold of a new round of anthropogenesis, similar to the threshold that it crossed at the end of the Neolithic. Then the process of establishing new forms of life and the formation of a new ecological niche could not develop spontaneously; today it cannot (should not) develop spontaneously. A spontaneous process, in conditions where humanity owns nuclear weapons and other means of mass destruction, will lead to the complete destruction of civilization. For the establishment of a new ecological niche will be accompanied by a struggle for environmental space, which means the maximum standards for global pollution, the consumption of the world's reserves of non-renewable natural resources, the world's areas of agricultural land and forests - a resource vital to people. In this struggle all the appropriate means at man's disposal cannot fail to be used, and then the crisis will undoubtedly turn into destruction.

Human energy consumption per day in the Stone Age was about 16-18 kJ, in the industrial era - about 300 kJ, and in advanced countries of the present time about 1000 kJ, i.e. 60 times more than that of our distant ancestors, when the existence human completely fit into natural biochemical cycles.

Even since the beginning of the twentieth century, the amount of energy spent per unit of agricultural production in developed countries has increased 8-10 times, and per unit of industrial production - 12 times. The ratio of energy costs in agriculture varies in different countries from 1/65 (Congo River basin) to 1/2.0 - 2.5 (USA). The overall energy efficiency of agricultural production (exergy is the ratio of energy input and energy received from finished products) in industrialized countries is approximately 30 times lower than in primitive agriculture. In some cases, a multiple increase in energy costs for fertilizing and cultivating fields leads to only a very slight (10-15%) increase in yield.

If energy consumption per unit of industrial output in 1913 is taken as one, then in 1990 the USSR consumed 34.3 conventional units.

Consuming huge amounts of energy, an average of about 4 tons of harmful substances are released into the atmosphere per inhabitant of the planet, and in some countries this figure reaches 12 tons

Until recently, this could not be remembered, but in the 20th century, ominous symptoms of diseases associated with poor-quality food products appeared.

Moiseev believes that the further development of man requires a qualitative improvement in the mechanism of his evolution, figuratively speaking, “on a planned basis”, and not on the elements of the current “market” approach. Such a hypothesis is almost obvious and can be supported by a large number of empirical generalizations. However, such a hypothesis is not readily supported in the West, where the illusion of the universality of the trivial market reigns. This is precisely what many authoritative scientists of the World see as the main defect of modern Western culture, which has retained in its depths the postulates of the Protestant era, which allowed people to pay for the scalps of Indians, and the wild market of the Klondike era, when there was a war of all against all.

Any deviation from the trivial market, any manifestation of collectivism, social programs and even simple Christian charity, as noted, are considered “the path to slavery” - such is the poverty of thought belonging to the followers of the famous orthodox Hayek, the meaning of whose position can be reduced to the following: is it necessary to take into account the interests of our descendants if they cannot take our interests into account. This limitation of market philosophy and the widespread dissemination of its primitive interpretation is seen as the main threat to the future of humanity.

At present, it is difficult to imagine the goal of development and direction of humankind’s efforts, to understand the meaning of those relationships between Nature and society that need to be established to prevent a catastrophe and ensure their mutual adaptation, capable of continuing the history of the human race. There are two extreme points of view on this issue

One is extreme animal egoism and individualism based on market relations, and the second is the revival of ancient traditions that call for sacrificing part of the present in the name of the future of our children. Choosing the first path dooms humanity to degradation, which will not be the same in different countries, but, without a doubt, painful for everyone. This choice corresponds to the ideology of the “golden billion,” whose well-being can be ensured for a number of generations at the expense of the degradation of the remaining five billion of the Earth’s population. Choosing the second path gives humanity a chance to use the Reason given to it by God-Nature, but it can only be used with common consent, by realizing the ability of people to form a collective, planetary STRATEGY.

Choosing the second path will require new knowledge and the development on its basis of such paradigms of existence, the implementation of which requires a collective mind - a new scale of values, a new economic science, a new pricing mechanism, taking into account the damage that current generations will cause to the next, etc. In the concepts “ equality" and "democracy" will have a different meaning. Perhaps, by equality and democracy, humanity will begin to mean “equality in the minimum use of environmental space” or “equality in the minimum consumption”, or “equality in the minimum energy consumption”, but always “equality in the minimum...”.

Thus, at the present stage of development, humanity must answer the main question: which organization of society should a person strive for and which of them is more progressive from the point of view of “sustainable development”.

Conclusion

The material in this section is intended to attract the attention of the general public, representatives of legislative and executive authorities, deputies at various levels, environmentalists, civil servants, enterprise managers, students of advanced training courses, teachers and students of educational institutions to the problem of food security. Each of them will find something new and interesting in it for themselves and their colleagues.

Here the reports and scientific publications of authoritative experts interpreted on the topic of our publication will be systematized and summarized.

Particular attention is planned to be paid to Ukraine and Russia, which, according to many experts, holds the future in stabilizing food security in the world.

The information base of this section is data from international organizations and institutions on the problems of the food crisis on a global, interethnic, national and regional scale (FAO, WTO, International Food Policy Institute - USA, World Observatory - USA, annual statistical collections of the Economic Community of Asian Countries -Pacific basin, etc.).

The publications will reflect the state of food security at the beginning of the 21st century - on the verge of the 20th and 21st centuries, at the turn of the 2nd and 3rd millennia of mankind. This is intended to contribute to broadening our horizons, to a correct understanding of the essence of the phenomena occurring in the life of every person and society associated with improving the quality of life, which will allow our descendants to evaluate the activities of their predecessors in preserving their life on Earth.

D. Zerkalov

* FAO – Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization) (see paragraph 1.2 of the first section).