(Anat Hermony/Flash90)
Israeli field

The UN ranked Israel as one of the top 20 countries in the world capable of securely sustaining their populations.

The United Nations ranked Israel 19th in its 2017 report on how well countries can feed their populations.

The “State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World” report ranked more than 180 countries.

The report noted how Israel’s ability to feed its own people is largely dependent on imports of food, grain and energy sources required to sustain a large portion of its agricultural sector. Without this dependence, primarily on imports from the US, Israel would be ranked higher on the UN index.

The five most “food secure” countries, according to the report, are Ireland, the US, the UK, Singapore and Australia.

“Food security,” as measured in the report, pertains to the viability and accessibility of food for people in a given country, and the nation’s ability to prevent hunger on a mass scale.

The report noted that after a prolonged decline, world hunger appears to be on the rise again. The estimated number of undernourished people increased to 815 million in 2016, up from 777 million in 2015.

Israel has been contributing its knowledge and resources to combat this worrying phenomenon.

By: JNS.org and United with Israel Staff