Food is fundamental for humans to survive and vital for development. Food security is a major issue and sustaining it is a challenge for the countries of the world. With climate change and other environmental andsocial factors greatly influencing the current chances for world food security, it is of prime importance for countries to work towards achieving it. A major part of the poor and vulnerable section of people lives in the developing and poor countries with rampant food insecurity issues. To achieve the UN‟s Millennium Development goal of halving hunger by 2015, food security measures are implemented in poor and developing countries with the help of world organizations to alleviate poverty and hunger. This paper studies the situation in India, where poverty and hunger is a major block for the development progress. India has proven its authority in various fields with a fast developing economy. On the other hand, poverty and hunger prevail among almost half of the country‟s people. The country has taken various measures to attain food security and curb hunger among the poor. The major welfare measure in the country is the food distribution schemes implemented by the government. The performance among different states in the country varies due to various factors. The performances of the country as a whole and of the southern state of Tamil Nadu are taken into consideration for this paper. The paper will deal with the performance and related issues such as policies, administration, operations and social influences on the food distribution system in a comparison between Tamil Nadu and the rest of the country. Based on the official records on procurement and distribution of food grains as well as on literature studies on the food security situation in India and Tamil Nadu state, this paper suggests that there is a need to modify the mechanisms that constitute the distribution system, which can be learnt from Tamil Nadu state where the performance is better than the average for India as a whole. Even though Tamil Nadu faces similar problems asother States, the better performance of Tamil Nadu does not affect the food distribution system in the country. At the national level, the situation is worse with magnified problems of performance affecting the food distribution system.

This dissertation investigates three economic aspects of the climate change issue: optimal allocation of investment between adaptation and mitigation, impacts on a ground water dependent regional agricultural economy and effects on global food insecurity. This is done in three essays by applying mathematical programming. In the first essay, a modeling study is done on optimal temporal investment between climate change adaptation and mitigation considering their relative contributions to damage reduction and diversion of funds from consumption and other investments. To conduct this research, we extend the widely used Integrated Assessment Model?DICE (Dynamic Integrated Climate Economy) adding improved adaptation modeling. The model results suggest that the joint implementation of adaptation and mitigation is welfare improving with a greater immediate role for adaptation. In the second essay, the research focuses on the ground water dependent agricultural economy in the Texas High Plains Region. A regionally detailed dynamic land allocation model is developed and applied for studying interrelationships between limited natural resources (e.g. land and groundwater), climate change, bioenergy demands and agricultural production. We find out that the effect varies regionally across hydrologically heterogeneous regions. Also, water availability has a substantial impact on feedstock mix. In terms of biofuel feedstock production, the model results show that limited water resource cannot sustain expanded corn-based ethanol production in the future. In the third essay, a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model is applied in an attempt to study potential impacts of climate change on global food insecurity. Our results show that climate change alters the number of food insecure people in a regionally different fashion over time. In general, the largest increase of additional food insecure population relative to the reference case (no climate change) is found in Africa and South Asia, while most of developed countries will benefit from climate change with a reduced proportion of food insecure population. In general, climate change affects world agricultural production and food security. Integrated adaptation and mitigation strategy is more effective in reducing climate change damages. However, there are synergies/trade-offs between these two options, particularly in regions with limited natural resources.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Miami University, Dept. of Geography, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-60).

Thesis (Ph.D. (Environmental Science)) - Rhodes University, 2009.

Thesis (M.S. in Defense Analysis)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2010. / Thesis Advisor(s): Borer, Douglas A. ; Second Reader: Simons, Anna. "June 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on July 14, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: Upstream states, Downstream states, sovereign territory, equitable utilization, national security, conflict, water scarcity, Nile river/basin, hegemony, control, legitimacy, absolute territorial sovereignty, natural rights, absolute integrity, acquired rights, negotiations, contentious agreements, prior appropriation, virtual water, interstate relations, competitive exploitation, political stability/instability, compromise, cooperation, unilateralism, food security, regional security, strategic interests, sustainable exploitation, riparian co-dependence, limited territorial sovereignty, limited integrity, arbitration, asymmetry. Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-74). Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008. / Submitted to the African Centre for Food Security. Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, 2010.

Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008. / Full text also available online. Scroll down for electronic link.

PURPOSE: This study is a quantitative analysis of the relationship between obesity and food availability in the United States. A vast amount of literature has been produced examining various food and socioeconomic variables for their effect on obesity rates; however, this is the first research project to use the USDA’s Food Environment Atlas in a nationwide quantitative study. METHODS: This study uses multivariate statistical analysis to study the effect of 24 variables identified in the 2015 USDA Food Environment Atlas on county-wide obesity rates. The primary regression of concern looks specifically at the effect five food availability variables (grocery stores, specialty food stores, SNAP stores, supercenters, and convenience stores) have on obesity rates. RESULTS: Grocery store and specialty food store density is negatively correlated to percent countywide obesity, while supercenter and SNAP store density is positively correlated to percent obesity. Convenience store density had virtually no effect on percent obesity. Potentially confounding variables such as density of recreational facilities and farmers’ markets were also negatively correlated with obesity. Additionally, density of fast-food and full-service restaurants were negatively correlated with obesity, while perpetual poverty was positively correlated to percent obesity. CONCLUSION: The analyses presented in this study suggest that greater availability of grocery stores and specialty food stores may help to curb rising obesity rates. Policy recommendation and considerations based on the results are discussed and explored for their potential utility in addressing the obesity epidemic confronting the United States.