Forests for food security and nutrition

Forests provide an estimated one billion people globally with nutritious foods. Their products are consumed directly by people living in and around forests and are also sold, generating income for rural populations. In this way, forests and trees on farms make a major contribution to global food security. However, they have often been given little priority in national policymaking related to food security. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, emphasizes the importance of forests and argues that in the light of the Milliennium Development Goal to reduce hunger by half by 2015, the contribution made by forests and trees to food security and nutrition deserves urgent consideration.