Final answer:
Researchers found that social capital is less effective in crises with rapid food price increases and scarcity, highlighting the importance of macroeconomic policies in food distribution. The ability to produce food, as advanced by modern agriculture, is not as critical as the equitable distribution and access to food.
Step-by-step explanation:
In "The Forgotten Population: Youth, Food Insecurity, and Rising Global Food Prices," researchers observed how traditional coping mechanisms such as social capital and social networks are less effective during crises characterized by rapid increases in food prices and widespread scarcity. This is contrary to past assumptions that community support systems can always provide relief. The study highlights the complexities within food security issues, where food systems are often disrupted not only by scarcities but by factors such as climate change, globalization, conflict, and disrupted supply chains, including those due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The research aligns with Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen's assessment that macroeconomic policies made on a governmental level play a significant role in food distribution (or lack thereof) and should focus on stable inflation, full employment, and empowering sectors such as the education of women and preservation of property rights to achieve better food security.
Furthermore, as modern agriculture technology advances, allowing countries to produce more food than necessary, it becomes clear that the ability to produce food is not the sole issue; rather, the issues are related to equitable distribution and access to food for the whole society.