The strongest El Niño in two decades made food security in East Asia especially hard to achieve in 2016. High rice stocks helped to buffer El Niño’s impact, and some countries turned to imports. While rice continues to provide about 43 percent of daily calories across the region, diets are changing rapidly, particularly in urban areas, shifting toward greater consumption of meat, fish, and dairy products. Food safety, overnutrition, and resource scarcity will be among the region’s greatest challenges in 2017.