People are often surprised to learn that although the current global levels of food production are sufficient to feed all of humanity, the problems of undernourishment increase year by year in many countries. Economic growth, while important, is not a guarantee for reducing hunger. The intensification of income concentration worldwide, in the face of the persistence of millions of hungry families, demonstrates that economic interest is not guided by the needs of humanity. Moreover, the problem of food no longer refers to the lack of food alone. Many people are still unaware that our diets are not simply choices of taste and tradition but the result of international dynamics driven by geopolitical factors, the trajectory of capitalism, and other ulterior forces. The authors deepen the link between international relations and food security by exploring the humanitarian and ethical importance of a solution to the problem of hunger; the role of the state as a strategically relevant actor in achieving food security; and the nature of the problem of food security in a world in which the rationale guiding food production and distribution is a capitalist one.

In 2007/8 world food prices spiked and global economic crisis set in, leaving hundreds of millions of people unable to access adequate food. The international reaction was swift. In a bid for leadership, the 123 member countries of the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security (CFS) adopted a series of reforms with the aim of becoming the foremost international, inclusive and intergovernmental platform for food security. Central to the reform was the inclusion of participants (including civil society and the private sector) across all activities of the Committee. Drawing on data collected from policy documents, interviews and participant observation, this book examines the re-organization and functioning of a UN Committee that is coming to be known as a best practice in global governance. Framed by key challenges that plague global governance, the impact and implication of increased civil society engagement are examined by tracing policy negotiations within the CFS, in particular, policy roundtables on smallholder sensitive investment and food price volatility and negotiations on the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, and the Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition. The author shows that through their participation in the Committee, civil society actors are influencing policy outcomes. Yet analysis also reveals that the CFS is being undermined by other actors seeking to gain and maintain influence at the global level. By way of this analysis, this book provides empirically-informed insights into increased participation in global governance processes.

'The Challenge of Food Security addresses one of the key development challenges of our time. It examines issues related to food security in a comprehensive manner that covers both theoretical perspectives and policy challenges. It will be a key reference book for anyone interested in issues related to food security.' Philippe Cullet, University of London, UK 'This is a timely book which addresses one of the greatest challenges for international regulation: food security. The book is a comprehensive treatment of various aspects of food security from its origins to the relationship between food security and other values, the role that commodity trading plays in exacerbating food insecurity, the importance of adequate food governance, together with specific food security problems like fish, water and genetic resources. The editors should be congratulated on a stimulating collection of essays that brings together a diverse range of scholars and which sheds real light on the complex dimensions of the food security debate.' Fiona Smith, University College London, UK This timely study addresses the pressing issue of food security through a range of interdisciplinary contributions, providing both scholarly and policy-making perspectives. It sets the discussion on food security within the little-studied context of its international legal and regulatory framework. The expert contributors explore the key issues from a development perspective and through the lens of existing governance and policy systems with a view to articulating how these systems can be made more effective in dealing with the roots of food insecurity. The book considers the root causes of food insecurity before discussing the regulatory challenges inherent in reconciling food production and sustainability to ensure both adequate supply of and equitable access to food, particularly in light of emerging issues such as food price volatility, 'land grabbing' and the need to coordinate the actions of the multitude of actors that influence food policy and regulation. It highlights the need for more equitable, transparent and coherent policy and regulatory approaches to the myriad of issues that make up the food security challenge. This cross-cutting study will appeal to researchers in law, international relations, agricultural science and food systems, as well as to policy makers in government and international organisations that engage with policy and regulation of food security issues. It will also be essential reading for professionals in non-governmental organisations that are interested in development issues in general and food security in particular.

The international food system is increasingly at risk. Increasing demand, limited and diminishing resources and rising volatility are putting new pressures on the agriculture sector globally. One of the growing critical threats to global stability and security is the inadequacy of food resources. This threat, exacerbated by global population growth, is illustrated by shifts in consumption patterns toward protein-rich diets and the growth of multinational food retail, which bring about a greater reliance on food imports. This book compares the food security policies of selected countries in Asia and the Middle East, and reviews the outcomes of policy applications in a broader context. Themes discussed include: -Shifts in regional and international foreign policy, such as new alliances between countries with rich agricultural resources and wealthier importing states -Creation of food security policy competition across regions -Foreign investments and investment risks for farmland investments -Social implications, such as potential unrest -Environmental sustainability of food security programs, such as the depletion of water resources -Impact of food security programs on trade policies and fiscal policies, such as import taxes and subsidies

Transnational Food Security addresses food security from an international relations, political economy and legal perspective analysing the relationship between food security and the environment and climate change, trade, finance and contracts, and the intersection between food and human rights. The topic of food concerns one of the most basic and profound aspects of human survival. Universal and equal access to food is, at the same time, ridden with problems of power, inequality, distribution and implicated in old and new geopolitical conflicts. As such, ‘food’ and food security are central to conditions of poverty and hunger, development and ‘modernisation’, transitional justice and rule of law reform around the world. As a problem of critique and scholarly inquiry, food prompts an inter-disciplinary assessment of the nature of food security in the modern world. The contributors to this book take us deep into the complexity of food and illustrate the challenges of adequately understanding and approaching questions of food security and food sovereignty in a globally interconnected world. Transnational Food Security will be of great interest to scholars of international relations, political economy, and transnational law. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of Transnational Legal Theory Journal.

A description of the current global food system, this book challenges our ethical responsibility to the global poor and implicates us all for failing to curb global hunger and malnutrition. The Politics of Food: The Global Conflict between Food Security and Food Sovereignty argues that our current global food system constitutes a massive violation of human rights. In this impassioned, well-researched book, William Schanbacher makes the case that the food security model for combating global hunger—driven by the United Nations, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other organizations—is a failure, too dependent on trade and too reliant on international agribusiness. Instead, the emerging model of food sovereignty—helping local farmers and businesses produce better quality food—is the more effective and responsible approach. Through numerous case studies, the book examines critical issues of global trade and corporate monopolization of the food industry, while examining the emerging social justice movements that seek to make food sovereignty the model for battling hunger.