Food Security in an Uncertain World (15): An International Perspective (Frontiers of Economics and Globalization) - Hardcover

The editors present a collection of expert contributions that together provide a comprehensive examination of intersection between trade agreements and the four aspects of global food security: availability, access, utilization, and stability. The seventeen contributions that make up the main body of the text cover trade and food security, macroeconomic policies and food security, food security measurement, and a wide variety of other food security issues. Andrew Schmitz is a faculty member of the University of Florida. P. Lynn Kennedy is a faculty member of Louisiana State University. Troy G. Schmitz is a faculty member of Arizona State University. -- Annotation (c)2016 * (protoview.com) *

International trade agreements are central to food security. The links between trade and the four dimensions in food security (availability, access, utilization, and stability) are examined. Freer trade in agricultural products provides additional food security. This is bolstered by factors such as increasing the use of GMOs, reducing food waste, and increasing investment in research and development. Also important is the ability of poor people to obtain food in the presence of transportation bottlenecks. Since low-income households spend most of their money on food, policy makers need to be aware of the harm caused by high and volatile food prices. Thus, food security and poverty are very much linked. We provide an understanding of the meaning and measurement of food security and the impacts of government policies in poverty alleviation. In terms of investment in research and development, even with increased productivity, problems attached to food security will remain unless there are significant changes in global income distribution. Global food shortages are due more to the lack of purchasing power rather than lack of food supplies, with the food gap continuing to widen.