Trade policies and global food security

With the growing demand for food in emerging economies, and for biofuels, many governments are re-examining their strategies for dealing with long-term food security. In the past, governmental responses to concerns with both the long-run trend level of food prices and their short-run fluctuations have not always been the most appropriate. In particular, trade-restricting food policies rather than more-efficient domestic measures are commonly employed, and by both high-income and developing countries. This chapter examines how such trade policies have contributed to the amplification of international food price fluctuations. They have done little to advance national food security while collectively imperiling global food security and thus fostering rather than relieving tensions that foment social unrest. The chapter concludes by examining how unilateral actions or multilateral trade arrangements over the coming decade could help advance global food security without risking sociopolitical unrest.