Global food price spikes in 2008 and again in 2011 coincided with a surge of political unrest in low- and middle-income countries. Angry consumers took to the streets in scores of nations. In some places, food riots turned violent, pressuring governments and in a few cases contributed to their overthrow. Foreign investors sparked a new global land rush, adding a different set of pressures. With scientists cautioning that the world has entered a new era of steadily rising food prices, perhaps aggravated by climate change, the specter of widespread food insecurity and sociopolitical instability weighs on policymakers worldwide. In the past few years, governments and philanthropic foundations began redoubling efforts to resuscitate agricultural research and technology transfer, as well as to accelerate the modernization of food value chains to deliver high quality food inexpensively, faster, and in greater volumes to urban consumers. But will these efforts suffice? This volume explores the complex relationship between food security and sociopolitical stability up to roughly 2025. Organized around a series of original essays by leading global technical experts, a key message of this volume is that actions taken in an effort to address food security stressors may have consequences for food security, stability, or both that ultimately matter far more than the direct impacts of biophysical drivers such as climate or land or water scarcity. The means by which governments, firms, and private philanthropies tackle the food security challenge of the coming decade will fundamentally shape the relationship between food security and sociopolitical stability.

About the Author
Chris Barrett is the Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley Professor of Applied Economics and Management and International Professor of Agriculture in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management as well as Professor in the Department of Economics at Cornell University where he also serves as the Director of the Cornell Institute for International Food, Agriculture and Development's initiative on Stimulating Agricultural and Rural Transformation. He holds degrees from Princeton (A.B., History, 1984), Oxford (M.S., Development Economics, 1985) and the University of Wisconsin-Madison (dual Ph.D., Economics and Agricultural Economics, 1994). He has published several books and more than 250 journal articles or book chapters. He served as editor of the American Journal of Agricultural Economics 2003-2008, and is an associate editor or editorial board member of the African Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics and the Egerton (Kenya) Journal of Humanities.

Reviews
Rising incomes and growing populations mean more mouths to feed with more and better food. This book warns the world that this rising demand for food is not being met with rising supply, and that young, hungry poor people will threaten global peace and prosperity. This is no alarmist tract, however, but a well-researched, considered, and balanced collection of essays, with an emphasis on ways that domestic and global policy can minimize risk. An important read for all in the food policy and international security communities. * Chris Blattman, Columbia University *
Food insecurity and hunger lead to lower productivity, poor heath and shortened life span of individuals. Food shortage and increased food prices can also lead to large disruptions and conflict of societies. This volume edited by Barrett and contributed to by some of the most authoritative scholars in the areas of food policy analyzes the relationship between food security and sociopolitical stability and re-sensitizes the important issue of feeding the world sustainably and stably in the future in terms of both natural environment and human society. The book is an excellent reference for scholars, students, policymakers and analysts, and development practitioners working on agriculture, food and international development. * Shenggen Fan, Director General, International Food Policy Research Institute *
This book is a high-quality and accessible contribution to a pressing policy issue: how to increase food production in a way that meets demand, reduces hunger, and prevents the worst kinds of sociopolitical instability. Food production strategies that are insensitive to food price volatility, to resource scarcity and environmental externalities, and to the propensity for conflict are doomed to fail. Those who formulate agricultural and food policy need to beginnowto view all of their choices through a triple lens of hunger reduction, conflict prevention and environmental management. If they do not, the legacy of their poor choices will be long lasting and will hurt the most vulnerable and powerless. Fortunately for the policymakers and their advisers, the contributions from the authors in this excellent book will help them to make the right decisions. * Lawrence Haddad, Director, Institute of Development Studies *
Finally, a volume on food security accessible to non-specialists yet authored by an A-list of international experts. There is no sensationalism here, just plenty of solid analysis, up to date information, and complete topical and regional coverage. If you are concerned about the contemporary social and political context of food security in poor countries, start by reading this book. * Robert Paarlberg, author of Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know *
This volume is accessible to a wide range of audiences and will be of value to policy analysts, policy makers, economists, other social scientists, and those interested in the serious analysis and moral implications of both food security and socio-political stability. * M. J. Frost, Choice, *



Book Information
ISBN 9780198758907
Author Christopher B. Barrett
Format Paperback
Page Count 510
Imprint Oxford University Press
Publisher Oxford University Press
Weight(grams) 1g
Dimensions(mm) 232mm * 157mm * 28mm