Skyrocketing food prices in 2007 and 2008 have produced social and political unrest in many developing countries and threaten to precipitate an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
This article by Matias E. Margulis looks at the present food crisis through the analytical lenses of international political economy and global governance.
The study of the food crisis is enhanced by contextualizing the crisis within broader processes of globalization. The review is divided into three parts.
The first section examines the magnitude of the current food crisis and clarifies what is meant by the term ‘global food crisis’.
The second section reviews the policy measures implemented in response to the crisis, focusing particularly on the multilateral level.
The third section examines two vital elements of the multilateral response, emergency food aid and establishing an international agreement on biofuels, and identifies key obstacles to their efficacy.