Food security: from national to global governance

Abstract

Food constitutes the basic human need. Without food it is impossible to meet other needs. Changes in the modern world indicate that the problem of food security will steadily grow in importance in the future. The key question is therefore how to provide it, how to govern it. Despite its importance food security constitutes one of the less researched areas within international governance debate. It has never been ensured on the global level despite amazing progress of science and technology. What is more, the changing nature of threats to food security makes this goal even more distant. There are two contrasting views on that issue. In the first, the states are responsible for food security governance. This view is supported by the uniqueness of the agriculture, as a sector responsible for ensuring food. However, the growing limitations of states’ ability to decide on its own agriculture and food policy due to globalization processes make this vision disputable. According to the second view, in the face of globalization processes the best way to ensure it is to enhance the global food security governance. This vision also is confronted with criticisms, however, there are strong arguments which support it. The paper deals with the problem of food security governance. Its main assumption is that national governance becomes ineffective to address all food security dimensions under the globalization processes. That is why new modes are needed. The main argument of the paper is that the global governance model can fill the governance gap in food security area at the national level.