Introduction

When we think of security, we might think first of international relations and conflict, military concerns, or systems that monitor borders, personal movements, and computer networks. We might not initially think of farming, food processing, or access to food. This chapter considers food security at multiple spatial scales and ways in which food supply is connected to power. Three key themes are relevant to a consideration of food security: stability, access, and quality. Beginning at the global scale, this chapter examines climate change and implications for the world food supply. Yet food is not evenly distributed around the globe, so we must then consider issues of access to food. We will look at how food became an international policy issue, how the definition of food security has changed over time and how it has also been challenged. Examining issues pertaining to access to food draws our attention to the question “Who controls the food supply?” and leads us to investigate aspects of food quality and content. Asking the question “What are we eating?” brings the discussion full circle back to the overarching themes of the book, namely, power and spatial scale.

Climate change and food supply

If the earth's atmosphere, precipitation, and temperature patterns are changing, what kind of effects might there be on global food supply?