ABSTRACT
The close interactions among increasingly globalized food commodity markets have accelerated the transfer of risk between multiple regions and communities; global environmental change will increase the potential risk of associated food-related violence. Current institutional frameworks are either inadequate or inflexible to alleviate this risk. Three contrasting dominant discourses about food need to be resolved: food as a global commodity; food as a product of environmental services; and food security as a basic human right. The tensions between these discourses are embodied in the current institutional arrangements for food systems, setting the scene for potential conflict. In regions of the world that are already food insecure these tensions can – and do – spill over into violence. New forms of governance are urgently needed to better manage these tensions as both globalization and global environmental change continue apace.
