ABSTRACT

The forces that contribute to hunger are wide ranging and complex. They include poverty, high and volatile food prices, nutritional inadequacy of available foods, and agricultural production shortfalls, among others. This chapter details the ways, the evolving understandings of food security have been reflected in the mandates and agendas of the key international institutions that have addressed hunger and food insecurity over several years. It deals with mapping the history of global food security governance and shows how changing definitions of food security have influenced the contours of the global governance architecture that has addressed hunger over time. The chapter outlines the challenges presented by the 2007–2008 food crisis and subsequent food price volatility, illustrating that fragmentation in global food security governance has hindered the global response to the economic shocks that exacerbate world hunger. It concludes by discussing some of the more recent revisions to the global food security governance framework and their implications.