Political

From IssuesBriefs

Overview

Political problems causing food shortages is not a new issue. Civil unrest, bad governance and political corruption to name a few, can and have historically resulted in food shortages and famines through history. Currently situations like these can be seen in countries such as Zimbabwe, where hyperinflation has resulted in unaffordable food for most of the population, and in Myanmar, where the military junta recently largely refused international aid to support the population following the ravaging Cyclone Nargis. Similarly, unrest causes structural problems by increasing the amount of the population involved in aggression, where they could otherwise be involved in peaceful endeavours to sustain the population, such as through farming and producing food. Furthermore, with current issues causing rising food prices globally, appropriate domestic and international political responses are vital. Political institutions such as the UN should be held in high regard in the current environment to create an arena where states can cooperate and create unified responses to emerging issues. Similarly, the potential looming global recession again requires flawless governance and responses to these issues as otherwise, the damaging impacts could be widespread and long lasting. These issues are overwhelming and potentially destructive and unsuitable responses could have devastating results.

Contributors

• Jan van Aken - Greenpeace International Sustainable Agriculture Campaigner
• Tim Anderson - Lecturer for the School of Political Economy, Sydney University and is a member of the Committee of Management of AID/WATCH
• Joachim von Braun - Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute [www.ifpri.org]
• Mick Keogh - CEO of Australian Farm Institute
• Eric Holt-Giménez - Executive Director of Food First, Institute for Food and Development Policy
• Loren Peabody - Intern at the Food First, Institute for Food and Development Policy
• Polly Ericksen - Senior Researcher at the University of Oxford Environmental Change Institute
• Robert Zeigler - Director General of the International Rice Research Institute

Articles

• Jan van Aken: 'Taking stock of agriculture' [1]
• Joachim von Braun: 'An action plan for the current world food situation' [2]
• Mick Keogh: 'A crisis in food policy rather than food capacity' [3]
• Eric Holt-Giméne and Loren Peabody: 'Solving the food crisis: the causes and the solutions' [4]
• Polly Ericksen: 'Will the global food price crisis cause us to rethink food systems?' [5]
• Robert Zeigler: 'The rice crisis: what needs to be done?' [6]