The Political Economy of Global Food Governance Review

Jul 17, 2026

A review of three interrelated books on global food governance links food security, climate impacts, and international political economy with the power struggles shaping food systems. It highlights shared debates over biotechnology and genetically modified seeds, contrasting pro-technology claims with critiques from NGOs and some EU actors. The review also summarizes arguments on global agrifood corporate power, nutrition and poverty burdens, obesity politics in the U.S., and policy options from regulation to subsidy and tax interventions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Overview of the three books

Shared themes: biotechnology and GM seeds

Food security, poverty, and nutrition impacts

Obesity politics and food industry incentives

Agricultural subsidies, trade, and environmental effects

International Studies Review (2011) 13, 304–309 The Political Economy of Global Food Governance Review by Wyn Grant Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick Agriculture, Human Security, and Peace. Edited by M. Taeb and A.H. Zakri. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2008 . 201 pp., $29.95 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-1-55753-482- 8) . Corporate Power in Global Agrifood Governance. Edited By Jennifer Clapp and Doris Fuchs. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2009 . 308 pp., $25.00 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0-262- 51237-4) . Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know. By Robert Paarlberg. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010 . 218 pp., $16.95 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0-195-38959-3) . The revival of concerns about food security, allied to a focus on how the way in which we produce and transport food impacts on climate change, has propelled the analysis of food politics to the center of the agenda in international political economy and international security. Food chains have become more globalized (although most food is still consumed in the country in which it is produced), the middle class of emerging countries use their purchasing power to obtain more varied and environmentally costly diets, yet the majority of impoverished people in the world are subsistence and semi-subsistence farmers who often do not have enough access to food to eat. As Paarlberg points out, chronic under nutrition currently affects more than 800 million people around the world. Taeband Zakri estimate that about 1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty, of which 75% live in rural areas. These are three rather different books in terms of their coverage and approaches, but they have a number of themes in common, in particular a concern with the arguments for and against the deployment of biotechnology in the form of genetically modiﬁed (GM) seeds and crops. This is no accident, as this debate has become a site of contestation, the central battle ground between those who see intensiﬁed, technologically advanced agriculture as the way to feed the world and those who see such agriculture as increasing the power of global companies, as environmentally damaging and oppressive of the poor. In this latter camp are to be found many inﬂuential non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as a number of member states of the European Union (EU) . Paarlberg’s book, Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know, is intended for the general reader. One might say that the subtitle should be ‘‘what Paarlberg wants us to know,’’ but there is nothing wrong with that as he is one of the most distinguished academics in the ﬁeld of global food politics and is able to draw on a lifetime of research. Although the book is clearly underpinned by a considerable body of evidence, the writing style is engaging and easily digestible. It would serve as an excellent introduction to the topic for students. Paarlberg sets out to counter the body of popular lite

FAQs

What shared debate connects the reviewed books on global food governance?

All three books focus on arguments for and against deploying biotechnology, particularly genetically modified seeds and crops, as a central contest between advocates of technologically intensified agriculture and critics who emphasize corporate power and harms to the poor and the environment.

How does the review describe the global challenge of nutrition and food security?

Chronic undernutrition affects more than 800 million people, while estimates discussed in the review suggest roughly 1.2 billion people live in extreme poverty, with most living in rural areas and many being subsistence or semi-subsistence farmers with insufficient access to food.

What policy responses does the review discuss regarding obesity and the food industry?

The review notes parallels to tobacco are weak because eating cannot be avoided in the same way as smoking can be stopped. It argues that state intervention may become unavoidable, with suggestions such as higher taxes on junk foods and products high in sugar or salt.

Jul 17, 2026

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