Politics of Food The rise in global food prices that peaked in mid-2008 has put rising food insecurity back on the international political agenda. According to recent estimates, the number of undernourished people in the world is currently over 1 billion. Food politics is the political aspects of the production, control, regulation, inspection, distribution and consumption of food. The politics can be affected by the ethical, cultural, medical and environmental disputes concerning proper farming, agricultural and retailing methods and regulations. Food has become central to the precarious economy, it has become a form of social control in which conceptual and methodological approaches to understanding its security, nutrition, availability and accountability have left most people detached from what they consume. Further information on this topic can be found under Food and Agriculture within the area of Human Geography. There are some parallel themes of interest, however, in Interdisciplinary Societal Studies we focus solely on the political aspects and route cause-and-effect. Case Study: The United States
The United States is of particular interest due to its overwhelming power and multinational conglomerate influence on this subject matter. The politics of the global food system is put into play via policies, structures, power relations and political debates surrounding the production, distribution and consumption of food. Key American theoretical frameworks and concepts of understanding the dominant paradigms and dynamics of the food system integrate sociology and politics of food and agriculture, food policy, the political economy and the political ecology of food. This is detailed by examining (1) food technology which looks at the farming of animals and their levels of intensity, genetically modified foods and its consummate safety, pesticide use, conglomerate food manufacturing and processing, biofuels versus food supply and domestic food aid; (2) food security which is comprised of domestic production and self-sufficiency, commercial food imports and international food aid; and (3) food management which in turn affects retailing, hunger rates and regulatory control. The precautionary principle is the baseline of the European Union and Centre's research; we continue to draw upon findings, the United States Food and Drug Administration has been compromised and has not properly looked out for the public interest of its citizens. In effect, via American hegemony, its influences have a wash on affect throughout many other parts of the world.
| SUSTAINABILITY HUMAN GEOGRAPHY ENVIRONMENT INTERDISCIPLINARY SOCIETAL STUDIES SOCIETY STUDIES RIGHTS SOCIOECONOMICS POLITICS OF FOOD GENDER POVERTY AND AID POLITICAL ECOLOGY GEOPOLITICS INSTITUTIONAL COLLABORATION  FOOD PRICE INDEX AND CORRELATING CORN ETHANOL PRODUCTION  COUNTRIES THAT COMMITTED TO THE RIGHT TO FOOD BY RATIFYING THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS |
