Food security: A challenge for a global governance

The authors’ reflection develops from the consideration that the growth of the world population along with the more than proportional increase in food consumption (an effect of the increase in incomes) will determine a consistent increase in cultivated products demand. It will be then necessary, at a global level, to increase the number of cultivated surfaces, and to introduce technological innovations that will allow for an increased production.The World Population Prospects 2014 shows that the world population increase of more than 2 billion expected by 2050 will not be uniform. In fact, such increase will be more concentrated in the less developed countries, that is exactly where food demands will grow more than proportionally. This undesirable trend in population and consumption distribution represents since now a crucial issue for international actors.The food security objective—while theoretically achievable through a significant increase in the production of cultivated products—would have dramatically negative effects on environmental equilibriums. A further, irreversible loss of biodiversity and the definite damage of the ecosystem are among such effects. The international community is still far from adopting a global strategy to deal with these issues: food security is one of the most important challenges that such community must face in the near future.