The direct regulation of prices for vegetable oil, sugar, and bread has helped to stop their growth, however it has not resulted in halting food inflation as a whole. Restrictive measures on wheat exports have led to world prices growth but when put into effect they can reduce prices for the...

The number of hungry in the world has crossed the one billion mark, a dubious milestone that has been attributed in large part to consecutive food and economic crises. Over ninety-eight percent of these individuals live in the developing world. Ironically, a great majority are involved in food...

The seed sector has become a subject of attention, debate, and even controversy with the development of genetically modified (GM) crops. However, this sector is generally rather poorly known. A new paper aims to take stock of the economy of GM seeds in order to better understand the structure of...

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) produce long-term agricultural projections for key indicators of agricultural commodities. These baseline projections...

The issue of climate change has at long last made its way into mainstream policy discussions in the United States. However, the focus both in the United States and internationally has been on reducing energy production and transportation emissions. This has led the media, policy makers and the...

Hamilton’s essay begins with a reflection on food and society. He writes of the effect of modernization and industry on the relationship America has with food. What once was a centerpiece of our economic independence, family life, and health is now merely an afterthought. Quality and trust in...

During the last two decades an increasing amount of large-scale farming operations have emerged all over the world: from (Eastern) Europe, to South America, China and the countries of the Former Soviet Union. These agribusinesses go under the name of mega-farms or agroholdings: horizontally or...

The increased share of horticultural crops in the world economy of agricultural production is due to the role that grapes, fruits and vegetables have in the rational nutrition of man and in increasing the national income of the cultivating countries, as well as in improving the microclimatic...