Economics of Feeding the Hungry

As productivity expands to cater for population increase and shifting diets, many individuals remain hungry, whilst others suffer obesity, and significant amounts of food are wasted. Yet, this triple dilemma oversimplifies the underlying complexity. This book explores this complexity from an economics perspective, looking at the processes involved and the institutional structures that direct and constrain their interaction.


After discussing alternative approaches to measuring hunger and food insecurity, this volume considers the four dimensions of food security: availability, affordability, utilization and stability. In summarising the main debates, issues and policy interventions, Russell discusses the problems of ensuring sufficient food in the face of ever-slowing growth in productivity and constraints on land and water. The problems of food affordability, the need for safety nets, and the need for poverty alleviation measures that reach excluded and disadvantaged groups is also discussed. This is alongside an exploration of issues related to food utilization and the problems of hidden hunger, obesity, food waste, and the interventions needed to relieve these problems.


This volume is of great interest to those who study rural development, ecological economics and development economics, as well as policy makers who seek a better understanding of underlying processes, ongoing and emerging issues, and potentially relevant interventions.