This study contributes to the recent literature on geostrategic aspects of economic policy and
the objective of economic security by addressing food security as a subcategory within
economic security. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis and the Russian invasion of
Ukraine, this study analyses whether and how the relevance of food security as a national policy
goal has changed. It focuses on the questions of whether countries’ policy choices towards this
objective have initiated longer-term strategic shifts, rather than just acute reactions, and
analyses the extent to which these adjustments are influenced by underlying geopolitical
considerations. To answer these questions, developments in food security policies are
identified, focusing primarily on the perspective of security of supply. This perspective fits with
the recent political focus and current initiatives by many countries aiming at national economic
and supply security in general.
The approach of this paper is to observe the evolution of policy arrangements over time in seven
selected national country cases, one of which is the supranational entity, the European Union
(EU). This paper does not seek to identify the effectiveness of different approaches concerning
food security. Instead, it focuses on describing changes within three categories of food security
policy approaches: domestic food policy (including both agricultural support measures to
producers and domestic food aid programs for consumers); trade which can include market
liberalization measures (e.g. reduction of tariffs) and measures that lean toward national
autonomy and sovereignty (e.g. by setting standards); and crisis and emergency approaches
(e.g. monitoring and alert systems). The selected country cases – Brazil, China, the EU, Nigeria,
the Philippines, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States (US) – present a diverse set
of conditions in terms of their status of domestic food security and agricultural production,
economic strength, and food trade balance. Figure 1 provides an overview of the study
framework.