Food as Security

Concerns over food security have emphasized food while appearing to give less attention to the meaning and significance of security. Consequently, the valuation and perceptions of food have not secured its place at the top of a state’s priorities and at the heart of development. Many states have already bargained food production for resource extraction in their quest for revenues and this bargain is now being made in Laos. Observation and analysis of this process reveal why food consistently comes second to resource extraction, leaving people facing the peril of food insecurity. Valuation and perceptions of food often overlook its special significance as the source of life, sustaining society and its security. Food is as critical to national security as resources such as oil, steel and rubber that often pre-empt it. Food security will improve with the recognition of food as security.