Food Security and Economic Growth: an Asian perspective.

This article presents information regarding the situation of food security and economic growth in Asia. That rich countries have little to fear from hunger is a simple consequence of Engel's Law, consumers have a substantial buffer of non-food expenditures to rely on, even if food prices rise sharply. In a market economy, the rich do not starve. Wars, riots, hurricanes and floods, for example, can disrupt the smooth functioning of markets, and all in their wake can perish. But rich societies usually have the means to prevent or alleviate such catastrophes, social or natural. Food security in rich societies is simply part of a broader net of social securities.