Mariah Ehmke

In 2020 the Nobel Peace Prize went to the World Food Program for their work to reduce hunger and bring peace through improved food security. This noteworthy prize highlights centuries of work by humanitarian and government agencies to bring and end to global hunger.

 

President Dwight Eisenhower called for the formation of the World Food Program after World War II. Today, the formation of the United Nations and World Food Program have transformed the role of food aid in society. While food security is viewed as a basic human right, it is also used as a weapon and political weapon between nations. 

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As global citizens, it is our duty to understand the economy relationships underpinning food security and nutrition in the world. In AGEC 3860, we begin with an overview of global food systems and geographic regions where hunger and malnutrition flourish. We then study the economic relationships driving these developments and conduct case studies across different areas of the developing world. By the end of the semester, each student has the opportunity to develop a policy proposal to alleviate hunger and agricultural production inefficiencies for a specific area of the world.