Current food security paradigms often examine food availability in a manner that focuses exclusively on global factors or local institutional arrangements without critically examining the links between the two. The Global Value Chain (GVC) framework allows for a holistic approach to studies of food security by allowing researchers to examine commodities through production, distribution, and retailing activities. The approach demonstrates not only the importance of firms and other actors involved in commodity lifecycles, but also investigates the various governance structures that impact trade and food systems. This brief compares the GVC approach to understanding food security with more traditional approaches and identifies how GVC analysis allows researchers to identify and investigate important food security challenges facing MENA, particularly the issues of governance and international trade.
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