Covid-19 and Food Security

The Global Food Security Program is dedicated to producing time-sensitive and relevant information about food security during the pandemic. This webpage is the library for all Covid-19 and food security content from our Global Food Security experts. It includes CSIS events, commentaries, and briefs. As the crisis continues to unfold, and U.S. leadership must reckon with a Covid-19 recovery, we hope the information below will be useful to individuals and policymakers both within and beyond our borders.

Food Insecurity Crises at Home and Abroad: Why Biden Must Lead on Both

January 26, 2021 | Caitlin Welsh

There is no modern precedent for a food insecurity crisis plaguing the developing world and the United States at the same time. How the Biden administration responds to each will affect food security—and the U.S. reputation as a global leader—for decades.
 

The Pandemic and U.S. Food Systems 

COMMENTARY

What Is behind the Recent Rise in Global Food Prices?

August 3, 2021 | Chase Sova, Christian Man

The world is on pace for a record grain harvest this year. Yet global food prices are on the rise. What is driving up prices, why is today different than the 2007/8 food price crisis, and what are the implications for global stability?
 

CSIS VIDEO

Data Unpacked - America's Food Security Crisis

March 3, 2021

In the second episode of Data Unpacked, CSIS’s Caitlin Welsh breaks down growing food insecurity in the United States.

COMMENTARY

From Chronic to Crisis: How Malnutrition Makes Covid-19 Lethal

July 13, 2020 | Eilish Zembilci, Caitlin Welsh

Poor nutrition among communities of color is not a twenty-first century phenomenon, but the result of centuries of imbalances in economic, political, and social power, which trap communities in cycles of poverty and poor health.
 

CRITICAL QUESTIONS

Covid-19 and the U.S. Food System

May 21, 2020 | Caitlin Welsh

The Covid-19 pandemic has rocked global supply chains. What is the impact of the pandemic on U.S. food systems and important considerations for a post-pandemic food industry? 

podcast episode

Sold Out of Meat

May 6, 2020 | H. Andrew Schwartz, Caitlin Welsh

As meat plants close across the country, the overall risk of food insecurity increases, both in the United States and abroad. Disruptions in markets and transportation exacerbate these risks.
 

Project

Covid-19 and Food Security: What You Need to Know

April 24, 2020 | Caitlin Welsh, Christian Man, Eilish Zembilci

The Global Food Security team answered the most pressing questions during the onset of the pandemic about the impact of Covid-19 on global food systems and how to keep you and your family safe.

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Global Impacts

Artice

Covid-19: A Turning Point for Urban Food Security

February 4, 2021 | Caitlin Welsh

Covid-19 may be a turning point, resulting in a global food security agenda that embraces the realities of urban food insecurity and tailors interventions to meet city residents’ unique needs.
 

COMMENTARY

A New Covid-19 Mantra? ‘Nobody Is Safe until Everybody is Fed’

December 4, 2020 | Chase Sova

The Covid-19 "mission of the century" may not be about a vaccine alone. Malnourishment can affect vaccine efficacy so we may require a new mantra: “nobody is safe until everybody is fed.”
 

PAST EVENT

Online Event: Global Food Supply Chains: An Early Assessment of Covid-19 Impacts

October 2, 2020

Covid-19 caused a multitude of food systems-wide shocks, including disruptions to global food supply chains. This news makes headlines, but what is the true extent of these disruptions?
 

PAST EVENT

Online Event: Covid-19 Through the Migration Lens

July 9, 2020

In partnership with FAO, this event explores how the pandemic has put a spotlight on the vital contribution of migrants to the global economy, and how this will impact food security during Covid-19.
 

PAST EVENT

Humanitarian Operations during Covid-19: A Conversation with David Beasley of the World Food Programme

June 19, 2020

This online event explores how the World Food Programme is adapting and responding to the pandemic with a focus on near-term challenges to food security and current strategies being implemented.
 

PAST EVENT

Online Event: Mitigating Africa’s and Asia’s Locust Infestation amid the Covid-19 Pandemic

April 29, 2020

This event, in partnership with FAO, closely examines the locust infestations and emergency responses, as well as identifies necessary policy actions to safeguard food security.
 

COMMENTARY

Covid-19 Threatens Global Food Security: What Should the United States Do?

April 22, 2020 | Julie Howard, Emmy Simmons

In low and middle-income countries, Covid-19 is estimated to double the amount of people who face food insecurity. Economic downturn, border shutdowns, and job losses all pose further threats to these countries throughout the course of the virus.