As part of SESAME, the CMES's working group on Sustainability and Stewardship in North Africa and the Middle East, two researchers at the Haas Institute will speak about the global food system.
Nadia Barhoum: The Political Economy of Wheat in Egypt
By tracing the political economy of wheat in Egypt, we begin to understand the both the deep complexity and fragility of the food system and its impact within Egypt. Egypt imports more wheat than other country in the world and consumes more bread per person than any country in the world. Given this, how can we reevaluate the meaning of its 2011 revolution? This talk will explore the basic ingredients for Egypt's self-sufficiency, water and land, as well as the trade and aid policies that have pushed Egypt into a precarious cycle of dependency and instability.
Elsadig Elsheikh: The Political Economy of Financialization
By focusing on financialization of global food system, this talk is set to clarify such an intricate global phenomenon, and to assess its outcomes on the poor and marginalized population of the Global South. In doing so, the talk will shed light on the state of global economy that shaped by financialization on issues like land grab, seed monopoly, foreign debt crisis, inequitable outcomes of foreign direct investment, and increase vulnerability of Global South national economies in terms of natural resources sustainability vis-à-vis the crisis of food system and the climate.
