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The ways we frame food security have shifted in the past decades, and so have policy debates. On the one hand, it is suggested that concerted efforts are needed to substantially increase food production to face the combined pressures of growing populations and environmental degradation, including the impacts of climate change (Foresight, 2011; Godfray et al., 2010). On the other hand, it is pointed out that while the absolute number of hungry people has declined in recent years, we are now facing a crisis of malnutrition with growing numbers of overweight and obese individuals and–often within the same household–a high proportion of malnourished children (GPAFSN, 2016).

The shift from a predominant concern with quantity and the supply of food, to a growing concern with quality and the access to and utilisation of food reflects the fact that the world’s population is now predominantly one of food consumers …