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Food security forms a constituent part of the right to food and represents an integral and well-established part of the concept of Non-Trade Concerns. The concept of food security is rather complex, and it might be analyzed from various angles. The chapter “The Development of Global Justice and Sustainable Development Principles in the WTO Multilateral Trading System through the Lens of Non-Trade Concerns: An Appraisal on China´s Progress” in the book “China´s Influence on Non-Trade Concerns in International Economic Law” written by Paolo Davide Farah provides an illustrative account of various aspects relevant to the topic of food security. One perspective that is often not straightforward is that food security might be perceived also as a concern of national security. These issues become more visible when a country is integrated into global governance frameworks, such as the World Trade Organization, and needs to accept certain requirements, including the undertaking of trade liberalization measures and the opening of the agricultural sector. The acceding States are then confronted with a challenge to meet the criteria and requirements of the World Trade Organization, while at the same time they also need to protect their own farmers and indigenous agricultural sector. A completely unrestrained liberalization might prove fatal for domestic agricultural sectors, which might not be able to cope with foreign competitors. For instance, to alleviate the negative impact of globalization in the agricultural sector, China after its accession to the World Trade Organization adopted a package of measures to protect and support its farmers and domestic agricultural sector. These steps included also the adoption of measures aimed at modernization of agricultural sector. Another angle of the discussion about the concept of food security is illustrated also by the fact that the importance of food security and the right to food is recognized equally by various countries with different political regimes and different approaches to human rights. For instance, China is a country with a very restrained approach to the concept of universal human rights. However, it was quite open to the visit of the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations focusing on the right to food. Developments like this one might be seen as a signal of a proper and progressive realization of food security and the right to food not only in China but worldwide.
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