World Food Security - A History since 1945 by D. John Shaw provides the first comprehensive history of the numerous attempts made since the Second World War to provide food security for all. It shows not only the many ways in which attempts to achieve food and nutrition security unfolded, and the sequence in which they occurred, but also why they did not succeed, and what lessons can be drawn for the future.

At this ODI event, which took place on World Food Day, the author, D. John Shaw presented his research on the history of food security and Edward Clay, Senior Research Associate at ODI discussed the implications for current food security policy discussions.

D. John Shaw was associated with the United Nations World Food Programme for over thirty years, almost from the start of its operations in 1963, latterly as Economic Adviser and Chief of its Policy Affairs Service. He was also a Consultant to the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the World Bank. Previously, he was a postgraduate in Agricultural Economics at the University of Oxford, UK, Senior Lecturer in Rural Economy at the University of Khartoum, Sudan, and Fellow in Agricultural Economics and a founder member of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, UK. He has written extensively on development, food security and food aid issues and now serves on the International Editorial Board of the journal Food Policy.