Comprendre et maîtriser l'évolution de l'alimentation : que faut-il attendre des économistes ?

From the analysis of subsistence crisis, which illustrates the key issue of balance between consumption and resources, the work of economists have shown the decisive impact of progress in agricultural productivity on the level of caloric intakes and on the composition of the diet. The continued decline in food prices has improved the nutritional status of many, but it also has paradoxical effects: overconsumption in the developed world and malnutrition in poor and transition countries. Economists are doing their best to propose actions to solve these problems. Promoting local agricultural development appears increasingly as a pathway to address the eviction of small producers, the first victims of undernourishment. To stem the rise of overweight and obesity, interventions on the environment of food choices, inspired by behavioral economics, are proposed to complement the traditional economic measures through information and prices.