Nutritional Security during the Crisis Years 2004-2014: Can Egypt expand fresh produce in a regional Food Desert?

Nutritional security, as both a development goal and theoretical construct, is becoming increasingly important in the Middle East region. It is often defined by what it is not: hunger, dietary inadequacy and the conditions leading to malnutrition. Though nutritional security is analogous to the more prominent concept of food security, improving nutrition consists of more than merely obtaining the right number of calories to avoid starvation. It is also about the quality of food. Expanding upon the concept of “food deserts” that has appeared elsewhere in the food policy literature, it is argued here that food deserts do not only exist as a metaphor in the Middle East, but as a real production constraint. This study investigates how Gulf countries are likely to affect the food regimes of neighbouring countries by investing in staple foods over nutritionally enhancing ones. Focusing on examples of institutional developments in Qatar, the UAE and Egypt over the last decade, this paper examines some of the leading motivations behind regional investments in food security. It was found that programs established in the name of food security in the Gulf countries have had mixed effects on nutritional outcomes in Egypt due to enhanced staple crop production in the country.

Christopher Yordy is a PhD candidate, SPPA, at Carleton University.