Book Launch: The Global Farms Race — Land Grabs, Agricultural Investment, and the Scramble for Food Security

The Wilson Center’s Asia Program and Environmental Change and Security Program present a book launch for: The Global Farms Race: Land Grabs, Agricultural Investment, and the Scramble for Food Security Featuring: Michael Kugelman, Senior Program Associate for South and Southeast Asia, The Wilson Center Derek Byerlee, Independent Scholar and Adviser Gary R. Blumenthal, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Perspectives, Inc. Janet Larsen, Director of Research, Earth Policy Institute The world has entered into a new phase of the global food crisis. Wealthy food-importing countries and private investors are racing to acquire huge swaths of farmland abroad. Nearly 230 million hectares—an area equivalent to the size of Western Europe—have been sold or leased since 2001, with most of these transactions occurring since 2008. The Global Farms is the first book to examine this trend in all its complexity, considering the implications for investors, host countries, and the world as a whole. This launch will feature presentations from book contributors and other experts.