Droit économique et sécurité alimentaire. Introduction

The recurrence of global food crisis requires us to think of an appropriate legal framework for the production and marketing of agricultural products. That is precisely the mission that was entrusted to the participants of this conference to whom two questions were asked beforehand. The first issue was to identify which measures may be taken by the States in order to protect access to food for population and according to what method of implementation. The second question was whether the States are best suited to intervene in the matter. In this very practical perspective, the objective was then to identify the legal instruments that would most effectively guarantee the imperative of food security. Besides the fundamental rights option, previously explored, the Nice colloquium was an opportunity to study how public policy related to food can impose itself in international relations, especially since food may (must ?) receive a specific qualification and an appropriate approach due to its primary vital function : to feed the world. In fact, these issues are torn between national laws conditioning national public policies and a body of international laws the purpose of which is to erase and limit the diversity of those national laws and policies. In order to find a balance between the ?global? and the ?local?, this paper points out the strategic objectives that ought to be phrased and the legal instruments that may meet them. There is no doubt that this instance is one where the law must redefine the role and the scope of the concept of globalization, striving to give its full place to the objective of food security without resorting to protectionist excesses.