International cooperation through official statistics on food security, the environment, climate change and poverty

The ongoing debate about the causes and effects of food price volatility, especially on the number of people living in poverty, is occurring at the same time there is increased concern about the effect of agriculture on the environment and global warming. Practices to increase food production have consequences on the environment and global warming. From a statistical point of view, these are issues that transcend national boundaries. International cooperation will be essential to resolve these issues; it is dependent on official statistics. This paper will describe statistical tools that could be used to describe the intertwined relationships between food price volatility, food security, poverty, the environment, and global warming. These statistical tools and outcomes need to be developed to provide results comparable across countries. The lessons learned from the well-known International Comparison Program will be applied to suggestions how to develop official statistics about the above issues to shape policy decisions across national boundaries.