Agricultural intensification, dietary diversity, and markets in the global food security narrative

Highlights: Many food security experts have been calling for agricultural intensification in developing countries to feed a growing global population. This narrative is based on a narrow view of food security focused on calories and neglects issues of dietary quality. Encouraging small farmers across the developing world to grow more staple crops more intensively may have unintended negative consequences on dietary quality. A more nuanced approach sensitive to local contexts and appreciative of foods other than staples may lead to alternative policy choices in many places.