ITP South Building 6420

The pion-nucleon sigma term sigma_{pi N} is an important quantity in strong interaction phenomenology and in searches for physics beyond the Standard Model. After a broad introduction, I discuss its precise extraction from pion-nucleon scattering data based on Roy-Steiner equations. In this context, tensions with recent lattice determination of sigma_{pi N} are discussed. Then, I turn to the flavor decomposition of the sigma term and the question of strangeness in the nucleon. Using different variants of baryon chiral perturbation theory, I discuss our present understanding and future improvements.