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Food Sovereignty

Mar 65 min read

Updated: Mar 8

Food Sovereignty is a fairly young movement, and if you haven’t heard of the term before, it was first coined by the organisation La Via Campesina in 1996 and can be defined as “the right of Peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.” 


The movement places food and agricultural systems and policies in the hands of those who produce, distribute and consume the food so that they may reflect their ideals rather than those of big business and corporations, instilling confidence in knowing how their food is grown and where it comes from. It places an emphasis on small and local business, and prioritises the wellbeing of generations to come by integrating principles of ecological sustainability and longevity of culture, customs and craft. 


The pillars used to outline Food Sovereignty include:

1. Focuses on food for people- every person has a right to healthy, culturally appropriate food which is understood to be more than a commodity.


2. Builds knowledge and skills- supports and builds on traditional, indigenous and sustainable methods with modern technology to pass onto future generations and avoid technologies that compromise local food systems.


3. Works with nature- works with diverse agroecological systems that encourage biodiversity and resilience in the face of climate change. 


4. Values food providers- Respects all who are involved in food production and provision, and support their sustainability as both work and a way of life.


5. Localises food systems- Keeps the distance between food providers limited in order to limit waste, make producers and consumers focal to the system and avoid dependence on large unaccountable organisations. 


6. Puts control locally- Maintains local control over territories and food systems, and rejects privatisation of natural resources. 


Food Sovereignty
Food Sovereignty. Source: Shado-mag.com

Food Sovereignty continues to be a growing movement and in 2007, more than 500 participants from over 80 countries congregated in Mali to strengthen and expand on the global Food Sovereignty movement. The participants hailed from organisations representing farming, fishing, indigenous peoples, landless peoples, rural workers, migrants, pastoralists, forest communities, women, youth, consumers, environmental and urban movements. This resulted in the Declaration of Nyeleni which solidified the definition of Food Sovereignty and stipulated that they “are deepening (their) collective understanding of food sovereignty and learned about the reality of the struggles of our respective movements to retain autonomy and regain our powers” with the intention to progress the movement with more clarity and intention to achieve tangible global change. The declaration outlined the changes they wish to see, the current systems they intend to avoid and diminish, and what actions they intend to take in order to achieve this. 


Many years later, and having lived through the Covid-19 pandemic in one of the most effected cities in the world, our limited sources and lack of control over the food industry had never been so clear and therefore, the Food Sovereignty movement has never been so relevant. In a time of seemingly indefinite uncertainty we were and continue to be subjected to a supermarket duopoly of price gouging while farmers are left unable to sell their products because they don’t look the part for the shelves, and consumers struggle to keep up with grocery bills and the broader impact of inflation and cost of living crisis. 


An important distinction to make to understand the movement is the difference between food access and Food Sovereignty. Food security refers to the access to food as a commodity that ensures nourishment and avoids hunger which occurs as a result of lack of production and distribution, without emphasis on how each of those processes occur. Whereas Food Sovereignty sees food as a basic human right, and hunger as a result of poor food governance and distribution, and therefore focuses on empowering and authorising producers and consumers as the focal point of the system and encouraging relations between local businesses, community and nature to see the system thrive. 


An important component of Food Sovereignty outlines the concept in relation to culturally relevant foods of indigenous peoples. Historically, the injustices that many indigenous populations have fallen victim to has resulted in food insecurity and a loss of resources that are required to sustain their own food systems, culture and agricultural practice. The sequelae of impact that has transpired from displacing or eradicating the foods of indigenous peoples has lead to reduced access to food, less economical healthy food options, encouraging the consumption of unhealthy foods and imbalanced diets. Although this is not limited to indigenous populations, they are known to be at higher risk of chronic diseases and poor health outcomes for this reason, among others. Food Sovereignty focuses on revitalising food related resources and systems in order to increase access to healthy and culturally relevant food, continue the practice of cultural crafts, and to be able to sustain these systems autonomously. It has also been emphasised as a way to heal culture as a result of hundreds of years of injustice and compromise to cultural practices and ways of life. 


Food Sovereignty is important in having confidence in knowing where your food is coming from, how it is being produced and what you are consuming. Just like any other person, this is important for people living with dysphagia. Many people who live with dysphagia and their carers or family choose to eat ready made meals to take the time and effort out of food preparation, although this is not unique to this population. In a context where food options are already limited for people with dysphagia, it is important that the same access to food, choice and control, and justice are privy to every individual. 


Some things that the Food Sovereignty movement and The Fourth Place have in common are that we are both driven to empower people and build autonomy through relationship with food. We believe that preserving culture, craft and expressing creativity can all be explored through food production and consumption and that access to food is a human right that should be shared equally and equitably. Most importantly, these reasons are why both believe that one (or many) can find healing of all kinds through their relationship with food, emphasising the importance of Food Sovereignty not just as an economic and political movement but as a psychosocial and sociocultural one that can bring a wealth of positive change to our communities.


Sources:

Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance https://afsa.org.au/ 

Declaration of Nyeleni (2007) https://nyeleni.org/IMG/pdf/DeclNyeleni-en.pdf 

Food sovereignty: An inclusive model for feeding the world and cooling the planet https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590332223001975 

Friends of the Earth International https://www.foei.org/what-we-do/food-sovereignty/ 





 
 

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