Food Sovereignity

2193 Words5 Pages

We live in a world that is increasingly becoming globalised but also in a world where only a few have a lot. This correlation is no coincidence and feeds back into the idea of capitalism and comparative advantages. This skewered power balance puts into perspective the need to control the masses, and what better way to do this then through the control of their most basic need: food. This perspective on why food insecurity is increasing will question the power over production and the political control over hunger. It will also consider how the breakdown and decentralistion of food systems can restore resilience back into marginalised communities through the movement of Food Sovereignty.

In order to understand how Food Sovereignty can add to the conventional definition of Food Security, we need to first analyse the common use of the term (FAO, 1996):
“People are considered food secure when they have at all times access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life.”

This description is further split into the three pillars of Food Security:
Food availability: sufficient quantities of food available on a constant basis.
Food access: having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet.
Food use: appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation.

This definition of Food Security came about at The World Food Summit of 1996, which was held in response to the growing problem of under nutrition and doubts as to whether agricultural methods, used at the time, had the capacity to feed the growing global population. Most recently, the World Summit on Food Security 2009 recognised that the problem of world hunger has worsened, wi...

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...e Resistance to Corporate Globalisation, Zed Books Ltd, Autralia. Pp. 178-188

Stuart, T. 2009, Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal, Penguin, London

Vandana, S. 2003, ‘Globalisation and Poverty’, in V Bennholdt-Thomsen (ed.), There is an Alternative: Subsistence and Worldwide Resistance to Corporate Globalisation, Zed Books Ltd, Autralia. pp. 57-65

Wilkins, J.L. 1996, Seasonality, Food Origin, and Food Preference: A Comparison between Food Cooperative Members and Nonmembers. Journal of Nutrition Education, pp.329-337

The World Development Movement (WDM). 2012, Food Sovereignty, Tricky Question Breifing, December 2012, p.1

Woods, K. 2013, The Politics of the Emerging Agro-Industrial Complex in Asia’s ‘Final Frontier’: The War on Food Sovereignty in Burma, Food Sovereignty A critical Dialogue, International Conference Yale University, September 14-15, 2013

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