The concept of FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

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The concept of FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

• Alexandra Strickner, astrickner_at_iatp.org

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The concept of Food Sovereignty(Definition of
Nyeleni meeting, 2007 Via Campesina)

• Food Sovereignty is
• the right of people to healthy and culturally
  appropriate food
• produced through ecologically sound and
  sustainable methods and
• their right to define their own food and
  agriculture systems.

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Six principles of Food Sovereignty

• 1. Focuses on Food for People
• Right to sufficient, healthy, culturally
  appropriate food for all at centre of food,
  agriculture, livestock and fisheries policies
• Rejects proposition that food is just another
  commodity or component for international
  agri-business

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Six principles of Food Sovereignty

• 2. Values Food Providers
• Values and supports the contributions and
  respects the rights of women and men, peasants
  and small scale family farmers, artisanal
  fisherfolk etc. who cultivate, grow, harvest and
  process food
• Rejects policies, actions and programmes that
  undervalue them and threaten their livlihood

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Six principles of Food Sovereignty

• 3. Localises Food Systems
• Brings food providers and consumers closer
  together, puts providers and consumers at the
  centre of decision-making on food issues,
  protects food providers from dumping of food and
  food aid in local markets
• Rejects governance structures, agreements and
  parctices that promote unsustainable and
  inequitable international trade and give power to
  remote and unaccountable corporations

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Six principles of Food Sovereignty

• 4. Puts Control Locally
• Places control over territory, land, water,
  seeds, livestock and fish populations on local
  food providers and respects their rights.
  Promotes positive interaction between food
  providers in different regions and territories
• Rejects the privatisation of natural resources
  throught laws, commercial contracts and
  intellectual property rights regimes

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Six principles of Food Sovereignty

• 5. Builds Knowledge and Skills
• Builds on skills and local knowledge of food
  providers and their local organisation that
  conserve, develop and manage localised food
  production and harvesting sytems and developing
  appropriate research systems to support this
• Rejects technologies that undermine, threaten or
  contaminate these, e.g. genetic engineering

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Six principles of Food Sovereignty

• 6. Works with Nature
• Uses the contributions of nature in diverse, low
  external input agroecological production and
  harvesting methods that maximise the contribution
  of ecosystems and improve resilience and
  adaptation, especially in the face of climate
  change
• Rejects methods that harm ecosystem functions,
  that depend on energy intensive monocultures and
  livestock factories, destructive fishing
  practices etc. which damage the environment and
  contribute to global warming.

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What agriculture, trade and energy policies are
needed?

• A multilateral trading system that supports Food
  Sovereignty and promotes just trade relations
  No to Global Europe!
• Energy policies that put reduction of energy
  consumption at the heart, promotion of locally
  controlled biomass economies - No to EU Agrofuels
  Targets!
• Fighting for a CAP (and more generally food
  policies) that favors sustainable local food,
  fuel and fiber production and consumption

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