Security, Sovereignty, & Justice

November 2, 2008 by Katie Bezrouch
Filed under: Ecopolitics 
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Earlier this year, prices of food staples shot up 40 percent, marking the fastest rate of increase since 1990. The current recession is beginning to bear its weight on the spending choices of middle-class Americans, from big ticket items to weekly grocery lists. Twenty eight million citizens are now relying on food stamps to survive – a record high and a sure sign of increased poverty levels. Food riots have been increasingly occurring around the world due to the rising price of grain and fear of starvation. Our nation’s food security is already at risk, and while some people may be reluctant to come to terms with this reality, I think it’s time to take a more in-depth look into social food movements already battling these pressing sustenance issues.

Food security is arguably the most well known campaign of the three discussed here. The expression addresses the need to have accessible food for all people, is often used in international government organizations, and focuses on the technical problem of providing adequate nutrition. Food security advocates also aim to point out the direct relationship between food consumption and poverty, and stress the importance of individuals’ abilities to provide for their own food necessity.

Food Sovereignty appeals to a more specific school of thought. This movement emphasizes the importance of farmers gaining back control over their crops, and the “right of peoples to define their own food, agriculture, livestock and fisheries systems,”. The term was coined by members of Via Campesina, who established seven principles to characterize their crusade. Most notably is Agrarian Reform – “which gives landless and farming people – especially women – ownership and control of the land they work and returns territories to indigenous peoples.”

Food Justice (like Food Sovereignty) views food security as a basic human rights issue, and centers itself around this idea. Food Justice advocate Brahm Ahmadi believes that “in order to discuss issues of hunger one must also discuss the underlining issues of racial and class disparity and the inequities in the food system that correlate to inequities to economic and political power.” He goes on to say, “..(Food Justice) requires an approach in which social justice is a central outcome, rather than as an associated outcome that is merely hoped for”. The core of this movement can be most clearly understood by reading the Food Justice Manifesto, in which the authors most eloquently state: “That every human being has a fundamental right to healthy food and that we have a moral imperative to address the root causes of hunger and starvation.”

All of these social expeditions need to be explored further, and deserve more public attention. It is critical that all individuals, communities, and governments consider the actions and ideas of these groups when making food-related policies or decisions. If we continue to degrade our land and farmers, we may find ourselves stuck with a potentially irreversible global crisis. We need to start dismantling the oppressive food system that is currently in place, and work towards security, sovereignty, and justice together.

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Comments

3 Responses to “Security, Sovereignty, & Justice”

  1. Marie on November 2nd, 2008 5:39 pm

    thank you so much for writing this!

    [Reply]
  2. Jamie Lydon on November 2nd, 2008 11:47 pm

    I’ve never thought about food in this way. Thanks for making make a connection between food and social justice. You’ve just opened my eyes!

    [Reply]
  3. Laura on November 4th, 2008 2:42 pm

    It’s too bad that in the wake of a crisis people raise prices on commidities such as food rather than realizing that focus could and should be on helping, giving back. Help our communities during the recession rather than gaining on tragedy

    [Reply]