Food sovereignty

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A Growing Culture describes food sovereignty in their organization's vision, as the following: "Healthy, accessible, and culturally appropriate food is a human right. Living wages, living environments, living traditions are human rights. Dignity. Diversity. Culture. All human rights. These are the bedrock of the food sovereignty movement."


La Via Campesina definition of food sovereignty focuses on the rights of farmers/consumers and local communities to determine their food systems and control the resources needed to produce (like land, water and seeds). [1] The definition is based on 6 pillars: valuing food providers; localizing food systems; making decisions locally; building knowledge and skills; working with nature. Indigenous peoples added a seventh pillar, which is that food is sacred. [2]


Within food sovereignty are the concepts of “agroecology” and “food democracy”. Agroecology means practicing agriculture in harmony with the environment and the community. Food democracy refers to the inclusion of public and local participation in food sovereignty projects. [3]


The knowledge included on this page comes from:

  • A webinar on Indigenous food sovereignty and community led research hosted by Research for the Frontlines, featuring Tiffany Traverse and Waba Moko.
  • An instagram post on abolition and food justice by Rania El Mugammar, artist, abolitionist, social justice educator and consultant.
  • A summary of a literature review on food sovereignty by Marie-Camille Théorêt. You can read their full literature review HERE.

    • Food sovereignty is a climate justice issue

    Global agriculture is shaped by “neoliberalism”
    • Current agricultural practices contribute to 1/3 of global greenhouse emissions. Monoculture-farming models result in a loss of biodiversity. [4]

    Abuse of workers and the land

    • Farm workers are working in difficult conditions, and the land they are using has been exhausted by monoculture growing methods. [5]
    Erasure of Indigenous food systems
    • Indigenous traditional food systems have been almost erased through government policies. [6]
    • Climate change also impacts Indigenous food systems. 


    Further resources


    If you have any suggested revisions or additional resources to share related to the above content, please email them to kenzie@lehub.ca.


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    1. ↑ Desmarais, A. A., Claeys, P., & Trauger, A. (Eds.). (2017). Public policies for food sovereignty : social movements and the state (Ser. Routledge studies in food, society and the environment). Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group.
    2. ↑ Desmarais, A. A., Claeys, P., & Trauger, A. (Eds.). (2017). Public policies for food sovereignty : social movements and the state (Ser. Routledge studies in food, society and the environment). Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group.
    3. ↑ https://www.nfu.ca/campaigns/agroecology/
    4. ↑ Climate False Solutions. (2021). Hoodwinked in the hothouse: Resist false solutions to climate change. https://moodle.ubishops.ca/pluginfile.php/285048/mod_resource/content/1/HOODWINKED_ThirdEdition_On-Screen_version.pdf
    5. ↑ Eliason, A. (2021, December 21). Building local food pathways: Fodd sovereignty and climate justice Law & Political Economy. https://lpeproject.org/
    6. ↑ LaDuke, W. Hoover, E. (2019). Indigenous food sovereignty in the united states : restoring cultural knowledge, protecting environments, and regaining health. (D. A. Mihesuah & E. Hoover, Eds.) (Ser. New directions in native american studies, volume 18). University of Oklahoma Press.
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