Food Sovereignty

by Wittman, Hannah Kay; Desmarais, Annette Aurelie; Wiebe, Nettie

• ISBN13: 9780935028379
• ISBN10: 0935028374
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-11-02
• Publisher: Food First Books

Summary

Around the world, people are resisting the environmental, social and political destruction perpetuated by the industrial agricultural system. This resistance has led to a new and radical agricultural practice amongst peasant and farmer organizations: food sovereignty. Food sovereignty aims to provide for the food needs of all people while respecting the principles of environmental sustainability, local empowerment and agrarian citizenship. Concerned not only with local food production but also with fundamental social change, food sovereignty aims to transform the industrial agricultural system. Bringing together internationally recognized experts in the field, this book critically engages contemporary debates concerning food sovereignty while exploring new research directions. This exceptional collection examines the historical rise of the industrial agricultural system, outlines the environmental and social consequences of this system and gives voice to the peasant movements that are planting the seeds of a revolution that could fundamentally alter our relationship with food - and with each other. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Hannah Wittman is an assistant professor of sociology and Latin American studies at Simon Fraser University. Annette Aurlie Desmarais was a cattle and grain farmer for 14 years. She is now associated professor of international studies at the University of Regina. Nettie Wiebe is an organic farmer and professor of ethics at St. Andrew's College, University of Saskatchewan.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vii
Acronyms	p. viii
Editors & Contributors	p. ix
The Origins & Potential of Food Sovereignty	p. 1
Initiating the Food Sovereignty Concept	p. 2
The Scope of Food Sovereignty	p. 4
Broadening the Struggle for Food Sovereignty	p. 5
Exploring Key Aspects of Food Sovereignty	p. 9
Notes	p. 12
References	p. 12
Framing Resistance: International Food Regimes & the Roots of Food Sovereignty	p. 15
Conceptual Framework: Food Regimes & Neoliberalization	p. 16
Frames for the "Free World": The Right to Food & Freedom from Hunger	p. 19
Regime Crisis & Reconceptualization: The Emergence of Food Security	p. 21
Individual Access, Neoliberal Means: The Transition to Household Food Security	p. 24
Counterframe for the Corporate Food Regime: The Food Sovereignty Movement	p. 26
The Potential of Food Sovereignty	p. 28
References	p. 31
Seeing Like a Peasant: Voices from La Vía Campesina	p. 33
Note	p. 44
"Drawing Forth the Force that Slumbered in Peasants' Arms": The Economist, High Agriculture & Selling Capitalism	p. 45
A Land without Peasants	p. 46
The Mythical Benefits of Enclosure	p. 47
"The Superstitious Worship of S's Name"	p. 51
"A Business to Be Undertaken by Capitalists"	p. 54
From Liberalism to Neoliberalism	p. 58
References	p. 59
Capitalist Agriculture, the Food Price Crisis & Peasant Resistance	p. 62
A Perfect Storm?	p. 63
The Agrofuel Factor	p. 64
Structural Adjustment & Trade Liberalization	p. 66
Eroding the Mexican Countryside	p. 66
Creating a Rice Crisis in the Philippines	p. 67
Destroying African Agriculture	p. 68
Capitalism versus the Peasant	p. 69
Resistance	p. 71
The Conjuncture	p. 73
Note	p. 74
References	p. 74
Agrofuels & Food Sovereignty: Another Agrarian Transition	p. 76
Agrofuels Myths	p. 77
The Agrofuels Boom	p. 80
The Agrofuels Transition	p. 85
Food Sovereignty: From Extraction to Redistribution	p. 86
References	p. 87
Reconnecting Agriculture & the Environment: Food Sovereignty & the Agrarian Basis of Ecological Citizenship	p. 91
Technology, Efficiency & the Separation of Nature from Agriculture	p. 91
Agrarian Citizenship as an Alternative Agroecological Rationality	p. 94
Food Sovereignty: Enacting Agrarian Citizenship	p. 96
The Campaign against Green Deserts	p. 97
The Seed Sovereignty Campaign	p. 99
Conclusion	p. 102
Notes	p. 104
References	p. 104
Food Sovereignty & Redistributive Land Policies: Exploring Linkages, Identifying Challenges	p. 106
Land-Based Social Relations, Not "Things"	p. 108
Dynamics of Reform	p. 109
Struggles around Land Policies & Food Sovereignty	p. 112
Struggling for Food Sovereignty in Politically Consolidated Lands	p. 113
References	p. 118
Scaling Up Agroecological Approaches for Food Sovereignty in Latin America	p. 120
Small Farmers are Key	p. 121
Enhancing the Productivity of Small-Farm Systems through Agroecology	p. 125
Rural Social Movements & Agroecology	p. 128
Outlook & Prospects	p. 129
References	p. 132
Unearthing the Cultural & Material Struggles over Seed in Malawi	p. 134
A Brief History of Seeds & Agriculture in Malawi	p. 135
Seeds as Multiple Sites of Struggles over Sovereignty	p. 136
Social Practices Linking Maize & Groundnut Seed to Food Sovereignty	p. 140
Conclusion	p. 147
Notes	p. 147
References	p. 148
Seed Sovereignty: The Promise of Open Source Biology	p. 152
The Erosion of Farmers' Seed Sovereignty: The Privatization of Biodiversity	p. 153
Resisting Exclusion, Creating Alternatives?	p. 155
Open Source Movements: From Software to Wetware	p. 157
A BioLinux for Seeds?	p. 160
Pursuing Seed Sovereignty	p. 164
Note	p. 165
References	p. 165
Food Sovereignty in Movement: Addressing the Triple Crisis	p. 168
Food Sovereignty	p. 172
Adaptation	p. 174
Seed Politics	p. 177
Energy Security	p. 179
Conclusion	p. 180
Notes	p. 182
References	p. 183
What Does Food Sovereignty Look Like?	p. 186
The Etymology of "Food Sovereignty"	p. 186
Big Tents & Rights Talk	p. 189
Hannah Arendt & the Right to Have Rights	p. 191
The Trace of Partial University in La Vía Campesina	p. 193
Notes	p. 195
References	p. 195
The Right to Produce and Access to Land: Food Sovereignty: A Future without Hunger	p. 197
Our World is not for Sale: Priority to Peoples' Food Sovereignty	p. 200
Index	p. 208
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