Food sovereignty

Food sovereignty is a radical proposal for substantive change in the existing food regime. It is based on the right of peoples and countries to define their own agricultural and food policies. The concept of food sovereignty emerged from a discourse of ecological sustainability, agrarian citizenship, and alternatives to increasingly globalised and industrialised farming and food systems. This chapter explores the conceptual underpinnings of the food sovereignty movement, from its origins within La Via Campesina, to the 2007 Declaration of Nyéléni, and the embedding of food sovereignty discourse internationally, through food regime theory debates, and the relationship between food sovereignty, the ‘right to food’, and food security. The chapter explores critical debates and the realities of the food sovereignty paradigm for the maintenance and development of sustainable, productive, and diverse landscapes in complex socioeconomic and political contexts.