Food sovereignty is a human right 235
Food Sovereignty is a Human Right
All people have the right to food that is safe, healthy, and culturally acceptable
to them. Food sovereignty is the right to determine our own food systems, and
make sure every community has food security.
Vía Campesina promotes people’s control of food
Many smallholder farmers do not earn fair prices for their crops. One reason
for this is that the rules of international trade benefit rich nations and large
landholders. Often, farmers cannot get fair prices, even in local markets,
because imported foods are cheaper. This forces farmers to sell at lower prices
and drives them deeper into debt, poverty, and hunger.
In response to this problem, farmers in many countries joined together to
form a movement called Vía Campesina (‘The Peasant Way’ in Spanish). Vía
Campesina brings many farmer organizations together to strengthen farmers’
ability to earn fair prices, to preserve land and water resources, and to have
control over how food is produced and distributed. For Vía Campesina, food
security can be achieved only through food sovereignty — when farmers and
peasants have the right to decide what foods they produce and how much
to sell them for, and when consumers have the right to decide what they
consume and who they buy it from.
In some places, Vía Campesina pressures politicians and corporations to
respond to the demands of local farmers’ unions. In other places they support
landless farmers working to reclaim unused farmlands. They also help build
local institutions that distribute food fairly to those most in need.
When a huge earthquake and tsunami (a massive tidal wave) struck
Indonesia in 2005, most of the people affected by the disaster were
farmers and fishers. Vía Campesina provided aid, but rather than simply
bringing food and other materials from outside the area, they worked
with local organizations to buy food, tools, and other materials from
local small producers. They raised important issues such as the origin of
food aid (whether it was local or imported), the way farm reconstruction
would happen (whether it promoted family based production or large food
corporations), and how to strengthen local organizations (not make them
dependent on aid).
Most of the money Vía Campesina raised was used for long-term
reconstruction, such as rebuilding houses and fishing boats, making new tools
for farmers and fishers, and restoring farm lands to production. By focusing
on the self-reliance of the people affected by the disaster, Vía Campesina
promoted not just short-term recovery, but long-term food sovereignty.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012