Whose justice is it anyways?

 I enjoyed reading about the distinction between "food security" and "food sovereignty." This was a concept that I had yet to hear about previously, and I had mostly heard food justice discussed through the lens of food security/neoliberalism. The core idea of food sovereignty is deeply rooted in the belief that communities have the right to shape their own food systems and agricultural policies. This emphasizes self-governance and challenges cultural imperialism and colonialism. Communities should have the power to shape their solutions to align with their specific cultural values, needs, etc. This connects to a documentary I watched last year called "Africa Rising." The documentary delves into the failures of Western aid programs in Ethiopia, which has extreme poverty, food insecurity, lack of infrastructure, desertification, etc. While billions and billions of Western aid dollars poured into Ethiopia, there were virtually no long-lasting results, and instead entire communities with a dependence on Western aid. Instead, a grassroots, local led movement taught 20 men and women skills such as sustainable farming, bricklaying, dam building, finance, etc, with the promise that those 20 men and women would teach another 20 men and women, who would teach another 20... and so on. The movement was astonishingly successful, with tens of thousands of people now growing cash crops, building and managing their own hospitals and schools, having surplus income, and most importantly food sovereignty. There is incredible power in movements that are for the people of the community by the people of the community. 

Another story this reading reminds me of is the documentary "the Man who Stopped the Desert." The documentary follows the life and accomplishments of Yacouba Sawadogo, a peasant farmer in Burkina Faso in the Sahel region of Africa. The Sahel region faces extreme food insecurity and political turmoil, with over 80% of the land lost to desertification. Similar to Ethiopia, the Sahel region has millions of dollars of aid pouring into it--with little to no results. Yacouba used indigenous techniques that defied the agricultural practices taught to Burkina Faso farmers by Western organizations, such as planting during the dry season, and adopted a traditional technique of "zai," which involves planting in deep pits and adding manure, ash, and termites as fertilizer. He also used indigenous techniques of rerouting and preserving water. His 30 acre tree farm is the most biodiverse farm in the Sahel region. Yacouba went on to teach his methods to farmers in his community and nearby towns and has led an indigenous regenerative ag revolution. This has greatly increased the economic security and food sovereignty in the area. This connects back to the paper's section on indigenous models of justice which is community and relationship centered, rather than individual and authority focused. As Melton (1995) states, 

    "The indigenous justice paradigm is based on a holistic philosophy… [where the] circle of justice that connects everyone involved with a problem or conflict on a continuum, with everyone focused on the same center. The center of the circle represents the underlying issues that need to be resolved to attain peace and harmony for the individuals and the community. The continuum represents the entire process, from disclosure of problems, to discussion and resolution, to making amends and restoring relationships. The methods used are based on concepts of restorative and reparative justice and the principles of healing and living in harmony with all beings and with nature."

Both of these stories are just a few examples of how coming together as a community to acknowledge problems, creating community-based solutions, and building relationships, as well as an interconnectedness with all living things and working with nature, can be incredibly successful at combating food insecurity.