The article “Whose Justice is it Anyway? Mitigating the Tensions Between Food Security and Food Sovereignty” brought attention to the readers the major approaches to fighting hunger. That is food security and sovereignty. The difference between the two is that food security focuses on the access to food while sovereignty focuses on how that food is distributed and produced. Both approaches aim to help people gain access to food, but they have different methods of getting there which causes tension.
Some of the main things I took away from this article was how both approaches are looked at as “opponents” with the common goal of getting access to food when in reality food sovereignty is a more holistic and in-depth approach to food security. Food security follows a ‘distributive justice model’, meaning it aims to make sure food is accessible through aid programs for example. While food sovereignty advocates for control of food systems to ensure it is produced and distributed correctly. This could be through a community, environmental or cultural approach.
Although they have the same goal, food sovereignty might cause detrimental effects to small farming businesses. This creates inequality in the system that gives power to these global markets forcing smaller businesses to depend on them. In my opinion I think it would be more beneficial to everyone if we don’t give power over to these big corporations to make decisions of local towns food security needs. Sure, it might help solve the problem but doing so it causes a bigger issue that cannot be fixed as easily.
I though this article did a great job touching on the point that the problem is never truly fixed even though it might seem that way. For example, if an area is having food insecurity and a larger agribusiness increases the supply it is only a short term fix. The main issue of food injustice is still not solved and will keep reoccurring. Articles like this help advocate for real solutions for food injustice. What we need is an environmentally sustainable solution that helps solve food insecurity within struggling communities but needs to stay within the community.
In order to move forward with this issue we need to not only give these communities access to food but ensure they have control over their future because big businesses won’t care for long term and sustainable solutions.
1 comment:
I agree with your observations on the injustices not being solved with large agribusiness. Community based food initiatives continue to show that it is possible to maintain local economy while also establishing food sovereignty.
It's also vital, as you pointed out, to remain focused and steadfast on our approach to a sustainable agricultural system. Big corporations are not inherently sustainable so their objectives won't be in favor of the land, the people working it, or the poeple ultimately consuming these foods. I know there are many community initiatives that work at filling the gaps where they can. Being active in these communities is a great starting point for everyone.
Post a Comment