Food Sovereignty, Food Security, and Sustainable Food Production

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on empirical research that contributes to the interdisciplinary study of food sovereignty, food security, and sustainable food production.

Producing food in an environmentally, economically, and socially acceptable manner to meet the increasing demands of a growing population is a grand challenge for agricultural production. Sustainable food production balances people, planet, and profit, though stakeholders often have different interpretations about acceptable trade-offs between the three dimensions.

Social and natural scientists often point to the World Food Summit’s 1996 definition of “food security” as a goal that is synchronous with achieving a sustainable food system. However, there are clear downsides associated with this definition that essentially advocates for increasing agricultural yield with fewer inputs and simply producing more food. In recent years, the food sovereignty movement has gained traction to address the gaps associated with a strict “food security” approach. Food sovereignty prioritizes equitable access to resources, diversified commodity production, fair labour practices, democratic deliberation between consumers and producers, and the basic right to food for all. To date, most food sovereignty work focuses on the political framework and social activism surrounding “the peasant movement”, so most publications have been theoretical. Empirical food sovereignty studies are only beginning to emerge.

In this Special Issue, the scope of contributions may include (but are not limited to) disciplines such as agronomy, soil and water science, environmental and ecological sciences, geography, anthropology, applied economics, sociology, and political science. Interdisciplinary studies and trans-disciplinary research are also welcome. Research methods may include a variety of qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods research approaches, and authors should provide a detailed discussion of the research methodologies employed so as to appeal to an interdisciplinary audience. Perhaps most importantly, authors should convey to readers how their study results contribute to the food security and food sovereignty literature.

References:

Bacon, C.M., Ernesto Mendez, V., Gómez, M.E.F., Stuart, D. and Flores, S.R.D., 2008. Are sustainable coffee certifications enough to secure farmer livelihoods? The millennium development goals and Nicaragua's Fair Trade cooperatives. Globalizations, 5(2), pp.259-274.

Binimelis, R., Rivera-Ferre, M.G., Tendero, G., Badal, M., Heras, M., Gamboa, G. and Ortega, M., 2014. Adapting established instruments to build useful food sovereignty indicators. Development Studies Research. An Open Access Journal, 1(1), pp.324-339.

Shaw, D.J. 2007. “World Food Summit, 1996.” World Food Security, 347–60.

Wittman, H., A.A. Desmarais & N. Wiebe (eds). 2010. Food Sovereignty: Reconnecting Food, Nature and Community. Winnipeg: Halifax Publishing.

Wittman, H., Beckie, M. and Hergesheimer, C., 2012. Linking local food systems and the social economy? Future roles for farmers' markets in Alberta and British Columbia. Rural Sociology, 77(1), pp. 36-61.

Prof. Dr. Catherine Keske
Guest Editor

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• food sovereignty
• sustainable food systems