Expanding and defending women’s rights and eradicating women’s oppression have become key to La Via Campesina and its conceptualization and practice of food sovereignty. In this paper, we analyze how gender equality and feminism have... more
Expanding and defending women’s rights and eradicating women’s oppression have become key to La Via Campesina and its conceptualization and practice of food sovereignty. In this paper, we analyze how gender equality and feminism have gained momentum within the movement, and how the work on gender issues configures a feminist politics and praxis at the global level. As LVC celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, we examine what difference women’s decades-long struggles have made within the movement, especially since 1996, and how these have shaped the movement’s politics, both organizationally and politically. We argue that women’s activism has contributed to radicalizing food sovereignty with a feminist perspective.
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This chapter discusses the emergence and evolution of food sovereignty as a vision, political project and social movement. We distinguish food sovereignty from food security and the right to food, while demonstrating that the relationship... more
This chapter discusses the emergence and evolution of food sovereignty as a vision, political project and social movement. We distinguish food sovereignty from food security and the right to food, while demonstrating that the relationship between these concepts is contested and constantly evolving. We also provide a brief overview of scholarly debates on food sovereignty by summarizing several key critiques and challenging questions that academics and activists are grappling with when analyzing its potential, politics and limitations. We argue that food sovereignty is about a whole lot more than food and agriculture. It is nothing less than an emancipatory political project for radical social change.
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Cada vez más se reconoce que el acaparamiento de tierras es un fenómeno global. En Canadá los inversionistas están especialmente interesados en las tierras de Saskatchewan, la provincia donde se encuentra el 40 por ciento de la tierra... more
Cada vez más se reconoce que el acaparamiento de tierras es un fenómeno global. En Canadá los inversionistas están especialmente interesados en las tierras de Saskatchewan, la provincia donde se encuentra el 40 por ciento de la tierra agrícola del país. Este artículo examina cómo el contexto político, económico y legal neoliberal ha cambiado y configurado los patrones de la propiedad de la tierra entre 2002 y 2014 en Saskatchewan. Nuestra investigación indica que la cantidad de tierra en propiedad de inversionistas se multiplicó en 16 veces en ese período. La concentración de la propiedad de la tierra también está en aumento; y la proporción de tierra en propiedad de los cuatro terratenientes privados más grandes se multiplicó en seis veces. Nuestra metodología aborda algunas de las críticas levantadas en la literatura sobre el acaparamiento de tierras. Al usar información sobre los títulos de tierra, hemos identificado a los inversionistas de tierra y determinado sus predios con mu...
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Si bien los movimientos sociales y políticos son generalmente el ámbito de las luchas por la soberanía alimentaria, las prácticas cotidianas de aprovisionamiento son fundamentales para la persistencia de sistemas alimentarios locales y... more
Si bien los movimientos sociales y políticos son generalmente el ámbito de las luchas por la soberanía alimentaria, las prácticas cotidianas de aprovisionamiento son fundamentales para la persistencia de sistemas alimentarios locales y relativamente autónomos. En esta investigación examinamos el aprovisionamiento desde una perspectiva de género en una comunidad colombiana afrodescendiente como un caso de estudio de "soberanía alimentaria desde el territorio". Encontramos que las prácticas cotidianas de aprovisionamiento de las mujeres sostienen los hogares, mantienen las relaciones socioculturales y ecológicas y permiten una mayor autosuficiencia en el contexto de procesos de integración económica al mercado. Aproximarse al aprovisionamiento desde una perspectiva de género deja entrever las complejidades, relaciones de poder y desafíos que subyacen a estos sistemas alimentarios locales. Indagar sobre esta dimensión frecuentemente ignorada puede contribuir a identificar y c...
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While women play a critical role in the day-to-day operation of Canadian farms and the Canadian government have committed to achieving gender equality at all levels of decision making, there has been no explicit effort to identify farm... more
While women play a critical role in the day-to-day operation of Canadian farms and the Canadian government have committed to achieving gender equality at all levels of decision making, there has been no explicit effort to identify farm women’s policy needs or their vision of an inclusive Canadian agricultural policy. This research project documents critical issues that rural women and girls believe need to be fully integrated into Canadian agricultural policy. In five regional workshops across Canada, during the winter of 2003 2004, farm women expressed deep connections with their farms and communities despite overwhelming social and economic pressures. Farm women established that the major stress in their lives and the lives of their families is the farm financial crisis created primarily by current government policy directions and corporatization of agriculture. Women confirmed that if these root causes of the financial crisis were solved, the quality of life in rural communities...
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The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and cost economies trillions of dollars. Yet state responses have done little to address the negative externalities of the corporate food regime, which has contributed to,... more
The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and cost economies trillions of dollars. Yet state responses have done little to address the negative externalities of the corporate food regime, which has contributed to, and exacerbated, the impacts of the pandemic. In this paper, we build on calls from the grassroots for states to undertake a strategic dismantling of the corporate food regime through redistributive policies and actions across scales, financed through reparations by key actors in the corporate food regime. We present a strategic policy framework drawn from the food sovereignty movement, outlined here as the “5Ds of Redistribution”: Decolonization, Decarbonization, Diversification, Democratization, and Decommodification. We then consider what would need to occur post-redistribution to ensure that the corporate food regime does not re-emerge, and pose five guiding principles grounded in Indigenous food sover¬eignty to rebuild regenerative food systems,...
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Although evidence continues to indicate an urgent need to transition food systems away from industrialized monocultures and toward agroecological production, there is little sign of significant policy commitment toward food system... more
Although evidence continues to indicate an urgent need to transition food systems away from industrialized monocultures and toward agroecological production, there is little sign of significant policy commitment toward food system transformation in global North geographies. The authors, a consortium of researchers studying the land-food nexus in global North geographies, argue that a key lock-in explaining the lack of reform arises from how most food system interventions work through dominant logics of property to achieve their goals of agroecological production. Doing so fails to recognize how land tenure systems, codified by law and performed by society, construct agricultural land use outcomes. In this perspective, the authors argue that achieving food system “resilience” requires urgent attention to the underlying property norms that drive land access regimes, especially where norms of property appear hegemonic. This paper first reviews research from political ecology, critical ...
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There are fewer and fewer young people actively farming in Canada. Farmers under the age of 35 are leaving farming at twice the rate of the general farm population. As a result, Canada faces a crisis of generational renewal on its farms.... more
There are fewer and fewer young people actively farming in Canada. Farmers under the age of 35 are leaving farming at twice the rate of the general farm population. As a result, Canada faces a crisis of generational renewal on its farms. This article explores the factors that mitigate against young people taking up farming. Using an analytical framework in part derived from the work of Henry Bernstein and applied to Statistics Canada data, the article demonstrates that there is an ongoing income crisis, a growing problem of farmland accessibility and costs associated with farm machinery, unrestrained increases in the power and profit-share of agribusiness transnationals, and a retreat of governments from public-interest regulation. In doing so, the article provides an evidence-based analysis of the structural factors and forces driving Canada's crisis of generational renewal on its farms.
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Despite widespread concerns about household food insecurity experienced by Indigenous peoples, there is limited empirical evidence about the availability and prices of healthy foods in First Nations rural communities located in northern... more
Despite widespread concerns about household food insecurity experienced by Indigenous peoples, there is limited empirical evidence about the availability and prices of healthy foods in First Nations rural communities located in northern Manitoba, Canada. To fill this research gap, this study examines the availability and affordability of fresh milk, fruits, vegetables, and several other selected food items; investigates the determinants of food prices; and examines the implications of paying higher food prices for individuals and communities in northern Manitoba. The research findings are based on a survey of fifty-two food items conducted in twenty-two communities and six focus group discussions with mothers, service providers, and community leaders. Our research indicates that in addition to limited availability of healthy foods, food prices in First Nations communities were significantly higher than in Winnipeg or non-First Nations urban centers. We conclude by pointing to some p...
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Since emerging in 1993, La Vía Campesina has become a powerful voice of opposition to the globalization of a modern, industrial and neoliberal model of rural development. By “building unity within diversity” La Vía Campesina pulls... more
Since emerging in 1993, La Vía Campesina has become a powerful voice of opposition to the globalization of a modern, industrial and neoliberal model of rural development. By “building unity within diversity” La Vía Campesina pulls together rural movements to work for an alternative model of agriculture and community based on food sovereignty. This article sheds light on La Vía Campesina's contributions to this growing food sovereignty movement.
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While rates of food insecurity among various sectors of Canadian population are well documented, food security among post-secondary students as a particularly vulnerable population has emerged in recent years as an area of research. Based... more
While rates of food insecurity among various sectors of Canadian population are well documented, food security among post-secondary students as a particularly vulnerable population has emerged in recent years as an area of research. Based on a survey of 548 students in the 2015/16 school year, this article examines the extent of food insecurity among a population of undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Manitoba. Our study reveals that 35.3% of survey respondents face food insecurity. 23.5% of these students experience moderate food insecurity, while 11.8% are severely food insecurity. Using chi-square tests and regression analysis, we compare these rates with various demographic indicators to assess which students are at greater risk of food insecurity, factors contributing to food insecurity, and its effect on their student experience, their health and their lives in general. In contemplating funding for post-secondary institutions and increases in tuition fees,...
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Prepared for VOICES: The Rise of Nongovernmental Voices in Multilateral Organizations Financial support from CIDA and the Aspen Institute is gratefully acknowledged.
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Since the 2007-2008 global food crisis there is growing interest in changing patterns of farmland ownership. Utilizing a dataset of the names of all farmland titleholders along with GIS data mapping software, this article demonstrates... more
Since the 2007-2008 global food crisis there is growing interest in changing patterns of farmland ownership. Utilizing a dataset of the names of all farmland titleholders along with GIS data mapping software, this article demonstrates changes in patterns of land ownership in three rural municipalities (RMs) in Saskatchewan, Canada. A diverse mix of new actors have entered the farmland market in the past decade or two, with some now owning more than 100,000 acres each in the province. Our research reveals a list of the investment companies, pension plans, and large farmer/investor hybrids buying land and also maps investment activity and large land transactions in the three RMs. While 7.8% to 13.1% of the farmland is now owned by “land grabbers”, our study also found a significant rise in land concentration in the hands of farmers when compared to 20 years ago. For example, in one RM the four largest landowners—a mix of farmers and investment companies and farmer/investor hybrids—n...
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Abstract This chapter examines La Via Campesina’s strategy of consolidating strategic alliances in its global struggle to build food sovereignty. After discussing some of La Via Campesina’s initial challenges in working with... more
Abstract This chapter examines La Via Campesina’s strategy of consolidating strategic alliances in its global struggle to build food sovereignty. After discussing some of La Via Campesina’s initial challenges in working with nongovernmental organizations we focus on two case studies: first, La Via Campesina’s work with Veterinarios Sin Fronteras, based in Spain, and second, the International Planning Committee on Food Sovereignty. In both cases we analyze some of the convergences and divergences experienced by the social actors in efforts to build strategic alliances.
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ABSTRACT This paper examines how the concept and framework of food sovereignty has been incorporated in food policy agendas across diverse sectors of Canadian society, particularly in the work and discourse of the National Farmers Union,... more
ABSTRACT This paper examines how the concept and framework of food sovereignty has been incorporated in food policy agendas across diverse sectors of Canadian society, particularly in the work and discourse of the National Farmers Union, Québec's Union Paysanne, Food Secure Canada and movements for Indigenous food sovereignty. This analysis highlights both the challenges to conceptualizing food sovereignty and the tensions in defining inclusive policies that engage with food sovereignty at distinct, and often overlapping, scales. We critically assess how the ‘unity in diversity’ principle of food sovereignty functions in the Canadian context, paying particular attention to the policy implications of debates about the meaning of food sovereignty. What is most evident in examining the demands of a wide range of actors using food sovereignty language in Canada is a shared aim to reclaim a public voice in shaping the food system and a growing convergence around ideals of social justice, environmental sustainability and diversity. But, if food sovereignty is about fundamental transformation of the food system, it is yet in initial stages in this country.
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The 26th UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP (Conference of Parties) took place in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021 amidst intersecting global crises. The rising number and intensity of unprecedented extreme weather... more
The 26th UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP (Conference of Parties) took place in Glasgow, Scotland in November 2021 amidst intersecting global crises. The rising number and intensity of unprecedented extreme weather events in many countries, increased knowledge about industrial agriculture’s significant emission contributions to the climate crisis, and the vulnerability of the global food system in the wake of COVID-19 shocks should have positioned food and agriculture as priority items on the agenda. Yet, agriculture and food systems played only a minor role in COP26 negotiations, and vaccine apartheid limited the presence of the food sovereignty movement and broader grassroots voices in Glasgow. Corporate co-optation and flagrant greenwashing via net zero and false solution narratives dominated, yielding watered-down outcomes instead of the bold actions needed to tackle the climate crisis. In this report from the field, two food sovereignty activists dissect t...
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Exclusionary and regressive politics are on the rise globally. How do food sovereignty struggles help counter these forces? We ground our analysis on how EHNE‐Bizkaia, a Vía Campesina member organisation in the Basque Country,... more
Exclusionary and regressive politics are on the rise globally. How do food sovereignty struggles help counter these forces? We ground our analysis on how EHNE‐Bizkaia, a Vía Campesina member organisation in the Basque Country, conceptualises and practices food sovereignty. Inspired by Massey's ‘politics of place beyond place' and Featherstone's work on left politics and solidarity, we shed light on the ways that this organisation mobilises food sovereignty to establish political bonds between those marginalised by neo‐liberalism, helping to construct political identities and enact forms of subaltern agency that challenge uneven power relations and geographies. We argue that ‘solidarity from below' is key in building an emancipatory rural politics rooted in class‐based alliances, intersectionality, and internationalism as well as non‐exclusionary notions of sovereignty. The article provides theoretical and empirical insights on what constitutes an emancipatory politics of food sovereignty that has the potential to act as a counterforce to right‐wing populism.
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Biocultural heritage-based products, including regional specialty foods, are increasingly part of sustainable rural development strategies. While export-oriented biocultural products are often the most visible, we examine the role of... more
Biocultural heritage-based products, including regional specialty foods, are increasingly part of sustainable rural development strategies. While export-oriented biocultural products are often the most visible, we examine the role of campesino gastronomic heritage in the Central Valley of Tarija, Bolivia, as a case study of a local market-centered biocultural resource-based development strategy reflected in an alternative agri-food network. We develop a biocultural sustainability framework to examine this network from ecological, economic and sociocultural perspectives. Data are drawn from interviews (n = 77), surveys (n = 89) and participant observation, with primary and secondary producers of traditional and new products, as well as restaurant owners, market vendors and local consumers. We find that campesino biocultural heritage and the alternative agri-food network surrounding it represent an influential territorial project that underpins many household economies, particularly for women. We conclude that the relatively small investments by local governments to promote campesino gastronomic heritage are having positive ripple effects on small-scale producer livelihoods and on biocultural sustainability. We suggest that further support to increase market access and reduce other barriers to participation in alternative food networks will likely increase the options and benefits available to small-scale producers mobilising campesino gastronomic heritage within the local economy.
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"MQ-86975." Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Calgary, Dept. of Geography, 2003. Includes bibliographical references. Microfiche.
Concepts, however revolutionary, are often misinter-preted, misused and usurped by those in positions of power. For example, the concept of "sustainable agricul-ture," originally embraced a conscious move away from high-input... more
Concepts, however revolutionary, are often misinter-preted, misused and usurped by those in positions of power. For example, the concept of "sustainable agricul-ture," originally embraced a conscious move away from high-input agriculture to adoption of farming practices ...
Since the 2007-2008 global food crisis there is growing interest in changing patterns of farmland ownership. Utilizing a dataset of the names of all farmland titleholders along with GIS data mapping software, this article demonstrates... more
Since the 2007-2008 global food crisis there is growing interest in changing patterns of farmland ownership. Utilizing a dataset of the names of all farmland titleholders along with GIS data mapping software, this article demonstrates changes in patterns of land ownership in three rural municipalities (RMs) in Saskatchewan, Canada. A diverse mix of new actors have entered the farmland market in the past decade or two, with some now owning more than 100,000 acres each in the province. Our research reveals a list of the investment companies, pension plans, and large farmer/investor hybrids buying land and also maps investment activity and large land transactions in the three RMs. While 7.8% to 13.1% of the farmland is now owned by “land grabbers”, our study also found a significant rise in land concentration in the hands of farmers when compared to 20 years ago. For example, in one RM the four largest landowners—a mix of farmers and investment companies and farmer/investor hybrids—now own 28% of the land. We then discuss some initial findings concerning the impact changing patterns of land ownership is having on the cohesion and vitality of communities and conclude with a series of questions for further research.
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Desmarais, Annette Aurélie. 2014. “The Vía Campesina: Consolidating an International Peasant and Farm Movement.” Journal of Peasant Studies. (This is a reprint in a special collection of the article published in the Journal of Peasant... more
Desmarais, Annette Aurélie. 2014. “The Vía Campesina: Consolidating an International Peasant and Farm Movement.” Journal of Peasant Studies. (This is a reprint in a special collection of the article published in the Journal of Peasant Studies in 2002, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 91-124.) (See explanation at http://explore.tandfonline.com/page/bes/fjps-peasants-and-politics-vsi
In the opening chapter of La Vía Campesina: Globalization and the Power of Peasants, Annette Desmarais poses a deep challenge to long-held teleologies of the disappearing peasantry. In this well-written documentation of the recent... more
In the opening chapter of La Vía Campesina: Globalization and the Power of Peasants, Annette Desmarais poses a deep challenge to long-held teleologies of the disappearing peasantry. In this well-written documentation of the recent emergence and organizational development of La Vía Campesina, an international coalition of 149 peasant and farmer organizations in 56 countries, Desmarais makes the definitive case (as summarized in a quote from a Mexican peasant leader) that “campesinos have always existed and they will always exist. They will never be abolished” (19).But who are today’s peasants? How are they managing to survive in a global agro-food economy characterized by free trade regulations and the ongoing commodification of land, seeds, and labour by multinational corporations? And what is their role in modern society? To answer these questions, Annette Desmarais offers a compelling insider account of the agenda, strategies, actions and stories of La Vía Campesina by documenting th ...
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... Quite simply: No. Josh Brem-Wilson University of Bradford Josh Brem-Wilson is a PhD student at the Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, United Kingdom. ... Jason Peters, (Ed.). Wendell Berry: Life and Work. Lexington:... more
... Quite simply: No. Josh Brem-Wilson University of Bradford Josh Brem-Wilson is a PhD student at the Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford, United Kingdom. ... Jason Peters, (Ed.). Wendell Berry: Life and Work. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 2007. ...
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An increasing number of rural and urban-based movements are realizing some political traction in their demands for democratization of food systems through food sovereignty. Some are pressuring to institutionalize food sovereignty... more
An increasing number of rural and urban-based movements are realizing some political traction in their demands for democratization of food systems through food sovereignty. Some are pressuring to institutionalize food sovereignty principles and practices through laws, policies, and programs. While the literature on food sovereignty continues to grow in volume and complexity, there are a number of key questions that need to be examined more deeply. These relate specifically to the processes and consequences of seeking to institutionalize food sovereignty: What dimensions of food sovereignty are addressed in public policies and which are left out? What are the tensions, losses and gains for social movements engaging with sub-national and national governments? How can local governments be leveraged to build autonomous spaces against state and corporate power?
The contributors to this book analyze diverse institutional processes related to food sovereignty, ranging from community-supported agriculture to food policy councils, direct democracy initiatives to constitutional amendments, the drafting of new food sovereignty laws to public procurement programmes, as well as Indigenous and youth perspectives, in a variety of contexts including Brazil, Ecuador, Spain, Switzerland, UK, Canada, USA, and Africa. Together, the contributors to this book discuss the political implications of integrating food sovereignty into existing liberal political structures, and analyze the emergence of new political spaces and dynamics in response to interactions between state governance systems and social movements voicing the radical demands of food sovereignty.
The contributors to this book analyze diverse institutional processes related to food sovereignty, ranging from community-supported agriculture to food policy councils, direct democracy initiatives to constitutional amendments, the drafting of new food sovereignty laws to public procurement programmes, as well as Indigenous and youth perspectives, in a variety of contexts including Brazil, Ecuador, Spain, Switzerland, UK, Canada, USA, and Africa. Together, the contributors to this book discuss the political implications of integrating food sovereignty into existing liberal political structures, and analyze the emergence of new political spaces and dynamics in response to interactions between state governance systems and social movements voicing the radical demands of food sovereignty.
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Desmarais, Annette Aurélie. 2007. La Vía Campesina: Globalization and the Power of Peasants. Fernwood Publishing and Pluto Press: Halifax and London, (238 pp.). Also published in India by Daanish Books in New Delhi, India. The book... more
Desmarais, Annette Aurélie. 2007. La Vía Campesina: Globalization and the Power of Peasants. Fernwood Publishing and Pluto Press: Halifax and London, (238 pp.). Also published in India by Daanish Books in New Delhi, India.
The book was released in Korean, Italian, French and Spanish under the following titles:
2011. Via Campesina: Segehwae Matseonun sonongui Him (in Korean). Hantijae Books: Daegu City, (416 pp.).
2009. La via campesina : La globalizazione e il potere dei contadini. Editoriale Jaca Books: Milano, (314 pp.).
2008. La Vía Campesina: Une Réponse Paysanne à la Crise Alimentaire. Eco-Societé: Québec, (316 pp.).
2008. La Vía Campesina: Globalización y el Poder del Campesinado. Editorial Popular: Madrid, (317 pp.).
The book was released in Korean, Italian, French and Spanish under the following titles:
2011. Via Campesina: Segehwae Matseonun sonongui Him (in Korean). Hantijae Books: Daegu City, (416 pp.).
2009. La via campesina : La globalizazione e il potere dei contadini. Editoriale Jaca Books: Milano, (314 pp.).
2008. La Vía Campesina: Une Réponse Paysanne à la Crise Alimentaire. Eco-Societé: Québec, (316 pp.).
2008. La Vía Campesina: Globalización y el Poder del Campesinado. Editorial Popular: Madrid, (317 pp.).
Deadline for abstracts: February 5, 2019
This chapter discusses the emergence and evolution of food sovereignty as a vision, political project and social movement. We distinguish food sovereignty from food security and the right to food, while demonstrating that the relationship... more
This chapter discusses the emergence and evolution of food sovereignty as a vision, political project and social movement. We distinguish food sovereignty from food security and the right to food, while demonstrating that the relationship between these concepts is contested and constantly evolving. We also provide a brief overview of scholarly debates on food sovereignty by summarizing several key critiques and challenging questions that academics and activists are grappling with when analyzing its potential, politics and limitations. We argue that food sovereignty is about a whole lot more than food and agriculture. It is nothing less than an emancipatory political project for radical social change.