Food sovereignty and autonomy for indigenous health as resistance to food globalization: Scoping review

Abstract

BackgroundIndigenous peoples’ food systems refer to all the activities related to the food harvested in local ecosystems and traditional territories. Food sovereignty and food autonomy allow indigenous communities to decide on the production, distribution, and consumption of their own food. ObjectiveThis systematic scoping review summarizes the existing literature on indigenous peoples’ food sovereignty and autonomy as expressions of resistance to food globalization. DesignPapers published between 2014 and 2021 in online databases were identified. We selected 48 articles from 18 countries addressing the topic of indigenous peoples’ food sovereignty and autonomy. ResultsCommunity support for native food production based on indigenous cosmovision and philosophy, alternative ethnobotany-based agriculture, indigenous seeds, medicinal and nutritional properties of native foods, and self-governance, such as the harvest and exchange of local produce, the incidence of nutritional policy, and control of the trade of external products, are some manifestations of indigenous resistance to food globalization. Some theoretical perspectives related to these notions include agroecology, decolonization, dialogue of knowledge, and “Buen Vivir” (Good living). ConclusionsFood sovereignty and food autonomy are gaining visibility in international debates and pose the main challenge faced by current neoliberal, extractive, and homogenizing food regime.