Abstract
In an article that forms part of the PLoS Medicine series on Big Food, Raj Patel examines the concept of food sovereignty, which aims to address inequalities in power that characterize the global food system and fuel hunger and malnutrition.
Highlights
This article was commissioned for the PLoS Medicine series on Big Food that examines the activities and influence of the food and beverage industry in the health arena
We might expect food to be absent at times and in places where people die of hunger
Economist Amartya Sen has shown that in the majority of cases of widespread famine-related death since WWII, food has been available within the famineaffected area
Summary
One of the most enduring misconceptions about hunger is that it is primarily the result of a deficit in global food production. In 1996, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) established at its World Food Summit the most widely agreed definition [5] that ‘‘Food security, at the individual, household, national, regional and global levels [is achieved] when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.’’. It is possible to have sufficient calories, but insufficiently nutritious food for a healthy life Armed with this understanding, and with persistent evidence across countries of women and girls’ disempowerment compared to men and boys [8], it becomes easier to appreciate the systematically higher rates of food insecurity among women
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
