Food Sovereignty Research Articles

ABSTRACT Scaling up agroecological practices can only be achieved by mobilizing a heterogeneous social majority in a global struggle for food sovereignty. Without these majorities, the institutional changes necessary for scaling up are unlikely to occur. Simply aggregating fragmented and often contradictory claims will not be sufficient to cement such a heterogeneous social alliance. A holistic political proposal is necessary, one capable of promoting changes in production, distribution, and consumption. This paper presents the proposal of food populism, a political language capable of articulating diverse interests in a unified mobilization against the corporate food regime. As a political tactic in the pursuit of food sovereignty, food populism is presented as the only way to foster cooperative and solidarity-based exchanges between the actors at both ends of the food chain. In this context, it is a democratizing strategy, countering the denialist and reactionary populism that is gaining ground amid the deepening agrarian crisis. Despite its transversal nature, the food populism proposal has a powerful anti-capitalist content and even a clear “class,” feminist and anti-racist component. The paper describes the theoretical and political foundations of this great alliance needed for radical transformation in agrifood systems.

Conceptualising food environments as social activity spaces: Insights from lived experience research in Thailand and Laos.

The elderly care regime for Indigenous peoples differs between India and Sweden. In India, the family cares for the elderly, while the responsibility in Sweden lies with the authorities. Food insecurity is the main problem in India, while lack of culturally adapted food is a problem in Sweden. In both cases, little knowledge exists on the importance of traditional food in Indigenous elderly care. By examining the use and significance of traditional food in elderly care for the Mal Paharia people in India and the Sami in Sweden, we focus on the following questions: What is the significance of nutritious and culturally adequate food? How are the elderly care regimes for food constituted? How can these regimes be improved using participatory methods? What policy recommendations can be created based on our study?. Our study focuses on the health, organization and welfare aspects of aging from an Indigenous perspective. A consistent perspective on this study is the decolonialized and liberating action research with Indigenous peoples (so-called PAR). The method is based on a triangulation and mixed-methods design and is made up of four different sub-studies: WP1 on Indigenous life stories about food; WP2 on quantitative surveys and nutrition index; WP3 on care regimes and WP4 on participatory implementation. The research groups in India and Sweden, which include both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people from each country, will collaborate through a consortium. Focus group interviews will be conducted both with the elderly (WP1) and with government representatives and recipients (WP3). The quantitative study (WP2) is based on already collected data material from more than 1000 elderly Sami in Sweden, the Sami Health on Equal Terms study and on data to be collected among 200 older Mal Paharia (two-stage clustering) in India. Interpreters will be offered for people who communicate best in their mother tongue. The implementation study (WP4) will be carried out with a bottom-up perspective, with a focus on food safety in India and food sovereignty in Sweden. Our study focuses on the health, organization and welfare aspects of aging from an Indigenous perspective. Older Indigenous peoples have knowledge about nutritious diets that are important to utilize, both from a care perspective, and from a longer-term self-sufficiency perspective, where their knowledge can give us keys to a more sustainable, culturally richer and biotope-wise more well-adapted future food system.

This essay examines Fannie Lou Hamer’s work as a model for sustainable, communal eco-futures, focusing on her leadership of the Freedom Farm Cooperative (FFC) as a form of proclamation. By situating Hamer as both exemplar and methodological resource, the essay explores how her vision of collective land ownership, food sovereignty, and economic justice offers a framework for preachers engaging eco-justice and climate change in their sermons. Centering the FFC, the paper asks what ethical and practical commitments are required of those preaching eco-justice, and what must be considered to faithfully address the expansive impact of environmental justice from the pulpit.

As a result of population growth, globalization, wars, natural disasters and the climate crisis that has become more evident, it is seen that the problems related to food have reached a point that cannot be ignored. Until now, food problems have mostly been studied in fields such as food engineering, agricultural engineering and medicine. Studies in the field of planning, on the other hand, have mostly been limited to rural areas, and this problem has been discussed much less through urban areas and urbanization paradigms. Considering the current urbanization rates and planning paradigms, discussing the food problem through urban areas and producing solutions in these areas by the planning discipline can develop systemic solutions. Accordingly, the aim of this study is to filter the food literature through the planning framework and explore alternative solution areas. In accordance with the purpose of the study, some concepts have been examined hierarchically within the framework of urbanization and planning, while others have been excluded. The conceptual flow has followed both a chronological order and a deductive method in which one concept points to another concept. Therefore, the study follows a descriptive research method and looks for practical clues. As an auxiliary source, bibliometric analysis has been a quantitative method frequently used in the methodology. The concept sets that emerged from the bibliometric analysis were guided by the role of planning to examine the qualitative and structural dimension of the food problem. The role of the planning discipline in the conceptual flow centered on food safety, food security and food sovereignty has been examined, and food sovereignty, with which the relationship is more strongly established, has been scrutinized. Food sovereignty has come to the fore with the social justice dimension of planning and has been seen as more potential in producing planning policies. In the concluding section, a comparative conceptual analysis of the three concepts is made through the approach, main objectives, fields of action, key institutions, food - related policies, actors and concerns. The relationship between food sovereignty, which is seen to have stronger ties to planning, and the instrumental and qualitative dimensions of planning is revealed. Even the marginalization criticisms against food sovereignty have been seen to have a certain scope in planning. It is inevitable that qualitative and empirical studies will accelerate against the current and potential food crises in the current economic system, which is prone to crises. Although there is a lack of food issues in the literature, which has so far been associated with the rural dimension of planning, it is expected that food sovereignty, as a new area of discussion in planning, will also be discussed in urban areas, which host a large part of the population, and point to solution areas.

Against the backdrop of colonial sugar exports, US and Soviet patronage, and the austerity of the Special Period, Cuba's pursuit of food sovereignty remains a work in progress. The government's 2021 food sovereignty policy adds nuance to the term by foregrounding nutritional and cultural diversity to combat the unhealthy options served up by an emerging private sector. Food sovereignty's shifting significance through history does not undermine its efficacy; rather, it furnishes narratives that appeal to a wide range of local and foreign actors: about revolutionary struggle, entrepreneurial initiative, personal and ecological health, and the need to counterbalance growing Chinese influence. Case studies of organic farms in inner‐city and peri‐urban Havana show intermediaries historicizing food sovereignty across scales and networks to reconcile the sensibilities of neighbours, officials, and foreign visitors. I argue that how these intermediaries temporalize the term – as a static and patriotic Cuban tradition in the first case, and as a dynamic process of political reform in the second – influences the structure of international networks and corresponding understandings of its meaning. This observation helps answer the question posed by Marc Edelman et al. in 2014: ‘Who is the sovereign in food sovereignty?’. I suggest that who the sovereign is depends on why they join networks, and that intermediaries amplify and harmonize their motivations for doing so. The international appeal of Cuban food sovereignty is therefore culturally contingent, but it is not coincidental.

Food systems in northern Canada are under severe pressure brought on by climate change, colonial policies, resource extraction, settler migration, dispossession from ancestral lands, and changing ways of life. As communities seek to nurture more resilient food systems, agroecology is emerging as a relevant food system framing to address these challenges as it balances new forms of sustainable food production with traditional food practices and connects them to on-going struggles for self-sufficiency and Indigenous food sovereignty. This article showcases insights from a community-driven, food systems planning project in Northwest Territories, Canada that incorporates agroecology rooted in Indigenous values, principles, and Traditional Knowledge of the region. Using participatory action research, the Ka’a’gee Tu First Nation (KTFN) designed a vision for their food system structured by the Community Agroecological Values Framework (CAVF). The CAVF, co-created with KTFN, builds on the community capitals framework and northern agroecology dialogues to foster a holistic approach to Indigenous food systems planning. Through a workshop, participatory mapping, and storytelling, community members reflected on existing food projects and provided input on future developments. KTFN used this process to connect their food system with multiple components of agroecology in the North, including land stewardship, sustainable livelihoods, cultural resurgence, social cohesion, good governance, and human capacity, aligning them with Dene values of holistic well-being for people and the environment. This article shares a case study of how KTFN is combining participatory, values- and place-based planning with agroecology to strengthen their food system, advance self-sufficiency, and promote food sovereignty in the face of climate uncertainties.

The impact of colonial food paradigms on Indonesia’s nutrition policies and explore strategies for decolonizing perceptions of healthy food in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) and Papua. Employing a comparative qualitative case study design, the research examines Indonesia alongside Vietnam and Peru, which have successfully integrated local foods into nutrition programs. Data collection involved secondary sources such as government reports, scientific articles, and policy documents, verified through data triangulation. The analysis utilized NVivo 12 Plus for thematic coding, focusing on actual conditions, challenges, and government responses related to food and nutrition governance. Results reveal that Indonesia’s persistent reliance on imported and industrialized foods, coupled with a diminished appreciation for indigenous foods like tubers, forest products, and local fish, hampers efforts to address malnutrition. Colonial legacies continue to influence public perception, overshadowing traditional foods' nutritional value. Conversely, Vietnam and Peru have demonstrated that embracing local food systems can significantly reduce stunting prevalence. The study concludes that adopting a decolonized, culturally sensitive approach to nutrition policies, which reintegrates local foods, is essential for improving nutritional outcomes and fostering food sovereignty in Indonesia. Such strategies can help reshape perceptions and enhance the resilience of local food systems against malnutrition.

ABSTRACT In this article, we use the lens of spatialities of contentious politics to examine rural-urban alliances and expand our understanding of urban agrarianism and resistance. We draw on two cases of radical urban agriculture in Metro Manila, where the urban poor strive to achieve food sovereignty and assert their rights over contested urban lands. These urban food-growing initiatives glean lessons from an established movement that reclaims rights over rural lands through productive cultivation inspired by agroecological principles. The spatiality of material constraints in cities becomes a mediating factor in establishing rural-urban alliances and sustaining urban resistance.

Forest restoration is increasingly promoted to mitigate climate change, conserve biodiversity, and secure food and water sovereignty. Yet many restored forests do not persist in the long term, and the role of land tenure regimes in shaping these outcomes remains poorly understood. We examine restoration reversals (restored forests later deforested) and long-term restoration gains (restored forests that remained intact) across 1.9 million territories in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest from 1985 to 2022. We compare Indigenous lands, Afro-descendant (Quilombola) territories, agrarian-reform settlements, protected areas, and private properties, introducing a statistical matching technique–agglomerative matching–to account for systematic differences between land tenure regimes. We find that Indigenous lands and agrarian-reform settlements exhibit significantly more long-term restoration gains than private properties. Concurrently, and by a smaller margin and on a smaller land area, Indigenous lands and agrarian-reform settlements exhibit higher reversals. These results highlight the relatively low restoration longevity of private properties and emphasize the importance of socio-political conditions in enabling long-term restoration gains.

ABSTRACT The notion of food sovereignty has gained momentum since the latter half of the 1990s and acquired greater significance during the pandemic, which unmasked the vulnerabilities of the existing food systems. The tenets of food security, which overlook the origins and cultural appropriateness of food, have failed to address the prevalence of hunger and malnutrition. Attempts to eliminate poverty and hunger through food imports proved futile in the face of border closures and a halt in freight movement during the pandemic. Kerala, the southernmost state in India, popular for its interventionist policies and its novel development trajectory known as the “Kerala model,” has developed a set of programs that bolstered food production during the pandemic. The programs like Subhiksha Keralam, Subhiksha Surakshitham, and Kudumbashree-led cluster farming, implemented through the convergence of multiple local institutions and civil society, displayed the characteristics of a social movement questioning the infallibility of the dominant food regime. A paradigm shift in the food and farming landscape of the state was unraveled in the wake of the pandemic shaped by precisely knitted policy nudges favoring local sustainability. These trajectories experienced in Kerala are congruous with the food sovereignty movements across the world, affirming the right to food, restoration of local autonomy, and reconnecting growers and eaters. The robust decentralized institutional framework in the state has provided an appropriate foundation for supporting these policies aimed at promoting sustainable agriculture, empowering women, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Community gardens in urban Brooklyn, New York are social spaces that provide food sovereignty to many New Yorkers, but the arrival of the mosquito Aedes albopictus and longtime presence of Culex pipiens makes socializing in these spaces more dangerous. Ae. albopictus is associated with several mosquito-borne diseases including dengue fever, Zika virus, and chikungunya virus while Cx. pipiens is a longtime vector of West Nile virus. Since Ae. albopictus and Cx. pipiens both breed in human-made plastic containers, knowledge of their preferred container types and locations could aid best management practices for community gardeners. This research looked at the abundance and genera of mosquito larvae in 22 Brooklyn community gardens to understand the breeding habits and survivability of these mosquitoes. This research found that non-purposeful container types and lower total volumes of water were significant predictors of higher mosquito densities, but these variables did not predict egg laying preference.

Abstract We examine the role of living labs as ethical spaces in driving sustainability transitions in food systems through participatory experimentation, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge exchange. We conceptualise living labs as dynamic environments that integrate diverse actors, including policymakers, researchers, farmers, and consumers, into co-creative processes that foster inclusive governance. While ethical spaces have traditionally been associated with Indigenous worldviews, which emphasise respect, reciprocity, and dialogue, living labs differ in their proactive approach to innovation and systemic change. Living labs facilitate collaborative problem-solving to address food sovereignty between real-world experimentation and social innovation, contributing to food sovereignty and social justice. We argue that ethical governance within food systems requires frameworks that balance economic efficiency with social equity, mitigating power imbalances that often favour corporate-dominated models. We analyse living labs’ contributions to sustainability transitions and highlight the potential of experimental governance in fostering resilient food systems and innovation. We advocate for the need for policy mechanisms that support community-led food initiatives rooted in knowledge exchange and experimentation while ensuring equitable access to resources and decision-making power. Living labs, if structured inclusively, can serve as transformative ethical spaces that bridge the gap between scientific knowledge, grassroots innovations for new product development, and policy frameworks, ultimately fostering just and sustainable food futures.

ABSTRACT Scaling out of agroecology requires social capital through networking of organizations to deliver different services including capacity building and resources. However, the role of networks in scaling agroecology for climate adaptation remains underexplored. This paper examines the role of networks in advancing agroecology for climate adaptation in Uganda. This paper explores two research questions; 1) What are the existing social networks among agroecology organizations in Uganda? 2) What challenges hinder networking among agroecology organizations in Uganda? Focus group discussions, small group interviews, and in-depth interviews were employed to explore Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) network structure and connectivity, drivers for networking, networking challenges, and strategies for strengthening agroecology networks. Thematic and network analysis mapped networking dynamics among 25 PELUM member organizations across 17 Ugandan districts. Findings reveal a core periphery network structure, where central hubs collaborate with many organizations while peripheral ones operate in silos. Collaborative initiatives, such as farmer cooperatives, policy advocacy joint activities, and knowledge exchanges empower member organizations and farming communities. However, systemic collaboration challenges persist, including competition for funding, leadership deficits, geographic disparities, and conceptual misalignments. Network analysis suggests that regional clustering could bridge gaps and enhance networking. The study recommends establishment of consortium-based programming, formal partnerships, capacity building, and use of digital tools to strengthen collaboration and adoption of agroecology. In addition, we recommend that funding agencies and policymakers should incentivize consortium projects, integrate gender-sensitive frameworks, and support multi-stakeholder initiatives that strengthen agroecology for climate adaptation and food sovereignty.

Coffee agroecosystems represent the economic base for thousands of small growers and agricultural workers, as well as a significant proportion of many regional economies in Latin America. Every year, the production of coffee in this region attracts a great number of laborers and their families, particularly during the harvest season. Despite being essential workers in the food system, agricultural workers continue to be one of the most marginalized actors in the coffee production chain. Even with an environment of precarity, agricultural workers exercise their autonomy and food sovereignty—the process by which agricultural workers, in this case, define their food system and procure culturally appropriate foods. We examine the relationship between agrobiodiversity, knowledge, and food sovereignty in the context of plantation agriculture. Through walking interviews and participant observation with groups of farmworkers in one shade-grown coffee plantation, which is socioeconomically reflective of plantation structures in the region, we discuss how farmworkers practice their autonomy and food sovereignty through plant foraging, collective cooking, knowledge sharing, and gardening. Our results reveal extensive farmworker knowledge of and uses for associated agrobiodiversity within coffee plantations—a dimension often overlooked in agrobiodiversity studies. We place examples of practicing food sovereignty, including foraging and agrobiodiversity conservation, in conversation with challenges associated with the working conditions and precarity of migrant farmworkers: urbanization, increased migration to the United States, the increased use of herbicides, and possible effects of climate change and generational knowledge gaps on plant diversity and availability. We argue that food—deeply tied to place—and agrobiodiversity is an avenue to maintain autonomy, identity, and sovereignty amid unjust conditions of the plantation system. Finally, we suggest that complex agroecological knowledge held by migrants promotes and conserves agrobiodiversity in coffee landscapes.

This paper offers a new perspective on the valuation of the impacts of industrial ocean pollution. Rising levels of industrial pollutants have a profound impact on marine resource-dependent peoples, particularly those dependent on seafood consumption. We argue that current regulation of these pollutants is both insufficient and inequitable, as it only accounts for impacts on physical health while ignoring cultural implications. This paper introduces the "cultural tipping point" as a new framework that integrates the impacts of ocean pollution on peoples' physical and cultural health and well-being. Drawing on anthropology, marine sciences, public health, and critical Indigenous studies, the cultural tipping point synthesizes diverse concepts of "cultural keystone species," food sovereignty, and industrial pollution. Ultimately, our goal is to make the cultural impacts of ocean pollution legible within global governance networks, and to advocate for greater allocation of societal resources to address this issue.

The objective of this study was to identify and analyze the influence of climate change and human activities that led to changes in the water system of Chacororé and Sinhá Mariana lakes in order to propose a strategy for establishing a sustainability agenda for the region. The strategies include the socio-environmental identification of affected areas, workshops for intercultural dialogue with traditional communities, and other social groups such as rural producers, environmental agencies (IBAMA, SEMA, ICMBio, etc.) and other public bodies and educational institutions, tourism operators, state and municipal politicians, and other stakeholders. The Chacororé-Sinhá Mariana Lake System in the Mato Grosso Pantanal faced a severe water crisis in 2020. This research was developed within the scope of interinstitutional cooperation between the Public Prosecutor's Office and Unemat through the Long-Term Ecological Program (PELD). The agenda was developed based on the following steps: a) dissemination of information about the extreme drought in Chacororé Lake on social media; b) identification of affected areas; c) social mobilization for socio-environmental certification; d) development of research; e) recommendations for establishing a sustainability agenda for socio-environmental governance in the territory. The results showed that there was a reduction in the area of Chacororé Lake caused by a combination of climatic factors and anthropogenic actions, including the construction of dams, inadequate paving of the MT-040 highway, the construction of drains, barrages, and embankments in corixos, silting of Chacororé Lake, destruction of Permanent Preservation Areas, lack of consultation with the local community, absence of regional planning for control of the APM Manso hydroelectric plant, absence of social participation in decision-making, fishing restrictions with an impact on food sovereignty, and environmental laws incompatible with ecological and cultural resilience. The study recommends changing the dam model, restoring Permanent Preservation Areas (APPs), and implementing an ecological hydrograph on the Cuiabá River, as well as ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the measures to be implemented. Restoring the system is crucial for maintaining hydrological, ecological, and cultural connectivity. Implementing these strategies will result in structuring the commitments of the sustainability agenda for the Chacororé-Sinhá Mariana Lake System.

This study explores the implementation of indigenous food strategies and the role of local wisdom in Papua’s food sovereignty, Indonesia. Papua, known for its rich cultural diversity and unique ecological environment, has long depended on indigenous food systems that are in harmony with nature. These food systems, embedded in local traditions and customs, offer valuable insights into sustainable food practices. By utilizing a qualitative research approach, this study primarily relies on library research and a comprehensive review of existing literature to examine the interconnections between indigenous food strategies, local knowledge, and food sovereignty. The research identifies key indigenous practices that support food security, such as the preservation of traditional crops, resource management, and community-based food systems. It further highlights how these practices have been influenced by local wisdom and their potential to enhance food sovereignty in Papua amidst global challenges like climate change and food insecurity. The findings suggest that integrating indigenous food strategies with modern agricultural practices could offer a sustainable path forward for achieving food sovereignty in Papua. Moreover, the study underscores the importance of preserving indigenous knowledge as a means to strengthen resilience and self-sufficiency in the region. This research contributes to a broader understanding of the role indigenous food systems play in ensuring food sovereignty, with implications for policy-making and sustainable development in Papua and beyond.

ABSTRACT One dimension of the current civilizational crisis is the persistence of food insecurity, intensified in the Global South by COVID-19. This article examines ten Indigenous and community-based initiatives in Mexico that articulate alternatives to neoliberal food systems through sustainable agriculture, agroforestry, and fair-trade practices. Based on documentary research and thematic analysis, it argues that these initiatives are grounded in historical alterities – locally rooted ways of being “other” shaped by national histories – rather than transnational political identities. The analysis highlights how such alterities generate distinctive strategies of resistance and contribute to building food sovereignty capable of challenging globalization’s homogenizing pressures.

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is no longer a standalone clinical condition—it has become a syndemic shaped by food insecurity, social inequality, and digital marginalization in emerging economies. This convergence calls for a reimagining of public health through intersectoral, digitally enabled, and culturally grounded approaches. This study explores how intersectoral strategies, supported by digital innovation and rooted in food sovereignty, can help prevent and manage T2D in emerging countries. Methods: A narrative review was conducted using the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Studies published between 2014 and 2025 were included if they addressed T2D and food security in emerging contexts, focusing on intersectoral or multisectoral strategies. Studies on T1D, non-human subjects, and high-income settings were excluded from the study. Thirty-nine studies were critically synthesized. Results: Food insecurity acts as both a biological stressor and a sociopolitical condition that worsens poor glycemic control. Promising but underutilized intersectoral strategies include agroecological food systems, school-based nutrition programs, and community health worker networks. Digital tools, such as AI-driven diagnostics, blockchain food traceability, and mobile health platforms, offer scalable solutions but face challenges in infrastructure, digital literacy, and ethical governance. Conclusions: A digitally inclusive, ethically reflexive intersectoral paradigm is needed that recognizes food and digital access as human rights.