Food Sovereignty: a New Mandate for Food and Farm Policy

Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development ISSN: 2152-0801 online www.AgDevJournal.com

THE ECONOMIC PAMPHLETEER JOHN IKERD

Food sovereignty: A new mandate for food and farm policy

Published online February 10, 2015

Citation: Ikerd, J. (2015). Food sovereignty: A new mandate for food and farm policy. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, 5(2), 11–14. http://dx.doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2015.052.004

he historical justification for farm policy and healthy life” (USDA-ERS, 2014, para. 1). Unfor- T other public policies related to agriculture has tunately, the emphasis of both farm and food been food security. Contrary to current indications, policy in the U.S. has been to providing enough farm policies should serve the common interests of “calories” to support active lifestyles, while placing the public rather than the individual interest of little emphasis on health. USDA nutrition pro- farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture grams focus on education, clearly placing the (USDA) defines food security as “access by all responsibility for healthy diets on informed people at all times to enough food for an active, consumers rather than caring politicians.

John Ikerd is professor emeritus of agricultural Why did I name my column “The Economic Pamphle- economics, University of Missouri, Columbia. He was teer”? Pamphlets historically were short, thoughtfully raised on a small dairy farm in southwest Missouri and written opinion pieces and were at the center of every received his BS, MS, and Ph.D. degrees in agricultural revolution in western history. Current ways of economic economics from the University of Missouri. He worked in thinking aren’t working and aren’t going to work in the private industry for a time and spent 30 years in various future. Nowhere are the negative consequences more professorial positions at North Carolina State University, apparent than in foods, farms, and communities. I know Oklahoma State University, University of Georgia, and the where today’s economists are coming from; I have been University of Missouri before retiring in 2000. Since there. I spent the first half of my 30-year academic career retiring, he spends most of his time writing and speaking as a very conventional free-market, bottom-line agricul- on issues related to sustainability with an emphasis on tural economist. I eventually became convinced that the economics and agriculture. Ikerd is author of Sustainable economics I had been taught and was teaching wasn’t Capitalism; A Return to Common Sense; Small Farms Are good for farmers, wasn’t good for rural communities, and Real Farms; Crisis and Opportunity: Sustainability in didn’t even produce food that was good for people. I have American Agriculture; A Revolution of the Middle; and the spent the 25 years since learning and teaching the just-released The Essentials of Economic Sustainability. principles of a new economics of sustainability. Hopefully More background and selected writings are at my “pamphlets” will help spark a revolution in economic http://web.missouri.edu/~ikerdj thinking.

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Early U.S. farm policies emphasized keeping third of children and adolescents were either enough socially responsible family farmers on the overweight or obese (CDC, 2014). Furthermore, land to produce enough healthful food to meet the obesity has more than doubled in children and basic needs of all. However, the priorities of farm quadrupled in adolescents over the past 30 years — policies shifted during the 1960s and ’70s to focus the era of agricultural industrialization. It’s clearly on increasing agricultural productivity. Lower time for a new mandate for farm and food policy. agricultural production costs were expected to Food sovereignty is a term coined in 1996 by Via result in lower retail food prices, making enough Campesina, an organization of 148 international healthful food affordable for everyone. The farm organizations advocating family farm–based, policies of choice consistently promoted the sustainable agriculture (Via Campesina, n.d.). industrialization of agriculture: Megan Carney contrasts the specialization, standardization, competing policies of food and consolidation into fewer, sovereignty and food security in larger farming operations. The Obesity has more than a 2012 article in the Journal of message sent to farmers by this doubled in children and Agriculture, Food Systems, and “cheap food policy” was to Community Development (Carney, either “get big or get out.” quadrupled in adolescents 2012). The food sovereignty Agricultural over the past 30 years — movement is an explicit industrialization succeeded in rejection of the industrial reducing production costs, but the era of agricultural agriculture polices forced upon failed in its fundamental “lesser-developed” nations industrialization. It’s clearly purpose of providing food under the guise of promoting security. The percentage of time for a new mandate for food security. The poster child food insecure people in the for these policies, the Green U.S. today is greater today than farm and food policy. Revolution, is heralded as a during the 1960s, when the great success in the U.S. but is shift in farm policies began. despised by many in the parts The 1968 CBS video documentary, Hunger in of the world most directly affected. America, referred to 10 million hungry Americans In the words of Vandana Shiva, a globally (Davis & Carr, 1968). The U.S. population in 1968 prominent ecologist and Indian food activist, “The was 200 million, meaning about 5 percent of Green Revolution has been a failure. It has led to Americans were food insecure. The public outrage reduced genetic diversity, increased vulnerability to resulting from the documentary led to dramatic pests, soil erosion, water shortages, reduced soil changes in food assistance programs, which fertility, micronutrient deficiencies, soil contami- virtually eliminated hunger within a decade. Forty- nation, reduced availability of nutritious food crops five years later, in 2013, 15% of adults were food for the local population, the displacement of vast insecure, and more than 20% of American children numbers of small farmers from their land, rural lived in food insecure homes (Coleman-Jensen, impoverishment and increased tensions and Gregory, & Singh, 2014). conflicts” (Shiva, 1991, para. 1). Stacia and Kristof Furthermore, the industrial food system is Nordin, long-time farming consultants in Africa, linked to a different kind of food security problem: have concluded: “Farmers throughout the world unhealthy foods. A recent global report by 500 were encouraged to convert from their conven- scientists from 50 countries suggested that “obesity tional agricultural practices to the new improved is [now] a bigger health crisis than hunger” [Green Revolution] methods….We are only now (Dellorto, 2012). The U.S. obesity rates in 2012 beginning to see some of the long term results, but were 27% for adults (Sharpe, 2013), 18% for it would seem that instead of ending world-wide children, (ages 6 to 11), and 21% for adolescents hunger, the Green Revolution has actually fostered (ages 12 to 19 years) (CDC, 2014). More than one- it” (Nordin & Nordin, n.d., para. 3).

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During a global Forum for Food Sovereignty The principles of food sovereignty obviously need in Sélingué, Mali, in February 2007, about 500 to be interpreted differently in different countries, delegates from more than 80 countries adopted the but its basic principles are just as valid in the U.S. “Declaration of Nyéléni” (Nyéléni, 2007). It as elsewhere. The right to food must be recognized defines food sovereignty as as a basic human right, not left “the right of peoples to healthy to the vagaries of charity or the and culturally appropriate food indifference of the produced through ecologically The right to food must be marketplace. Markets have sound and sustainable methods, recognized as a basic never provided food security and their right to define their and never will. own food and agriculture human right, not left to the Farm policies to ensure systems. It puts the aspirations food sovereignty support self- vagaries of charity or the and needs of those who determination, relocalization, produce, distribute and indifference of the beneficial trade, environmental consume food at the heart of protection, land stewardship, marketplace. Markets have food systems and policies, social justice, and intergenera- rather than the demands of never provided food security tional equity. Food sovereignty markets and corporations” is the logical public policy (para. 3). and never will. mandate to support agricultural The declaration continues sustainability and a sustainable that food sovereignty “guaran- future for humanity. tees just incomes to all peoples as well as the rights of consumers to control their food and nutrition. It References ensures that the rights to use and manage lands, Carney, M. (2012). “Food security” and “food territories, waters, seeds, livestock and biodiversity sovereignty”: What frameworks are best suited for are in the hands of those of us who produce food” social equity in food systems? Journal of Agriculture, (Nyéléni, 2007, para. 3). It offers a strategy to Food Systems, and Community Development, 2(2), 71–88. resist, dismantle, and replace the current corporate http://dx.doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2012.022.004 trade and food regime with “food, farming, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014, pastoral and fisheries systems determined by local December 11). Childhood obesity facts. Retrieved from producers and users” (Nyéléni, 2007, para. 3). It http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/ promotes transparent trade and prioritizes local facts.htm markets over national and global markets. Coleman-Jensen, A., Gregory, C., & Singh, A. (20141). Food sovereignty also calls for “new social Household food security in the United States in relations, free of oppression and inequality between 2013 (Economic Research Report No. 173). men and women, peoples, racial groups, social and Washington, D.C.: USDA-ERS. Retrieved from economic classes and generations” (Nyéléni, 2007, http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1565415/ para. 3). It “empowers peasant and family farmer- err173.pdf driven agriculture, artisanal-fishing, pastoralist-led Davis, P., & Carr, M. (Writers). (1968). Hunger in grazing, and food production, distribution and America, part I. In D. Hewitt (Executive producer), consumption based on environmental, social and CBS Reports: Hunger in America. New York: economic sustainability” (para. 3). Finally, “it Columbia Broadcasting System. Retrieved from defends the interests and inclusion of the next YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v= generation” (para. 3). h94bq4JfMAA Agricultural industrialization has failed to Dellorto, D. (2012, December 14). Obesity bigger health provide food security either in the U.S. or any- crisis than hunger (CNN News global report). where else in the world. It’s time for a new public Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/ policy mandate, domestically and internationally. 13/health/global-burden-report/

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Nordin, S., & Nordin, K. (2000). Green Revolution fails. Living Heritage website: Retrieved from the Never Ending Food website: http://livingheritage.org/green-revolution.htm http://www.neverendingfood.org/articles/how- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research the-green-revolution-has-failed-to-feed-us/ Service. (2014). Overview [Food and Nutrition Nyéléni. (2007). Declaration of Nyéléni. Retrieved from Assistance]. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://nyeleni.org/spip.php?article290 http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition- Sharpe, L. (2013). U.S. obesity rate climbing in 2013. assistance/food-security-in-the-us.aspx Retrieved from http://www.gallup.com/poll/ Via Campesina. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved January 165671/obesity-rate-climbing-2013.aspx 22, 2015, from Shiva, V. (1991). The Green Revolution in the Punjab. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Campesina The Ecologist, 21(2), 57–60. Retrieved from the

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