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Changing a dysfunctional food system: Towards ecological food provision in the framework of food sovereignty
01.05.2011
The dysfunctional food system that results in a billion hungry people and more than a billion obese people needs fundamental change. This includes a different governance structure and a model of production and consumption that at its centre has the provision of healthy food, produced sustainably and as locally as possible. The paper describes options, including governance by the reformed Committee on World Food Security, that include the implementation of the findings of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development and the call for ecological food provision in the framework of food sovereignty, as called for by social movements including Vía Campesina. -
Reviews
01.06.2014
Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat Philip Lymbery with Isabel Oakeshott 2014, Bloomsbury, 426 pages, paperback, ISBN 9781408846421, £12.99; ebook £10.99Food System Failure: The Global Food Crisis and the Future of Agriculture Christopher Rosin, Paul Stock, and Hugh Campbell (eds) 2012, Earthscan from Routledge, 256 pages, paperback, ISBN 9781849712293, £23.31 -
Sustaining local food webs: insights from Kenya and the UK
01.10.2015
This paper is a contribution to the contested discourse about how healthy food supplies can be secured for future generations. It argues that the small-scale food providers who currently supply the local food webs that nourish more than 70 per cent of the world’s population can provide for the growing urban and world population, building on their skills and knowledge. The food webs they serve are productive, resilient, and healthy, connecting food providers and consumers locally. Local food webs are a cornerstone for the model of food provision, in the framework of food sovereignty, that should be prioritized in order to secure our future food. The paper sets out to demonstrate the value and challenges of local, resilient, biodiverse, and productive food systems that would benefit from greater support and compliant policies. It uses examples from Kenya and the UK to demonstrate how productive local food systems can improve small-scale family farming and reduce hunger, in contrast to industrial agricultural systems. Consumer surveys and mapping local food webs demonstrate the value that consumers place in local food production and markets, both in Kenya and the UK. The article concludes with recommendations for how to support local food webs. -
Book Review
01.10.2015