Food sovereignty is about empowering people.
Sovereignty is a big word with a simple meaning. When we talk about food sovereignty, we’re talking about who has the power and authority to make decisions about how and what a community grows.
Healthy food, sustainable methods, democratic control.
Food policies continue to consolidate power in the hands of a few. Corporatized agriculture is silencing farmers who have the knowledge and expertise to inform our agricultural systems, help mitigate climate change, and ensure the long-term protection of our land, waters, seeds, livestock, and natural biodiversity. Food sovereignty means that instead of allowing corporate interests to dictate our food and land policies we listen to the knowledge, expertise, and needs of farmers, Indigenous peoples, and their local communities.
In a world of mega corporations and monopolies, food & seed sovereignty empower farmers to call the shots, while preserving traditions, practising sustainability, and reclaiming control over their livelihoods and food systems.
Food sovereignty…
- Focuses on food for people
- Values food providers
- Localizes food systems
- Establishes control locally
- Builds knowledge and skills
- Works with nature
Seed sovereignty is just as important! Seed sovereignty is often seen as counter-movements to the dominance of large agribusiness corporations that promote uniform, patented seeds and chemical-intensive agricultural practices.
By embracing food and seed sovereignty, farmers can resist corporate control and advocate for more sustainable and equitable agricultural systems.
A growing food sovereignty movement.
To the National Farmers Union - Ontario, food sovereignty is a deeply-rooted principle and vision for an alternative food system that informs our policy, movement-building, and solidarity work.
The NFU and other family farm, Indigenous, and rural worker organizations work within the global movement, La Vía Campesina, to resist the global trade agreements and the World Trade Organization (WTO), to stop the destruction of communities, cultures, and environments, and to build an alternative which they coined “food sovereignty”. Former NFU President, Nettie Wiebe, was involved in the formation of the La Vía Campesina and the articulation of its aims.
Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC) communities have endured historical injustices that have limited their control over land and traditional food sources, and these structural disparities persist today. The NFU-O is dedicated to learning about & supporting autonomous BIPOC efforts to assert food sovereignty, correcting these disparities within our food system.
We are guided by the principles of food sovereignty that empower all farmers to reclaim their agency, preserve biodiversity, adapt to climate change, honour their cultural heritage, and build more resilient and sustainable food systems. By advocating these principles, farmers can create a more just and equitable world, where the control and benefits of agriculture are shared among the people who produce and consume food.
We advocate the inherent rights of farmers and Indigenous peoples to save, reuse, select, exchange, and sell seeds, and have called on the federal government to adopt a truly farmer-friendly seed law that balances the interests of the public, farmers, and plant breeders.
[Food sovereignty] provokes the necessary discourse about power, freedom, democracy, equality, justice, sustainability and culture. Food is taken out of the realm of being primarily a market commodity and re-embedded in the social, ecological, cultural and local contexts as a source of nutrition, livelihood, meaning and relationships.
– Nettie Wiebe, NFU President (1995-1998)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Food sovereignty is a concept that empowers farmers to have control over their food systems, prioritize food for people, and build sustainable, localized systems. It's essential for farmers because it helps preserve traditions, ensures the value of food providers, and allows them to reclaim control over their livelihoods.
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The NFU-O is the accredited farm organization for you.
The NFU-O is the accredited farm organization for you.