Beyond Reform: Food Sovereignty and the Future of Global Food Systems

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See all articles by Smita Narula

Smita Narula

Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

Date Written: October 01, 2024

Abstract

We live in a deeply destructive food system, and the need for alternatives is clear. Yet state and corporate actors, beholden to an extractive, industrial model of food production, continue to push for incremental reforms instead of transformative action. In response, food sovereignty movements are charting a normative path in international human rights law to secure peasants' rights and promote more sustainable and just alternatives to our industrial food system. Against the backdrop of the political economy of industrial agriculture, this Article compares mainstream approaches to food systems reform with transformative alternatives rooted in food sovereignty. It explores two key questions: What makes a food practice transformative? And how are social movements and advocates using international law to advance transformative practices and secure peasants' rights? While food sovereignty movements continue to contend with significant power dynamics, I argue that the articulation of peasants' rights and the related radicalization of human rights law represent a significant win for participatory governance and collective rights. These developments also signal a critical shift in food systems discourse, paving the way for imagining and realizing alternative food futures.

Suggested Citation

Narula, Smita, Beyond Reform: Food Sovereignty and the Future of Global Food Systems (October 01, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=

Smita Narula (Contact Author)

Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University

78 North Broadway
White Plains, NY 10603
United States
10603 (Fax)

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