"Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations."
– Declaration of Nyéléni, the first global forum on food sovereignty, Mali, 2007
Food Sovereignty is the idea when we, the people, control how food is being produced, sold, and consumed in our daily lives. This concept has the idea of the people, the consumers as the main focus. It creates appropriate, healthy food for all, both the people eating it and the livestock.
Something to note is as the population continues to grow, people struggle to feed their families, and farmers are struggling to keep their land. Everything in our society has become all about production, mass production, the most amount of food in the least amount of time. In doing this we destroy the land by overusing and overtaking from it. We also disrupt the ability of the farm to table food service.
Thinking about food sovereignty it's an idea intended to benefit people, benefit the people growing and producing the food, creates food in a local setting and cuts out corporations, as well as the ability to work with nature.
Benefits to Eating Locally
1. Food grown locally has a richer taste to it. It is a known fact that if you went to a farmers market the fruit and vegetables have been recently harvested, probably within the last 24 hours. If you go to the market and buy that produce its been picked way in advance in order to be shipped and brought to grocery stores for distribution.
2. With local food, you also have the ability to support the local economy. The products that you buy go right into the pockets of the people who grew the food. It eliminates the middle person, the grocery store.
3. With buying this product you also have the ability to communicate face to face with the people who grew the food. You can hear how it was grown and the specific processes that took place. To some, this is an important component of incorporating food into there diet.
Living in a community with farmers markets I find myself extremely lucky to experience that. The summers spent in Massachusetts also allow me to experience going to farms to pick fresh fruits and buy vegetables. These are small, family-owned businesses that thrive off local loyalty shoppers.
