The Promise and Challenges of Food Sovereignty Policies in Latin America

Abstract

The recent food crisis exacerbated the frailty of the world's food system. Nations were unable to respond to their internal market demands as national reserves were exhausted. A reduction in the grain supply forced a sharp increase in the food prices that prevented families from buying basic provisions. The rising food prices did not result in profit to farmers, but instead to a few companies that are currently in command of key areas of our food system, such as distribution, processing, and trade. In fact, the food crisis came as result of three decades of redefinition of our food systems that favored market speculation by these powerful players, instead of development. In Latin America, structural adjustments for "fiscal responsibility and government efficiency" played a key role in dismantling sovereign nations' control over food and resources. Dictated as policy recommendations and/or mandates by international banks and donors, these policies forced nations to change their constitutions to favor privatizing natural resources and deregulating food markets. Through deregulation, structural adjustment policies promoted profound changes not only in the regional food economy, but also in the governance of food itself, as they allowed large agribusinesses and fishing operations to control the production, processing, and distribution of food staples. And, most importantly, these policies generated an imbalance between producers by dismantling programs that benefitted small-scale farmers.