The history of food sovereignty in social change

Food sovereignty is a young word from the end of the 20th century, but there is a long history behind it. In order to understand its meaning and development, we need to look at the changes in production and trade since industrialization in the 19th century as well as social change.

Let's start with a look at the 18th century. Until then, the food supply was still quite manageable. Even though new foods were already finding their way to Europe following the explorations of seafarers such as Christopher Columbus, 99 percent of all products were produced within a radius that consumers could see from the church tower of their village.

The historical break came with industrialization in the 19th century. Cane sugar from America provided the working class with much-needed calories, while technical developments such as the steamship and new freezing methods opened up completely new possibilities in the food system.

As a result of the two world wars, many decades in Europe were characterized by shortages and hunger. The food shortage hit people in the cities particularly hard, as they were increasingly reliant on public supplies. Towards the end of the First World War, for example, this was only enough for around 830 calories per head. The situation improved after the Second World War, mainly thanks to foreign food aid as part of the Marshall Plan. The USA invested around 13 billion dollars in the European economy between 1948 and 1952. This not only conveyed the "spirit of reconstruction" to Europeans, but also created a market for American surplus production. A strategic step that consolidated American influence on the old continent and, historically speaking, gave rise to something akin to global trade.

At the same time, the food situation in western industrialized countries has changed significantly over the last 50 years, partly due to social change. On the one hand due to the economic upturn and prosperity and on the other hand due to modern food production and the diverse use of technology. In addition, both family situations and working life have changed considerably, leading to new forms of eating habits. The daily family meal together has become more and more the exception, as time resources are becoming increasingly scarce and the organizational effort for shopping, cooking and clearing away is perceived as a daily burden. Industrially produced, convenient food has found its way into all areas of life and households.

Automated production in large quantities and of consistent quality requires agricultural raw materials that have the best properties and are the easiest to process. Agriculture was rationalized and its products became internationally traded goods. From then on, uniform standards - for example for staple foods such as potatoes or corn - and cheap production were important. As a result, from the late modern era onwards, diversity disappeared from fields and farmland. Old varieties were lost. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 75 percent of all cultivated plants have disappeared in the past 100 years.

On the one hand, during the 1950s, the economic upturn and technical innovations meant that shortages and hunger became less of a concern in daily nutrition. On the other hand, regional food producers came under increasing pressure. Also in Austria and Europe. This is clearly illustrated by the example of local mountain farmers. After the Second World War, a serious wave of mechanization set in. Farmhands and maids disappeared and human labor became less important. With the capitalization of agricultural production from the late 1950s onwards, small-scale farming in particular came under pressure. The watchword was "grow or die". And this echoes to this day: In 1951, around 30 percent of Austria's workforce was still employed in agriculture and forestry, but this figure is currently only around 5 percent. This trend is compounded by the fact that mountain farms - which used to be businesses with employees - are now family businesses that often cannot exist without additional income from tourism.

Small-scale farming disappeared more and more, mass livestock farming and industrialized grain production emerged. These developments took hold worldwide and international trade took off professionally.

The idea of food sovereignty - even if it was not called that at the time - has its roots in the first peasant uprisings in Mexico in 1994, which became known as Zapatismo. At that time, the NAFTA free trade agreement came into force at the beginning of 1994, which was celebrated by the Western world as a global achievement and a guarantee of trade freedom. "When the WTO agreement on agriculture came into force [...] many countries that had previously been able to feed their own populations were forced to dismantle their trade barriers. As US and European products flooded onto the open markets at dumping prices with the help of export subsidies and other subsidies, hundreds of thousands of farmers lost their livelihoods." (Source: Irmi Salzer, Kleinbäuer*innen ernähren die Welt) The concept of food sovereignty was developed in 1996 by the small farmers' organization La Via Campesina (The Farmers' Way) as a strategic measure away from PR-heavy guerrilla actions and published at the FAO World Food Summit in Rome (source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations). Since 1996, the concept of the right to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced using sustainable methods and the right to design their own food and agricultural systems has been the subject of scientific debate worldwide. The concept focuses on the needs and livelihoods of producers, distributors and consumers in food systems rather than the interests of markets and corporations (source: Heitzlhofer Theresa, Ernährungssouveränität in: Environment and Education, 3/11, Vienna 2011).

In terms of national food sovereignty, this means self-determination and democratic self-organization as well as the disposal of agricultural means of production.

Numerous large countries have a massive interest in exporting and trading agricultural products. It is no secret that huge agro-industries such as the USA can produce many products in large quantities and at very low prices. What will happen to our local farmers? Will they no longer be able to sell their products because they will have to pay higher prices? Will agriculture then have to be regulated and subsidized even more intensively? Food sovereignty is very important for a country. Being able to feed its citizens from its own resources is only one aspect of this.

The high quality of local products, the preservation of our landscape and the dignity of an entire profession are numerous other points that need to be considered.