Towards Food Sovereignty: Reclaiming Autonomous Food Systems now available online

The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), an independent international research and development organization, recently published a book that should be of interest to Grassroots International’s supporters. Available free online, Towards Food Sovereignty: Reclaiming Autonomous Food Systems offers great analysis and links to video and audio files that show farmers, indigenous peoples and consumers all working to promote food sovereignty.

Throughout the world, social movements are the driving force behind a new food sovereignty policy framework, which aims to guarantee and protect people’s space, ability and right to define their own models of production, food distribution and consumption patterns. The book’s author, Michel Pimbert, begins by describing the ecological basis of food and agriculture and the social and environmental costs of modern food systems. The book goes on to describe the historical context that gave birth to the concept of food sovereignty, along with more recent efforts to clarify and understand its deeply political character. Finally, the book lists a range of policy shifts and directions that are being suggested for national governments and other actors who seek to implement food sovereignty within their societies. Click here to read selected chapters at .