Food Sovereignty: Getting to Know a Concept

The 12th annual edition of Quebec’s International Solidarity conference took place this November and ran from the 12th to 23rd. During this event several specialists on agriculture and food supply were present to discuss the problems and potential solutions that currently surround the global food crisis. The central discussion of this conference dealt with the principle of food sovereignty, which is a concept first developed by the Via Campesina, an international farmers movement, at the World Food Summit in Rome in 1996. A former member of Via Campesina, José Bové, was present at Quebec’s International Solidarity Day to further explain the concept and to give recommendations.

World Food Day

Each year, since the creation of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945, World Food Day has taken place on October 16^th. This year, the emphasis was on the effects of  climate change as well as the biofuel boom. It was celebrated in more than 150 countries.