Food Sovereignty Prize

Each year, the International Links Committee of CFSC selects a prize winner who:

• promotes food sovereignty by raising public awareness, on-the-ground action, or developing and implementing programs and policies
• recognize the importance of collective action in bringing about social change
• recognizes global linkages in food sovereignty work, and
• demonstrates clear recognition of the importance of women in agriculture and food issues

What is Food Sovereignty?

We understand food sovereignty to go well beyond ensuring that all people have sufficient food at all times to meet their physical needs. The concept was put forward first by La Vía Campesina at the 1996 World Food Summit.

Communities achieve food sovereignty when they democratically control what they eat, how it is raised and by whom, and how profits in the food system are distributed. Food sovereignty encompasses the rights to food, adequate nutrition and resources necessary for each person to be able to feed him or herself with dignity and in culturally appropriate ways. Fulfilling these rights requires community action to overcome barriers imposed on some people because of gender, income, race, religion and class. Under conditions of food sovereignty, food is produced using sustainable practices and never used as a weapon or denied because of social conflict.

2010 Prize

CFSC is pleased to announce that Family Farm Defenders will receive the 2010 Food Sovereignty Prize at the 14th Annual Conference, Food, Culture & Justice in New Orleans, Louisiana. The award ceremony will take place on Monday, October 18 at 9:30 am.

Since 1994, Family Farm Defenders has worked tirelessly in the name of food sovereignty for farmers, fishers and laborers around the world. Read more about Family Farm Defenders below.

In addition to the Prize, Honorable Mentions have been awarded to the following organizations:

• The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, United States
• ROPPA (The Network of West African Peasant and Agricultural Producers' Organizations), West Africa

• The Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty, Canada

The 2010 Food Sovereignty Prize is generously supported by the Small Planet Fund, the Lawson Valentine Foundation and WhyHunger.

About Family Farm Defenders

Family Farm Defenders works to create a farmer-controlled and consumer-oriented food and fiber system based upon democratically controlled institutions that empower farmers to speak for and respect themselves in their quest for social and economic justice. FFD has worked to create opportunities for farmers to join together in new cooperative endeavors, form a mutual marketing agency, and forge alliances with consumers through providing high quality food products while returning a fair price to farmers. When La Via Campesina coined the term "food sovereignty", FFD was among the first groups to adopt, use and publicize it. They have worked tirelessly in the name of food sovereignty for farmers, fishers and laborers around the world. Their campaigns are many and range from seeking fair prices, wages and working conditions for everyone growing, catching and harvesting food to opposing irradiation, cloning, national animal identification system, milk protein concentrates, bovine growth hormone and genetic engineering to securing local food systems, fair trade and climate justice. Their board's executive director, John Kinsman, travels and is recognized internationally for his advocacy for justice and dignity, but they also strive to develop new leaders and spokespeople. Their efforts to reconnect consumers with food providers - local and international, urban and rural, younger and older - are exemplary and worthy of respect, replication and recognition.

About the Honorable Mention Recipients

The Detroit Black Community Food Security Network (DBCFSN) is a coalition of organizations and individuals working together to build food security in Detroit's Black community by: 1) influencing public policy; 2) promoting urban agriculture; 3) encouraging co-operative buying; 4) promoting healthy eating habits; 5) facilitating mutual support and collective action among members; and 6) encouraging young people to pursue careers in agriculture, aquaculture, animal husbandry, bee-keeping and other food related fields. Since its inception, DBCFSN has focused its energies in three main areas: urban agriculture, policy development and co-operative buying.

ROPPA (The Network of West African Peasant and Agricultural Producers' Organizations) is rooted in a long tradition of social organization in West Africa. The formal network was born in 2000 to fight against decades of official policies that have penalized rural people, 80% of the region's population. Its members are the national peasant platforms of 13 West African countries, bringing together all food providers - including pastoralists and artisanal fisherfolk - to develop common positions and action: some 50 million family farmers in all. ROPPA's mission is to defend the interests and the social and cultural values of West African food providers and their communities, and to build solidarity with food sovereignty movements throughout the world.

The Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty seeks to apply culturally appropriate protocols and ancient ways of knowing through a consensus-based approach to critically analyzing issues, concerns and strategies as they relate to Indigenous food, land, culture, health, economics, and sustainability. Based in British Columbia (home to 98 First Nations), the WGIFS was initiated in 2006 with a conference at Enow'kin Centre in the Interior of BC. This conference set the tone for future work, highlighting the traditional values of respect and collective responsibility for maintaining both traditional foodways and the natural elements in which they are embedded. It also emphasized cooperation and inclusiveness, overcoming the historical tensions between the two host nations and welcoming supportive "settlers." Since that time, the WGIFS has been engaged in leadership development, organizing throughout BC and supporting the creation of several regional groups, participation in international gatherings, and the launch of a e-list and website on Indigenous Food Systems.

2009 Prize

CFSC presented an award for the 2009 Food Sovereignty Prize to La Vía Campesina at the conference From Commodity to Community: Food Politics and Projects in the Heartland in Des Moines, Iowa on October 11, 2009.

The Prize was awarded to the international movement La Vía Campesina because the organization has significantly promoted food sovereignty by raising public awareness and working in communities throughout the world.

Additionally, Honorable Mentions were awarded to Community Alliance for Global Justice (United States), International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (Kenya), and the Toronto Food Policy Council (Canada).