Food politics

Question

This piglix contains articles or sub-piglix about Food politics

Answer 1

Public distribution system

Public distribution system (PDS) is an Indian food security system. Established by the Government of India under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution and are managed jointly by state governments in India, it distributes subsidized food and non-food items to India's poor. This scheme was launched in India on June 1947. Major commodities distributed include staple food grains, such as wheat, rice, sugar, and kerosene, through a network of fair price shops (also known as ration shops) established in several states across the country. Food Corporation of India, a Government-owned corporation, procures and maintains the PDS.

In coverage and public expenditure, it is considered to be the most important food security network. However, the food grains supplied by the ration shops are not enough to meet the consumption needs of the poor or are of inferior quality. The average level of consumption of PDS seeds in India is only 1 kg per person / month. The PDS has been criticised for its urban bias and its failure to serve the poorer sections of the population effectively. The targeted PDS is costly and gives rise to much corruption in the process of extricating the poor from those who are less needy. Today, India has the largest stock of grain in the world besides China, the government spends Rs. 750 billion ($13.6 billion) per year, almost 1 percent of GDP, yet 21% remain undernourished. Distribution of food grains to poor people throughout the country is managed by state governments. As of date there are about 500,000 Fair Price Shops (FPS) across India.

...

Wikipedia

Answer 2

Rationing in the United Kingdom

Rationing was introduced temporarily by the British government several times during the 20th century, during and immediately after a war.

At the start of the Second World War in 1939, the United Kingdom imported 20 million long tons (20 Mt) of food per year, including about 70% of its cheese and sugar, nearly 80% of fruits and about 70% of cereals and fats. The U.K. also imported more than 50% of its meat and relied heavily on imported feed to support its domestic meat production. The civilian population of the country was about 50 million. It was one of the principal strategies of the Germans to attack shipping bound for Britain, restricting British industry and potentially starving the nation into submission.

To deal with sometimes extreme shortages, the Ministry of Food instituted a system of rationing. To buy most rationed items, each person had to register at chosen shops, and was provided with a ration book containing coupons. The shopkeeper was provided with enough food for registered customers. Purchasers had to take ration books with them when shopping, so the relevant coupon or coupons could be cancelled.

In line with its business as usual policy during the First World War, the government was initially reluctant to try to control the food markets. It fought off efforts to try to introduce minimum prices in cereal production, though relenting in the area of controlling of essential imports (sugar, meat, and grains). When it did introduce changes, they were limited in their effect. In 1916, it became illegal to consume more than two courses while lunching in a public eating place or more than three for dinner; fines were introduced for members of the public found feeding the pigeons or stray animals.

In January 1917, Germany started using submarines to sink all ships headed to Britain in an attempt to starve Britain into submission. To meet this threat to the food supply voluntary rationing was introduced in February 1917. Bread was subsidised from September that year; prompted by local authorities taking matters into their own hands, compulsory rationing was introduced in stages between December 1917 and February 1918, as Britain’s supply of wheat decreased to just six weeks' worth. To facilitate the process, ration books were introduced in July 1918 for butter, margarine, lard, meat, and sugar. For the most part, rationing benefited the health of the country. During the war, average energy intake decreased only three percent, but protein intake six percent.

...

Wikipedia

Answer 3

Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System

The Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS) was established in 2006 and compiles and analyzes information to help design and evaluate rural development strategies and monitor the progress of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). CAADP is a program of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which aims to increase the share of national budgets allocated to agriculture.

Especially in the agriculture-based economies of Africa, agriculture is the sector that can affect not only poverty reduction and food security, but can also foster economic growth and sustain the environment. African countries have set up CAADP to reach these goals and a Mutual Accountability Framework (MAF) to measure the program's progress. ReSAKSS plays an important role in this monitoring system by collecting relevant data and undertaking systematic analyses.

In November 2009 a conference was held to assess progress in implementing CAADP in African countries with several countries surpassing the target of 10% of their annual budgets to agriculture.

Besides Strategic analysis, information and data management and capacity strengthening activities to support CAADP implementation and informing policy and decision-making processes in Africa more generally, ReSAKSS data is used by various other actors to analyze and monitor African agricultural development.

For instance, the data has been used by the G8,G20, the OECD,USAID, and the Heinrich Böll Foundation.

The initiative is governed by Steering Committees that are chaired by the African Union Commission (AUC) and AU–NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency (NPCA) at the Africa-wide level and by Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Southern African Development Community (SADC) for each of the African sub-regions. The Steering Committees with representatives of the different CAADP stakeholders provide political and strategic guidance to ReSAKSS.

...

Wikipedia

Answer 4

Right to food

The right to food, and its variations, is a human right protecting the right for people to feed themselves in dignity, implying that sufficient food is available, that people have the means to access it, and that it adequately meets the individual's dietary needs. The right to food protects the right of all human beings to be free from hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition. The right to food does not imply that governments have an obligation to hand out free food to everyone who wants it, or a right to be fed. However, if people are deprived of access to food for reasons beyond their control, for example, because they are in detention, in times of war or after natural disasters, the right requires the government to provide food directly.

The right is derived from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which has 160 state parties as of May 2012. States that sign the covenant agree to take steps to the maximum of their available resources to achieve progressively the full realization of the right to adequate food, both nationally and internationally. In a total of 106 countries the right to food is applicable either via constitutional arrangements of various forms or via direct applicability in law of various international treaties in which the right to food is protected.

At the 1996 World Food Summit, governments reaffirmed the right to food and committed themselves to half the number of hungry and malnourished from 840 to 420 million by 2015. However, the number has increased over the past years, reaching an infamous record in 2009 of more than 1 billion undernourished people worldwide. Furthermore, the number who suffer from hidden hunger - micronutrient deficiences that may cause stunted bodily and intellectual growth in children - amounts to over 2 billion people worldwide.

Whilst under international law states are obliged to respect, protect and fulfill the right to food, the practical difficulties in achieving this human right are demonstrated by prevalent food insecurity across the world, and ongoing litigation in countries such as India. In the continents with the biggest food-related problems - Africa, Asia and Latin-America - not only is there shortage of food and lack of infrastructure but also maldistribution and inadequate access to food.

...

Wikipedia

Answer 5

Right to Food Guidelines

Right to Food Guidelines

The Voluntary Guidelines to support the Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food Security, also known as the Right to Food Guidelines, is a document adopted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2004, with the aim of guiding states to implement the right to food. It is not legally binding, but directed to states' obligations to the right to food under international law. In specific, it is directed towards States Parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and to States that still have to ratify it.

In 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is founded.

In 1996, the FAO organises the 1996 World Food Summit, in Rome. It requested that the right to food be given a more concrete and operational content. This resulted in the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action.

"We pledge our political will and our common and national commitment to achieving food security for all and to an ongoing effort to eradicate hunger in all countries, with an immediate view to reducing the number of undernourished people to half their present level no later than 2015."

In 1999, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted General Comment No.12 ‘The Right to Adequate Food’ and described the various State obligations derived from the ICESCR regarding the right to food. It places three types of obligation on States Parties: the obligation to respect, to protect and to fulfil the right to food (which includes the obligations to facilitate and to provide).

In 2002, at the World Food Summit in June, the FAO adopted the Declaration of the World Food Summit: five years later calling for the establishment of an intergovernmental working group to prepare a set of guidelines on the implementation of the right to food. In November, the FAO Council set up an Intergovernmental Working Group which drafts the Right to Food Guidelines.

...

Wikipedia

Answer 6

Shopped

Shopped

Shopped: The Shocking Power Of British Supermarkets is a book by British author and investigative journalist Joanna Blythman first published by Fourth Estate in 2004. Described by one reviewer as "an emotive and bitter attack on [Britain's] supermarket culture" the book examines the way supermarkets have changed "diets, cities, countryside and economy" in Britain and argues that consumers have unwittingly "surrendered control over what [they] eat to a few powerful chains." Along with Felicity Lawrence's Not On The Label (2004) and Colin Tudge's So Shall We Reap (2003), Shopped was seen by some critics as representing the frontline of the emerging, radical Slow Food movement in Europe. The book helped establish Blythman's reputation as "one of the most influential commentators" on British supermarkets. It was the winner of the Best Food Book prize at the 2005 Glenfiddich Food and Drink Awards and was shortlisted for the 2005 Guild of Food Writers' Awards.

...

Wikipedia

Answer 7

Short food supply chains

Short food supply chain (SFSCs) is a term that describes a broad range of food production-distribution-consumption configurations, such as farmers' markets, farm shops, collective farmers' shops, community-supported agriculture, solidarity purchase groups. More in general, a food supply chain can be defined as "short" when it is characterized by short distance or few intermediaries between producers and consumers.

SFSCs were originally identified as examples of "resistance" of farmers to modernization of the food system, characterized by the development of supply chains based on long-distance trade. Resistance consists in the fact that, by selling directly to consumers, farmers bypass intermediaries and thus can develop autonomous marketing strategies based on differentiation. These strategies give farmers the possibility of keeping a bigger share of the value added within the farm and within the local economies. Given these characteristics, short food supply chains are increasingly taken into consideration by rural and food policies as a driver of change in the food system and a policy tool for rural development.

The analysis of short food supply chains has fed a broader debate on "alternative food chains", "alternative food networks", and "sustainable food chains".

SFSCs are considered the most appropriate channels for organic and locally specific products and for small farmers. In fact, a closer relation between producers and consumers gives producers the opportunity to develop a richer communication, and to identify market niches. Ilbery and Maye state, “the crucial characteristic of SFSCs is that foods which reach the final consumer have been transmitted through an SC that is 'embedded' with value-laden information concerning the mode of production, provenance, and distinctive quality assets of the product”. Likewise, Marsden et al. (2000) state that “a common characteristic, however, is the emphasis upon the type of relationship between the producer and the consumer in these supply chains, and the role of this relationship in constructing value and meaning, rather than solely the type of product itself”.

In order to develop a definition of SFSCs, there are a number of candidate criteria that may be used. SFSCs incorporate dimensions of geographic, social, and economic proximity

SFSCs are classified by Renting et al. into face-to-face, proximate, extended. Face to face are characterized by physical encounters between producers and consumers (as in the case of farmers' markets). In the proximate short food supply chains producers are not necessarily managing product distribution (as in the case of consumers' cooperatives). In the extended short food supply chains, although geographical distances between producers and consumers may be long, consumers are aware of the identity of the producers and of the products (such as in the case of fair trade and protected denominations of origin).

...

Wikipedia

Answer 8

Slow Food

Slow Food

Slow Food is a grassroots organization founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986. It has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds, and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of the broader slow movement. Its goals of sustainable foods and promotion of local small businesses are paralleled by a political agenda directed against globalization of agricultural products.

Slow Food began in Italy with the founding of its forerunner organisation, Arcigola, in 1986 to resist the opening of a McDonald's near the Spanish Steps in Rome. In 1989, the founding manifesto of the international Slow Food movement was signed in Paris, France by delegates from 15 countries.

At its heart is the aim to promote local foods and traditional gastronomy and food production. Conversely this means an opposition to fast food, industrial food production and globalisation.

The Slow Food organisation has expanded to include over 100,000 members with branches in over 150 countries. Over 1,300 local convivia chapters exist. 360 convivia in Italy—to which the name condotta (singular) / condotte (plural) applies—are composed of 35,000 members, along with 450 other regional chapters around the world. The organisational structure is decentralised: each convivium has a leader who is responsible for promoting local artisans, local farmers, and local flavors through regional events such as Taste Workshops, wine tastings, and farmers' markets.

Offices have been opened in Switzerland (1995), Germany (1998), New York City (2000), France (2003), Japan (2005), the United Kingdom, and Chile. Global headquarters are located in Bra, near Turin, Italy. Numerous publications are put out by the organisation, in several languages around the world. Recent efforts at publicity include the world's largest food and wine fair, the Salone del Gusto in Turin, a biennial cheese fair in Bra called Cheese, the Genoan fish festival called SlowFish, and Turin's Terra Madre ("Mother Earth") world meeting of food communities.

...

Wikipedia

Answer 9

Slow Food Nation

Slow Food Nation was an event organized by Slow Food USA, which celebrates slow and sustainable foods. Slow Food Nation attracted an estimated audience of more than 50,000 people. Held over the Labor Day weekend from August 29 to September 1, 2008, the majority of the event took place in either San Francisco's Civic Center and Fort Mason Center. Slow Food Nation's founder is influential chef and author Alice Waters. In addition to a specially-created "victory garden" in front of San Francisco City Hall, a marketplace, tastings, photo exhibits [1], and other events, Slow Food Nation featured panels led by food luminaries such as Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, as well as the founder of Slow Food, Carlo Petrini.

Civic Center Victory Garden in front of City Hall

A close-up of the Victory Garden

the Marketplace

the Marketplace, with art featuring the event's slogan "Come to the Table"

...

Wikipedia

Answer 10

Social class differences in food consumption

People from different social classes eat different foods. Not all foods are available to everyone. People start to learn to like foods that are appropriate to their class while they are children. Based on the food that people decide to consume, their social class position is often revealed.

People from the middle classes generally enjoy healthier diets than their lower class counterparts. Part of the explanation for this is that middle-class parents tend to be less permissive in their food choices, are less concerned with the cost of food products, and are more attuned to issues of health. However, permissiveness, health and cost considerations are insufficient to account for the social class variation in food consumption.

Social class differences in food consumption are not necessarily static. A study of Finnish consumption patterns for the period from 1979 to 1990 found that across all classes the consumption of butter, high-fat milk, coffee and sugar had decreased and the consumption of vegetables had increased. From the mid-1980s, social class differences in food consumption had diminished with the lower social classes following consumption patterns established by the upper classes.

Author of Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu wrote extensively on how people of different social classes (specifically the working class) choose what they eat. According to Bourdieu, there isn't much of a choice when it comes to food regarding the working class. The middle class decides which foods are "good" and "bad", which in turn influences what the working class consumes. While the middle class can afford to eat whatever they'd like, the working class simply has a "taste for necessity" and eats what they can afford.

A food desert is a geographical area that lacks adequate grocery stores or markets that provide fresh and nutritious foods that are financially accessible to the people within the area. Food deserts are often found in lower income neighborhoods, which in turn limits the availability of higher quality foods to residents of these neighborhoods. Since the residents of these areas are not able to consistently shop for groceries within a reasonable distance from where they reside, this results in their regular consumption of foods considered unsuitable for maintaining a healthy and nutritious diet (i.e. fast food or food from convenience stores).

People tend to define types of foods as belonging to a certain class based on how expensive (or inexpensive) they are. In a study done on students who were asked to categorize restaurant menu items into each of the different social classes, students considered cheap, simple meals lower-class while meals that were much more expensive and came with a choice of wine were considered upper-class.

...

Wikipedia