Food System Liability

The first United Nations Conference on Food and Agriculture was held in 1943 and 44 participating nations “declares its belief that the goal of freedom from want of food, suitable and adequate for the health and strength of all peoples, can be achieved.”[1] In 1945 FAO the permanent organization in food and agriculture was established. Liability to ensure food security is a goal for the UN while providing enough food for its population has allowed nations and states to develop sophisticated and exceptional agricultural and food policies. Climate uncertainty and severe weather events challenge food production in different ways, and unrest and conflict between nations expand the interest in food security from the agricultural sector to foreign affairs and defense. At the same time, we observe the concentration of power to large private actors accelerate in the same crisis scenario.

This paper discusses global food security liability in a food system where rights, power, and agency are increasingly skewed. Norway is used as a case of a country that repeatedly implements exceptional policies to strengthen self-sufficiency through ‘sustainable national food production’ for its domestic market. These policies enable the exploitation of people and resources internationally to gain access to inputs such as feed, or cheap precarious labor for seasonal work and allow for the extreme concentration of power in domestic supply chains and food trade.

[1] https://www.fao.org/3/p4228e/p4228e04.htm