Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Normatively Defensible Values
hevaluesendorsedbyLVCdrawoninternationalhumanrightstreaties,andspe-
ciicallyontherightsenumeratedaroundfood—inotherwords,rightsnearlyuniver-
sally agreed upon, at least in name. One-hundred and sixty countries are party to the
InternationalCovenantonEconomic,Social,andCulturalRights,whichbegins with:
All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely
determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development; . . . The States Parties to the present Covenant . . . shall promote the real-
izationoftherightofself-determination,andshallrespectthatright.
This Covenant commits signatories to the recognition of self-determination, one of
thefundamentalnormativevaluessupportedbyLVC.Yetdominantcontemporary
foodsystemsdonotprovideforthetypeofself-determinationenvisionedbyLVC.
LVCandmanyofthegroupsmentionedintheintroduction—SlowFood,MCAC,
FairTrade—largelyagreethatcurrentinternationalmarketstructuresfailtoallow
orpromoteself-determination,andhaveotenpushedreformsdirectlyinimicalto
it. Neoliberal approaches such as structural adjustment policies and preferences for
international trade subordinate national sovereignty and regional self-determination
tointernationalmarketforces(Rosset2006,Desmarais2007,45-73;IAASTD2009,
45-46,85).
Inlinewiththeideaofself-determination,LVCanditsallieshaveassertedthat
food sovereignty cannot be simply approached as a concept or academic defini-
tion, but must arise “from a collective, participatory process that is popular and
progressive...constantly enriched through various agrarian debates and politi-
cal discussions” (Stédile and de Carvalho 2011, 25). hey advocate participa-
torypoliticalprocessesasawaytonegotiatediferingandconlictingvalues,both
within the movement itself and within society more broadly. Representation is
achievedthroughahorizontalprocessofconsultationanddiscussion;LVCleaders
are meant to be strictly accountable to and to represent the interests of their mem-
bers through well-defined constituencies within regional and local peasant orga-
nizations (Desmarais 2007, 28).8 hrough this approach, LVC aims to relect the
self-determination it calls for in broader society.
Indemandingself-determinationandotherrightsforpeasants,LVCfundamentally
demandsthe“righttohaverightsoverfood,”(Patel2009,663)—ademandtopolitical
systemsatalllevelstorecognizeandactivelysupportdefensiblevalues.“Forrightsto
mean anything at all, they need a guarantor, responsible for implementing a concomi-
tantsystemofdutiesandobligations”(668).YetPatel'sanalysisalsoassertsthatfood
sovereignty'sradicalandinherentlycontestablecharacterunderminestheverynotion
ofrights'guarantor,asitsformulatorsrejecttheideathatstateshaveparamountauthor-
ity.IfthestatesthathavesigneddocumentsliketheICESCRdonothaveparamount
authority, who then may serve as a guarantor?
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