Food Sovereignty

Food sovereignty stands for local people's right to self-determination over their land and agricultural production and for everyone's right to healthy food, produced by ecological methods.

NOAH is working to replace the current agro-industrial production system - dominated by major agricultural organizations and a few multinational companies. Instead, we want a system of production that is socially, economically and environmentally fair and that can rebuild the soil and biodiversity.

Global agricultural production is large enough to feed the world's population. But over-consumption and over-production of animal food and waste and unjust division lead to the malnutrition of large populations.

At the same time, food sovereignty is threatening the global neo-liberal trade policies and major industrial agriculture. This happens for example when trading in soy, palm oil and agrofuels give rise to 'land-grabbing' and causes unacceptable environmental and social problems where the crops are grown.

NOAH rejects and fights 'false solutions' being promoted by major agricultural organizations in cooperation with transnational companies in biotechnology, pesticides, patented seeds and agricultural machinery.

These organizations have agreed to promote the false solutions 'necessary' to feed the world and the climate challenge. For example agro-industrial 'intensification' obtained the right to using GMOs, growth hormones, fertilizers, pesticides and antibiotics used in industrial food production.

This system meets mainly multinational companies and the ever-larger farms, which thus gains control both the ground, production and distribution of food. There formås not to feed the world sustainably, but the system pushes the other hand, millions of peasants from the small farmers away from their profession and into the cities. At the same time undermines both the quality of our food as nature, biodiversity, climate and water.

Food sovereignty  is based on principles of self-sufficiency and decentralization, so large areas not seized outside the region. Countries and regions should have the right to protect their local food production and ensure food for their own population. It is the small farmers who produce food for the majority of Earth's population, and there are great opportunities to develop them so that they become more productive in an ecologically sustainable manner.

NOAH works for a food production that builds the soil and provide room for diversity of animals and plants. We are also working for the competition and the demand for cheap food should not undermine the possibilities for living by producing quality food.

We work for an agriculture that is based on closed circuit with limited external inputs to counteract climate change and pollution of water and air. And we work for everyone to have access to healthy and sufficient food and knowledge of how to feed themselves with food that is manufactured with minimal environmental impact.

Food is a right - not a commodity to be speculation.