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conferenceseries
.com
Volume 07
Advances in Crop Science and Technology
ISSN: 2329-8863
Agri 2019
August 15-16, 2019
August 15-16, 2019 | Rome, Italy
14
th
International Conference on
Agriculture & Horticulture
Cultivating Food Sovereignty and Political Agroecology in Philadelphia and Beyond: The Power of Policy
Analysis
Hannah Kass
University of Pennsylvania, USA
S
ince the dawn of capitalism, small-scale agriculture has been consumed by industrialization and the persistent pursuit
of economic growth. Farmers’ wages are dwindling, and more of them are joining the record-high pool of hungry,
malnourished, food insecure, and diet-related disease afflicted peopleworldwide. Food and agriculture policy in theUnited
States has merely advocated for band-aid solutions to address these disparities, if any. These policies are still structured to
perpetuate the status quo of corporate farm subsidies and global trade for growing cash crops, often not even used for food,
at the grave expense of our local economies, communities, farmers, and environment. Policy analysts and decisionmakers
must liberate agriculture from a deregulated market if we wish to preserve these invaluable resources, and redistribute
power and wealth into the hands of those who can feed the world sustainably. La Via Campesina, an international
movement advocating for small sustainable farmers’ rights, coined a solution called “food sovereignty,” defined as the right
of food producers, distributors, and consumers should have control over food and agriculture policy, rather than corporate
agribusinesses. It also emphasizes the right to agroecologically produced and culturally appropriate food. The literature on
the subject is beginning to uncover a deep necessity for institutionalizing food sovereignty and political agroecology. This
paper aims to build upon this cause by asking: what can policy analysis do to empower the voices of smallholders and food
insecure people at varying levels of government? This policy analysis focuses on answering this question in the context of
the Philadelphia area’s food system. The study encompasses a thorough definition of the problems that have led to the food
sovereignty and political agroecology movements, a survey of the evidence and alternatives, an evaluation of the policy
options, an outcome projection, and a set of policy recommendations.
hkass@sas.upenn.eduAdv Crop Sci Tech 2019, Volume 07