Oxfam Canada
Food Security Policy
Approved by the Board of Directors
June 1998
Introduction:
Food, the basic element for sustaining life, is increasingly treated as a commodity that by-passes the interests and basic needs of people in communities around the world. More than 800 million people in the world are hungry, malnourished or lack access to food supplies despite the fact that more than enough food is produced to feed everyone. Unequal income distribution between and within developed and developing areas of the world creates the basis for food insecurity.
Since its inception in 1963, Oxfam Canada has been active in programming that promotes food security globally. Food security is one of three central themes of Oxfam Canada’s work that is integrated into our broader mission of commitment to the equitable distribution of wealth and power through fundamental social change. This also recognizes the imperative of social justice, a sustainable environment and the equality of all people. Working in relationships of solidarity and partnership, Oxfam’s activities in food security range from development programming to emergency response and includes a strong advocacy element.
This policy statement serves as a guide to programming in each of our regions and to cooperation among the regions in food security work. It provides a concise statement of OXFAM-Canada’s position on food security issues for public education and for policy dialogue with partners, governments, and other NGOs. It also serves as a guide in regular reviews of our work. It should be read together with the Food Security Policy Background Paper, which provides our view of the context for the policies stated here.
Policy Statement:
Working in relationships of solidarity and partnership, Oxfam Canada provides support to organizations to address the basic needs and strategic interests of their members, constituents and communities to increase food security. To this end, Oxfam Canada aims to increase understanding about the nature and causes of food insecurity and engages in advocacy and education to advance policies favourable to improved food security in Canada and internationally.
Scope of the Policy:
The elements of this policy are applicable to all of the programming work of Oxfam Canada relating to food security in Africa, the Americas and Canada and elsewhere. This will also encompass our programming relating to emergencies and that undertaken through Oxfam International or other channels.
Definition:
The following definition of food security from the Bread for the World Institute reflects the philosophy, principles and aspirations upon which Oxfam Canada has developed this policy to guide its food security work.
"Food security means assured access for every person, primarily by production or purchase, to enough safe, nutritious and culturally acceptable food to sustain an active and healthy life with dignity. It includes food availability, food access and appropriate food utilization."
There are several main components encompassed within this definition that can be further elaborated as:
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availability: Food security demands adequate supplies of food at local, national, and international levels to ensure that all people, at all times, have sufficient food that should be reliable and stable so that people are free from the fear of food scarcity. |
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access: People are entitled to a sufficient and adequate food supply through direct production, exchange, or both. It is gained primarily through secure and sustainable livelihoods, whether as food producers or wage earners, and supplemented where necessary by social security programmes. |
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adequacy: Food security requires sufficient food to meet not only basic caloric requirements but also adequate nutrients to lead a healthy and active life. Food must also be safe and of good quality. |
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acceptability: Food must be culturally appropriate. People must be familiar with it and able to use it to provide a nutritious diet for themselves. |
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agency: Food security can only be ensured through the active participation of people – especially those groups with insecure access – in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of programmes, and through the strengthening of their capacity to defend their human rights. |
Principles:
The principles of this policy are entrenched in a family of rights that are inter-connected throughout a range of several United Nations Conventions that form the global scope and context in which Oxfam Canada programmes are to be developed and implemented. These are:
1. Food Security Is a Basic Human Right: Defined as a basic right and a human right by the United Nations, this was ratified or acceded by over 100 countries and was reaffirmed by civil society at the World Food Summit in 1996. Oxfam Canada’s history of programming to increase global food security and our defining of food security as a central programming theme signals our commitment to this principle. Our adoption of the Oxfam Global Charter on Basic Human Rights fosters approaches that facilitate development education, policy and advocacy promoting sustainable food security.
2. Food Security Is An Equity Issue: Oxfam Canada recognizes that hierarchies are socially constructed based on factors including race, class and gender which define relationships of power and impact on access to food. Therefore actions and programmes aimed at building food security will only succeed if they are based on a solid analysis of the power relations at various levels. Direct efforts must be made to encourage the empowerment of groups to participate in and to change those existing structures. Hence, food security programming must include a gender analysis which addresses issues including women’s rights to land, credit and other aspects as outlined in the Oxfam Canada Gender Policy.
3. Food Systems Must Be Environmentally Sustainable: Food systems need to sustain the current and future generations around the world acknowledging the environmental capacity. This requires a respect for natural biological limits within the use of available technology and non-renewable resources while giving consideration to traditional or indigenous knowledge.
4. Food Systems Must Be Culturally Sustainable: Linking closely with environmental sustainability, food systems must promote sustainable livelihoods which take into consideration cultural values, traditions and practices. As such, advocacy must promote sovereignty by drawing on indigenous knowledge and resources.
5. Food Systems Must Be Democratized: To ensure food security, food globally must be traded fairly and not be used as a political tool. Sustainable food systems must be inclusive and ensure that the needs of all parties – producers, processors, distributors, and consumers – are met fairly and adequately. Democratization and empowerment will help to ensure that all people have an equitable say in decision-making and in the allocation of land, fisheries, credit, technology and employment.