Forging Food Sovereignty for Human Rights and Sustainable Livelihoods

Called one of the country's “most established food think tanks” by the New York Times, the Institute for Food and Development Policy, also known as Food First, is a “people's” think tank. Our mission is to end the injustices that cause hunger, poverty and environmental degradation throughout the world. We believe a world free of hunger is possible if farmers and communities take back control of the food systems presently dominated by transnational agri-foods industries. We carry out research, analysis, advocacy and education for informed citizen engagement with the institutions and policies that control production, distribution and access to food. Our work both informs and amplifies the voices of social movements fighting for food sovereignty: people’s right to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems—at home and abroad.

Food First Programs: A Three-pronged Approach

In an effort to integrate our work for food sovereignty across rural-urban and local-global arenas, nationally and internationally, Food First divides its work into three Program Areas:

• Building Local Agri-Foods Systems
• Farmers Forging Food Sovereignty
• Democratizing Development: Land, Resources and Markets