Democratizing Development: Land, Resources and Markets
Social movements in the Global South are fighting for indigenous and
peasant rights, land reform, sustainable agriculture, clean water, fair
prices for agricultural goods, and freedom from foreign “dumping” and
GMO contamination.
This program area focuses on the structural causes of hunger and
poverty, and bridges the gap between transnational advocacy and local
control over food system resources. Like other program areas it links
critiques of the corporate-dominated food systems with farmer and
consumer-led alternatives that ensure justice, equity and ecological
Forging Food Sovereignty with Farmers
Dismantling the industrial agri-foods complex at the local food system
level must be accompanied by the construction of alternatives that suit
the needs of small-scale producers and low-income consumers, worldwide.
Farmers Forging Food Sovereignty focuses on farmer alternatives to
corporate control over production and consumption. The strategy is to
help farmer movements for food sovereignty and sustainable agriculture
document and share their alternatives among broad sectors of the rural
and urban population to create political will and advance peasant-led
What We Do
Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy was founded in 1975 by Frances Moore Lappe and Joseph Collins. We do research on the root causes of hunger, and publish a wide range of materials used by activists, professors, the media and our members.
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.