In France since 2022, the Ministry of Agriculture has seen its remit extended: Annie Genevard, the current holder of the portfolio, is Minister of Agriculture. and Food Sovereignty. Since then, the government has periodically produced reports assessing France's food sovereignty (the latest is dated 31 March 2024).
What exactly does this concept mean? "In the strategic sense in which it is now understood, food sovereignty means that a country is less vulnerable to disruptions in its food supply chains", explains Catherine Araujo-Bonjean, a doctorate in economics and CNRS research fellow at the Centre d'études et de recherche en développement international (CERDI).
The concept of food sovereignty emerged in 1996, "driven by civil society and NGOs in developing countries under the aegis of the Via Campesina anti-globalisation movement", recalls the academic, whose research focuses on these countries. Two years earlier, negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) had led to the creation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), further liberalising trade across the globe. For the first time, agricultural products were included in the agreement.
"WE CAN'T BE SOVEREIGN IN ALL AREAS".
Catherine Araujo-Bonjean notes that "agricultural policies are still mainly focused on maintaining affordable food prices for their populations", but until recently the various countries had no hesitation in relying on imports. The shift has been underway since 2020: Covid-19, followed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and now threats from our American ally, are forcing governments to change their paradigm.
Even before the tough negotiations imposed by Donald Trump, the conflict in Eastern Europe caused a realisation that the two belligerents were among the main exporters of two products essential to the agri-food industry: cereals and fertiliser. In its latest report, the French government notes that our country "suffers from a very high dependency on imports of nitrogen and proteins", the famous soya cakes used in animal feed.
How can we ensure French food sovereignty? "We can't be sovereign in all areas, so we need to define priority areas", explains Catherine Araujo-Bonjean. "Sovereignty has to be considered sector by sector, country by country, supplier (imports) or customer (exports). It is built upstream and downstream, from production to consumption. In this way, it is possible to influence consumers' eating habits, by encouraging them "to turn away from certain types of product in order to reduce our dependence on imports".
Recalling that "for us, food sovereignty is thought of at the level of the European Union", the economist stresses that international openness protects us against domestic shocks, such as drought years:
"In a global market, production shocks tend to offset each other: a poor harvest in one part of the world will be offset by a good one elsewhere. In a smaller market, this would not be the case.
"MOST CONFLICTS ARE GENERATED BY THE QUEST FOR RESOURCES, AND FOOD IS ONE OF THEM".
Food is a vital need, and a government that failed to feed its population properly would face security tensions. But, and this is much less well known, the quality of nutrition also affects a country's stability, security and even growth.
This is the aim of an international initiative that is still little known to the general public, the "Nutrition for Growth" (or N4G) summit. Every four years, usually in the country that hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games the previous year, government officials from around the world meet to coordinate initiatives aimed at improving human nutrition. The first summit was held in London in 2013, the next in Milan in 2017 and Tokyo in 2021. The next is being held in Paris at the end of the monthunder the aegis of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot.
France has appointed Brieuc Pont "Special Envoy for Nutrition" and Secretary General of "Nutrition for Growth" Paris 2025. Previously France's ambassador to Nicaragua, and having worked for Bercy and Matignon, the diplomat stresses the importance of nutrition for security:
"Most conflicts are generated by the quest for resources, and food is one of them. Food insecurity causes social tensions and internal and external migration. It is also a consequence of conflict.
With "representatives from 110 countries and dozens of international organisations", the summit will look at nutrition from all angles, explains Brieuc Pont: "The consequences of climate change on food and health, the impact of nutrition on social protection, gender inequalities, the improvements made possible by innovation, as well as the oceans and crises...".
The diplomat insists that "the cost of inaction in this area is very high". A few figures illustrate this: "Worldwide, one in two deaths of children under the age of 5 is due to malnutrition, and one in three women suffers from anaemia. 45 million children under the age of 5 are emaciated, 150 million are undernourished and suffer from stunted growth, particularly intellectual stunting. Medical imaging shows that the brain of a child who is malnourished during the first two years of life develops less".
MALNUTRITION "MAINLY CONCERNS THE POOR, WHEREVER THEY ARE".
Malnutrition "mainly affects the poor, wherever they are", adds Brieuc Pont. "The most disadvantaged populations eat mostly ultra-processed foods, and very few vegetables. In Canada and Northern Europe, scurvy is making a comeback. Less aware of the risks of junk food, these populations are also victims of aggressive advertising, with disastrous results:
"Breast-milk substitutes can have therapeutic benefits. But in countries where food quality control is poor, substitute producers sometimes add sugar in such a way as to create an addiction in babies, who end up rejecting their mother's milk. In Latin America, some parents even put soda in baby bottles because they don't have enough drinking water.
In the United States, obesity is becoming a "threat to national security", continues the General Secretary of N4G: "80% of young people are unfit to serve in the armed forces because they are overweight. Recently, flats have been sold without kitchens, as their occupants have all their meals delivered already prepared. This is a worrying trend.
To deal with these situations, the N4G summit in Paris will be making "hybrid commitments": in development aid, financing soil irrigation, adapting seeds to climate change or supporting local economic fabrics. "We can also fight against foods that are too sweet", continues Brieuc Pont. "In France, a local authority can commit to withdrawing ultra-processed foods from its canteens, as was the case for wine in 1956 for under-14s! A general ban was imposed in 1981.
The diplomat points out that better nutrition would bring "between 11 and 20% more GDP for developing nations". Ultimately, he hopes that "this summit will generate political will, and that we will realise that nutrition is a universal issue".
To find out more, click here: https://nutritionforgrowth.org/
