foe-food-sovereignty-bookletweb-8bd4cae6634617b7.pdf

This guide by Friends of the Earth International critiques the agribusiness investment model, arguing that trade and investment agreements prioritize corporate profits over food sovereignty and human rights. It advocates for a transition toward agroecology led by small-scale food producers to address hunger, climate change, and environmental degradation.

• Trade and investment agreements, including bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and free trade agreements (FTAs), prioritize agribusiness profits over the welfare of states and people, often undermining state sovereignty and the ability to protect social and environmental interests.
• Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms allow large corporations—typically those with annual revenues exceeding US$1 billion—to sue states in secret arbitration courts for implementing policies that hinder profit, creating a 'chilling effect' that discourages governments from enacting environmental or social protections.
• The agribusiness investment model promotes industrial agriculture, which is linked to widespread ecosystem degradation, high greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and persistent hunger, while impoverishing millions of farmers and workers through the concentration of land and seed access.
• Investment agreements often include 'National Treatment' and 'Most Favoured Nation' clauses that restrict a state's ability to favor domestic sectors or differentiate investments based on their local impact.
• Mega-trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are expected to increase corporate concentration in agriculture and may undermine food safety regulations, such as EU bans on hormone-treated beef or GMO labeling.
• Small-scale food producers are the most vital part of the food system, producing 70-80% of food consumed in the developing world, yet they face insecurity due to a lack of investment compared to the agribusiness model.
• Agroecology, which mimics natural ecological processes and reduces artificial inputs, is presented as a superior alternative that can increase crop yields and resilience to climate change; research on 286 projects in 57 poor countries showed an average crop yield increase of 79%.

APA

Chandrasekaran, K., & Carrau, N. (n.d.). foe-food-sovereignty-bookletweb-8bd4cae6634617b7.pdf. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/foe-food-sovereignty-bookletWEB.pdf

Chicago

Chandrasekaran, Kirtana, and Natalia Carrau. foe-food-sovereignty-bookletweb-8bd4cae6634617b7.pdf. Friends of the Earth International, n.d. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/foe-food-sovereignty-bookletWEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chandrasekaran |first1=Kirtana |last2=Carrau |first2=Natalia |title=foe-food-sovereignty-bookletweb-8bd4cae6634617b7.pdf |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/foe-food-sovereignty-bookletWEB.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chandrasekaranndfoefoodsovereigntybookletweb8bd4cae6634617b7pdf, author = {Chandrasekaran, Kirtana and Carrau, Natalia}, title = {{foe-food-sovereignty-bookletweb-8bd4cae6634617b7.pdf}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/foe-food-sovereignty-bookletWEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }