trade and people’s food sovereignty

This position paper by Friends of the Earth International argues that current global trade rules, particularly those of the WTO, undermine food sovereignty and sustainability. It advocates for a shift from industrial, export-oriented agriculture toward localized, sustainable food systems that prioritize the rights of small farmers and the environment over corporate interests.

• The World Trade Organisation (WTO), World Bank, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) promote an unsustainable agricultural system focused on industrial, export-oriented production driven by transnational corporations (TNCs). This system fails to ensure global food security, as 826 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition despite sufficient global food production.
• Trade liberalization under the WTO's Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) has increased food import costs and undermined small-scale farming. In a study of 14 countries, import costs from 1995-98 exceeded 1990-94 levels in all cases, with India and Brazil seeing their food import bills more than double. In Sri Lanka, the AoA led to a surge in imports and a decline in domestic crop production, resulting in the loss of 300,000 rural jobs from the reduction of onion and potato production alone.
• Export-led development, often mandated by IMF and World Bank loan conditions, leads to land concentration and the displacement of subsistence farmers. Examples include Cambodia, where 10-15% of farmers became landless after 1989, and the Philippines, where 700,000 agricultural jobs were lost since 1996. In India's Andhra Pradesh, the Vision 2020 plan is expected to displace 20 million small farmers.
• A small number of transnational corporations exercise extreme control over global agricultural trade. For instance, six TNCs control 85% of the world grain trade, eight handle 55-60% of coffee sales, and three control 83% of the cocoa trade. In the Asian seed market, three companies—Cargill, Pioneer, and CP-DeKalb—control 70%.
• Industrial agriculture causes significant biodiversity loss, with 75% of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops lost since 1900. This is attributed to land conversion, agro-chemical use, and the replacement of natural ecosystems with simplified systems of a few crops. Small farms are noted as being 200 to 1000 percent more productive per unit area than large farms.
• Long-distance food trade increases environmental pollution and global warming. In the US, food travels an average of 1,200 miles between producer and consumer. In the UK, air-freighted imports of fruit and vegetables increased by 90% between 1980 and 1990.
• Developing countries face a severe debt crisis that forces them into unsustainable export-led agriculture. In 1996, Ethiopia and Bolivia used 42% of export earnings to service debt, while Peru used 35% and Ghana 26%. The document argues for unconditional debt cancellation based on the 'ecological debt' owed by industrialised nations to the South.

APA

Friends of the Earth International (2003). trade and people’s food sovereignty. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/newfinallowres.pdf

Chicago

Friends of the Earth International. trade and people’s food sovereignty. 2003. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/newfinallowres.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth International |title=trade and people’s food sovereignty |date=April 2003 |url=https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/newfinallowres.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearthinternational2003trade, author = {{Friends of the Earth International}}, title = {{trade and people’s food sovereignty}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2003}, month = apr, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/newfinallowres.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }