Exploring food sovereignty among Amazonian peoples: Brazil's national school feeding programme in Oriximiná, Pará state
Hugo Affonso, James A. Fraser, Ítala Tuanny Rodrigues Nepomuceno, Maurício Torres, Monique Medeiros
Abstract
We present an empirically-grounded exploration of food sovereignty among Brazilian Amazonian forest-proximate peoples, revealing five dimensions bound together by autonomy: family farming, women's work, agrobiodiversity, care for nature and a preference for own produced over industrial food. We examine the compatibility of this conceptualisation of Amazonian food sovereignty with Brazil’s National School Feeding Program (PNAE). We find that in supporting family farming and local food for children, the PNAE fosters food sovereignty, but inclusion remains uneven, shaped by unequal recognition and over-centralization. The PNAE could further the actualisation of Amazonian food sovereignty by more equal inclusion of different forest-proximate peoples.