Food sovereignty, food security and health equity: a meta-narrative mapping exercise

Anelyse M Weiler; Chris Hergesheimer; Ben Brisbois; Hannah Wittman; Annalee Yassi; Jerry M Spiegel

doi:10.1093/heapol/czu109

Food sovereignty, food security and health equity: a meta-narrative mapping exercise

Health Policy Plan. 2015 Oct;30(8):1078-92. doi: 10.1093/heapol/czu109. Epub 2014 Oct 6.

Authors

Anelyse M Weiler¹, Chris Hergesheimer², Ben Brisbois², Hannah Wittman², Annalee Yassi², Jerry M Spiegel³

Affiliations

¹ Sociology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Global Health Research Program, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia Sociology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Global Health Research Program, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia.
² Sociology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Global Health Research Program, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia.
³ Sociology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, Global Health Research Program, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia jerry.spiegel@ubc.ca.

Abstract

There has been growing policy interest in social justice issues related to both health and food. We sought to understand the state of knowledge on relationships between health equity--i.e. health inequalities that are socially produced--and food systems, where the concepts of 'food security' and 'food sovereignty' are prominent. We undertook exploratory scoping and mapping stages of a 'meta-narrative synthesis' on pathways from global food systems to health equity outcomes. The review was oriented by a conceptual framework delineating eight pathways to health (in)equity through the food system: 1--Multi-Scalar Environmental, Social Context; 2--Occupational Exposures; 3--Environmental Change; 4--Traditional Livelihoods, Cultural Continuity; 5--Intake of Contaminants; 6--Nutrition; 7--Social Determinants of Health and 8--Political, Economic and Regulatory context. The terms 'food security' and 'food sovereignty' were, respectively, paired with a series of health equity-related terms. Combinations of health equity and food security (1414 citations) greatly outnumbered pairings with food sovereignty (18 citations). Prominent crosscutting themes that were observed included climate change, biotechnology, gender, racialization, indigeneity, poverty, citizenship and HIV as well as institutional barriers to reducing health inequities in the food system. The literature indicates that food sovereignty-based approaches to health in specific contexts, such as advancing healthy school food systems, promoting soil fertility, gender equity and nutrition, and addressing structural racism, can complement the longer-term socio-political restructuring processes that health equity requires. Our conceptual model offers a useful starting point for identifying interventions with strong potential to promote health equity. A research agenda to explore project-based interventions in the food system along these pathways can support the identification of ways to strengthen both food sovereignty and health equity.

Keywords: Food security; food sovereignty; health equity; meta-narrative; social determinants; social justice.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Food Supply*
Health Equity*
Humans
Social Justice*
Socioeconomic Factors*

Grants and funding

ROH-115207/Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Canada