New democratic approaches to food security

Abstract

Food insecurity persists in high-income countries such as France and Belgium despite their well-developed welfare systems. Existing solutions are dominated by charity-based systems and surplus redistribution models that rely on unstable food streams, decrease nutritional quality, and reinforce stigma. Drawing from the Capabilities Approach, this paper examines Social Security for Food (Securité Sociale de l’Alimentation - SSA) as an emerging alternative that frames food as a social right, positioning it as an additional pillar of social security. Empirically, we investigate two SSA local initiatives: the pioneering experiment in Montpellier, France, and the emerging project in Liège, Belgium. In this way, we encompass both countries where the SSA is under development. While Montpellier, through the Common Fund for Food, provides evidence of the first operational implementation of the SSA, Liège offers a contrasting case that shows how the model is translated into a different sociopolitical context, and how a citizen assembly initiates such a project. Preliminary findings suggest that the SSA has the potential to overcome structural limitations of existing food-aid systems by reframing the right to food as a pillar of social security and through democratic governance. The democratic aspect of the Local Funds, through socially mixed local assemblies, supports the development of both food-related and socio-political capabilities. By mobilising food democracy as a leverage for the capabilities approach, this paper contributes theoretically by understanding how democratic involvement builds capabilities. 

Authors

Maria Antonietta Maneschi, Università di Trento; Louise Longton, Maastricht University

Speaker

Maria Antonietta Maneschi, Università di Trento

Discussant

Francesca Forno, Università di Trento