Abstract

This paper interrogates the role of the dominant narrative of food-as-commodity in shaping how we approach food systems policy in Canada. Hidden within this narrative are assumptions about the role of individuals, communities, markets, and states in shaping Canadians’ food choices. These assumptions reflect values, and values shape policies -- privileging those that are aligned with dominant values and neglecting those that confront dominant values. In that sense, valuing food as a commodity privileges specific market-based policy goals, regulations, and public subsidies that aim to enlarge market coverage, placing corporate profit over societies´ common good; and priorizing private enclosures of commons resources over universal access to food for all. Conversely the normative shift we propose -- valuing and governing food as a commons -- could enable socio-ecologically based policy goals, regulations, and redirect public subsidies to support customary and contemporary practices that produce and distribute food differently. A shift towards valuing multiple food dimensions can engender legal frameworks that enable more and better 1) self-production; 2) stewardship of natural commons; and 3) civic participation in the governance of a resource that is essential for everybody´s survival. This paper explores the Anishnaabek concept of reciprocity relative to food systems through three case studies in which values that shape customary and contemporary exchange systems challenge dominant norms, offering lessons for a post-capitalist approach to food systems. Valuing food as a commons in Canadian policy would align the food systems narrative with civic aspirations of zero hunger, sustaining food systems, and resilient communities.  

Key words: Commons, Alternative Food Networks, Food Systems and Climate Change, Sustainability, Regenerative Economies, Environmental Policy.