Food Values and the Human Right to Food: A Sociological Analysis of Food Insecurity in Oregon
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Date
2018-09-06
Authors
Van Pelt, Craig
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Oregon
Abstract
Treating food as a commodity is a dominant mode of valuing food in the United
States, and around the world, in which people exchange money for food. But in a world
that can feed over 10-billion people why is poverty still a primary barrier to food
security? This dissertation adds to the food justice and political economy literature by
arguing that food insecurity will linger far into the future, despite technological
advancements, because of the current food system which values food as a commodity
instead of valuing food as a human right. Through an analysis of 23 semi-structured
interviews with volunteers and workers in Oregon, and field research at a community
garden, this dissertation highlights how even in the minds of people who advocate for
food as a human right, the human right to food may only a right to people with enough
money. This research illuminates how thinking of food as a money-exchange commodity
builds a socially constructed wall between hungry people and abundant food.
Description
Keywords
Community gardens, Food as a commodity, Food dignity, Food insecurity, Food value, Hunger