What is Food Sovereignty?

Food Sovereignty is:

1. The right of peoples, countries, and the state unions to define their agricultural and food policy without the “dumping” of agricultural commodities into foreign countries.
2. Food sovereignty  organizes food production and consumption according to the needs of local communities, giving priority to production for local consumption.
3. Includes the right to protect and regulate the national agricultural and livestock production and to shield the domestic market from the dumping of agricultural surpluses and low price imports from other countries.
4. Landless people, peasants, and small farmers must get access to land, water, and seed as well as productive resources and adequate public services.
5. FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND SUSTAINABILITY ARE A HIGHER PRIORITY THAN TRADE POLICIES.

The definition above was taken from La Vía Campesina website, viacampesina.org.