The Securitisation of Food Security in Colombia, 1970-2010
Journal
Journal of Latin American Studies
ISSN
0022-216X
ISSN-Digital
1469-767X
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2013-11
Author(s)
Abstract
After the world food crisis of the early 1970s, food policies became a ‘national priority' for Colombian development. It was the first country to implement the multi-sectoral approach proposed by international organisations. However, in the past thirty years the Colombian governments have presented nutrition as a minor health issue. During the recent world food crisis, the government insisted that Colombia was one of the most food secure countries. In seemingly similar circumstances, why was food policy made a priority in the 1970s and not in the new millennium? We will address this question with the help of securitisation theory. We argue that in the 1970s, the government successfully securitised the food issue in the context of a reduction of external food aid and a failed land reform. Recent national governments (as opposed to some local governments) have had little interest in a securitising move since the related food sovereignty discourses threaten their free market policies.
Language
English
Keywords
Food security
securitisation
food sovereignty
development
Colombia
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Publisher place
Cambridge
Volume
45
Number
4
Start page
641
End page
668
Pages
28
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
228581