Education

the right of people and communities to define and control their own food systems, including how food is grown, shared, and distributed. Rooted in Indigenous and traditional food systems, it prioritizes local knowledge, cultural practices, and relationships to land over industrial, centralized models. Food sovereignty goes beyond access to food, it is about restoring autonomy, cultural continuity, and the ability to sustain communities in relationship with their ecosystems.

are place-based ways of growing food developed over generations through close relationships with land, climate, and ecosystems. These systems are guided by observation of seasonal cycles, soil health, biodiversity, and local conditions, often including practices such as crop diversity, seed saving, and low external inputs. Rather than controlling nature, traditional farming works with ecological processes to sustain long-term soil health, community wellbeing, and ecosystem balance.

the concentration of beneficial nutrients in food that support human health. Influenced by how food is grown and processed, research on nutrient density suggests that regenerative and traditional farming systems that build healthy soils and biodiverse ecosystems can produce more nutrient-dense foods.

plants grown at scale within industrial systems, designed for high-volume trade and most often used for animal feed, biofuels, or the production of ultra-processed foods. They are known as “commodity” crops because they are standardized and treated in the market as interchangeable, regardless of where or by whom they were grown. In the industrial system, they are valued for their uniformity and tradability, which makes them profitable, but also helps drive the simplification of landscapes, diets, and supply chains. Common examples include corn, soy, wheat, and cotton.