The Role of Human Rights and Agroecology at the UN Food Systems Summit : A Study of Food Security Discourse in Global Food Governance

Abstract: The UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), held in September 2021, brought great expectations of a sustainable food systems transition in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was, however, almost instantly criticised for failing to be transparent, implementing a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) and agroecological principles, and for not including the UN Committee of Food Security (CFS). The CFS has reached high credibility over the last decade due to its inclusive and transparent structure. The UNs partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the appointment of Agnes Kalibata as Secretary General Guterres’ Special Envoy to the UNFSS has further been the basis for arguing that corporate actors has gained power and influence over the UNFSS. Following Friedmann and McMichael’s Food Regime Theory (FRT), the aim of this thesis is to use Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to explore the UNFSSs contributions to the food security discourse of the contemporary food regime within the frameworks of human rights and agroecology. The conceptualisation of food security bears political and economic implications and the UNFSSs contributions to its discourse could potentially influence global food governance and the future role of the CFS.