Small Farmers Cool the Planet - The Case for Rights-Based International Agroecological Law

Abstract

Agroecology and food sovereignty are vital for the functioning of food systems and should be legally protected through the Right to Food in international trade. As an emerged legal discipline, agroecological protection severed from economic goals and in line with the SDGs should be at the forefront of RTA negotiations. Trade distortions create more universal problems, such as food insecurity, social unrest, unsustainable food production, environmentally harmful farming, and political uncertainty. Some of the trade distortions could be addressed by combining food security and agroecology through a rights-based approach. For the reason that victims of food dumping need redressability for violations of their food security, whether in the past, present or future, international agroecological law may help to pave the way toward this rights-based approach by focusing on the aspect of sustainable food procurement.