Introduction

In a global economy foodscapes can become fundamentally undemocratic spaces where producers and consumers have virtually no voice or meaningful participation, and only an illusion of choice. On a macro-level they are dictated by Big Food – the agribusinesses, multinational food and beverage companies and life science corporations that control supply chains. This chapter argues that these actors have created toxic food systems that are unsustainable, killing us either through deprivation or through lifestyle-related diseases such as diabetes and obesity and severely damaging the environment. It highlights the urgent need to radically reconceptualise how we grow, procure and eat food, before introducing the concepts explored at length throughout the book which are at the heart of the reconceptualisation that’s required: food sovereignty, food justice and agroecology.