ABSTRACT
Multiple governance structures have been created to address hunger and food insecurity at different scales. This chapter focuses on two of these with which the author has worked for several years, the Vermont Farm to Plate Network (US) and the United Nations Committee on World Food Security. The examples of food policy councils and Brazil’s CONSEA are included to allow comparison across different scales. In reflecting on the effectiveness of the models emphasized and their ability to lead to transformative change in food systems, characteristics that seem to play an important role are held up. These include the place of civil society and priority accorded it, especially the most vulnerable and marginalized people; the implicit or explicit rules that determine how each model functions, particularly how transparent and democratic it is; the presence of a facilitative and non-dominating “backbone organization”; use of measurable evidence-based indicators to show progress; mechanisms to allow learning and reflection; whether the work of the model structure can be integrated upwards and downwards with similar work at other scales; and whether the model facilitates coordination with more transformative social innovations such as anti-racism, wealth redistribution, and a focus on human rights. These factors are hypothesized to drive the ability of civil society to participate effectively in food system governance models to address hunger and food insecurity, and to strongly influence the ability of these models to achieve these goals.
