Guaranteeing adequate and healthy food from land that does not provide all the means required for physical and cultural survival is a challenge faced by most villages in the state of Sao Paulo. The Comissão Pró-Índio de São Paulo, or Pro-Indian Commission of São Paulo has interviewed indigenous and specialists in food sovereignty and now presents, in a special news article, the main issues involving the theme in indigenous communities, looking into its origins and consequences. This issue has been addressed at meetings held by Comissão Pró-Índio in the Tenondé Porã indigenous village.
Indigenous people’s food sovereignty is directly related to land ownership. Anthropologist Maria Emília Pacheco, who chairs the Brazilian Ministry of Social Development’s National Council of Food Security, says it is impossible to address the issue of food insecurity without taking into account land demarcation and ownership, as well as the overuse of pesticides. “It’s very hard to talk about indigenous people’s food sovereignty without touching on the land issue, which is a key issue,” she emphasizes. Click here to read the full article.