Food as a commodity, human right or common good: how conceptual framings shape policy development.

Different framings of food may shape food policies and their impact. Despite acknowledging food systems’ complexities, the European Commission’s Farm to Fork Strategy still addresses food as a commodity instead of a human right or common good.

A report from the Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA) to the European Commission recently concluded that the path to a more sustainable food system requires “moving from food as a commodity to food as [more of] a common good”1. This implies the need for deep reforms in food policy that touch upon every part of the food system.