Soberanía Alimentaria y huertas de traspatio en territorios marginalizados del periurbano de Morelia: ¿Hacia una reivindicación del derecho a la alimentación?

¿HACIA UNA REIVINDICACIÓN DEL DERECHO A LA ALIMENTACIÓN?

Abstract

This paper explores how families in a marginal peri-urban territory construct food sovereignty through food purchase and consumption decisions, and strategies such as implementing backyard gardens. The research focuses on the settlement called "Ampliación Leandro Valle" (ALV) located on the northwestern outskirts of the city of Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. It seeks to understand, at the housing level, how families have access to healthy, nutritious and sufficient food, asking if this contributes to legitimize the right to food in these territories. For this research we are based on the premise that backyard gardens, beyond being spaces of production, are spaces that strengthen the construction of food sovereignty in multiple ways. The results of the study reveal that basic processes of food sovereignty are built in most of the families based on the decisions made mainly by women in the food selection, purchase and cooking. In this context, backyard gardens are a fundamental practice to strengthen access to healthy, nutritious and sufficient food, especially for families with lower incomes. In addition, backyard gardens encourage solidarity practices such as giving away food and exchanging seeds between neighbours, strengthening community ties and creating support social networks.  Although the State must guarantee the right to food of the marginalized social classes of the peri-urban areas, the strong local organization and the individual and collective action of the families of ALV, contribute to legitimize the right to gain access to healthy food from below. Hence, we affirm that backyard gardens are spaces of agency, where families consciously exercise their right to choose, produce and consume healthier, more nutritious and cheaper food.