88
R.S.V. Pullin
the consequences of not adapting to those changes are severe: con fl ict, sickness,
death and, where ecosystems are damaged irreversibly, increased risks of the same
for future generations. The world’s food factories are ecosystems and the baselines
of those ecosystems are always shifting, as Pauly ( 1995 ) showed for fi sheries. Food
security is won or lost on ecological battlegrounds.
Palaeolithic humans were opportunistic omnivores (Eaton et al. 1996 ) . Omnivory
was a major factor in the evolution and success of Homo sapiens , with fi sh as important providers of the fatty acids that are essential for the development and functioning
of healthy nervous systems. Rich herring ( Clupea harengus ) and Atlantic cod
( Gadus morhua ) fi sheries contributed much to the historical food security, prosperity
and power of Europe and North America (e.g., Blaxter 1990 ; Kurlansky 1999 ) .
Many inland, coastal and open sea capture fi sheries have declined, largely because
of over fi shing and ecosystem abuse, during massive institutional failures. Meanwhile,
aquaculture has undergone rapid growth, contributing increasingly to food security
but including some environmentally and socially unacceptable impacts.
Fish, whether from aquaculture and capture fi sheries, contribute to human food
chains through fi sh chains (Thorpe et al. 2005 ; Mahon et al. 2008 ; Chap. 2 by
Kooiman and Bavinck, this volume). Sustaining those contributions is the wicked
problem that requires continuous solution. Assessments of the governability (see
Kooiman et al. 2008 ; Chap. 6 by Chuenpagdee and Jentoft, this volume) of entire
fi sh chains and of the individual links along them might indicate entry points for
interventions to improve governability.
This chapter begins by reviewing the importance of food security and the
right-to-food approach. This is followed by discussion of some of the de fi nitions
and dimensions of food security, including food safety. The contributions of fi sh
to food security are emphasized and the two supply subsectors, aquaculture and
capture fi sheries compared. Governability is then discussed in relation to food
security, from the perspective of human behaviour. The case is made for an interactive governance approach to food security, and governability assessment is
applied to evaluate three aquaculture fi sh chains. The chapter concludes with
general discussion about food security and opportunities for improving governability along the chains.
Importance of Food Security: The Right-to-Food Approach
Food security is a non-negotiable fact of life for the wellbeing of every person and is
essential for a stable society. Food insecurity causes strife and food deprivation and
has long been a weapon of coercion and war. Haddad and Oshaug ( 1998 ) summarized the progress of a human right to food, from its implicit inclusion in freedom
from want – one of the four freedoms called for by President Roosevelt in 1941 – and
found that an explicit linking of democracy and food security had not yet been
developed, compared to that achieved for democracy and economic growth, but that
elements of human rights were becoming interwoven in approaches to food policy.
R.S.V. Pullin
the consequences of not adapting to those changes are severe: con fl ict, sickness,
death and, where ecosystems are damaged irreversibly, increased risks of the same
for future generations. The world’s food factories are ecosystems and the baselines
of those ecosystems are always shifting, as Pauly ( 1995 ) showed for fi sheries. Food
security is won or lost on ecological battlegrounds.
Palaeolithic humans were opportunistic omnivores (Eaton et al. 1996 ) . Omnivory
was a major factor in the evolution and success of Homo sapiens , with fi sh as important providers of the fatty acids that are essential for the development and functioning
of healthy nervous systems. Rich herring ( Clupea harengus ) and Atlantic cod
( Gadus morhua ) fi sheries contributed much to the historical food security, prosperity
and power of Europe and North America (e.g., Blaxter 1990 ; Kurlansky 1999 ) .
Many inland, coastal and open sea capture fi sheries have declined, largely because
of over fi shing and ecosystem abuse, during massive institutional failures. Meanwhile,
aquaculture has undergone rapid growth, contributing increasingly to food security
but including some environmentally and socially unacceptable impacts.
Fish, whether from aquaculture and capture fi sheries, contribute to human food
chains through fi sh chains (Thorpe et al. 2005 ; Mahon et al. 2008 ; Chap. 2 by
Kooiman and Bavinck, this volume). Sustaining those contributions is the wicked
problem that requires continuous solution. Assessments of the governability (see
Kooiman et al. 2008 ; Chap. 6 by Chuenpagdee and Jentoft, this volume) of entire
fi sh chains and of the individual links along them might indicate entry points for
interventions to improve governability.
This chapter begins by reviewing the importance of food security and the
right-to-food approach. This is followed by discussion of some of the de fi nitions
and dimensions of food security, including food safety. The contributions of fi sh
to food security are emphasized and the two supply subsectors, aquaculture and
capture fi sheries compared. Governability is then discussed in relation to food
security, from the perspective of human behaviour. The case is made for an interactive governance approach to food security, and governability assessment is
applied to evaluate three aquaculture fi sh chains. The chapter concludes with
general discussion about food security and opportunities for improving governability along the chains.
Importance of Food Security: The Right-to-Food Approach
Food security is a non-negotiable fact of life for the wellbeing of every person and is
essential for a stable society. Food insecurity causes strife and food deprivation and
has long been a weapon of coercion and war. Haddad and Oshaug ( 1998 ) summarized the progress of a human right to food, from its implicit inclusion in freedom
from want – one of the four freedoms called for by President Roosevelt in 1941 – and
found that an explicit linking of democracy and food security had not yet been
developed, compared to that achieved for democracy and economic growth, but that
elements of human rights were becoming interwoven in approaches to food policy.