By Lydia Mazel

1. Introduction

Food security, and, more broadly, food sovereignty are global concerns, especially for economically struggling nations. In Bolivia, the poorest country in South America (World Bank), and the country with the second largest nutrition deficiency in Latin America after Haiti (Berti), food security is an immense issue. Besides having a scarcity of water, Bolivia is also home to many high altitude communities where little crop varieties grow. Although people may be filling their bellies, lack of proper nutrition leads to many future endemic problems, and the state of being full does not in itself equate to food security, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s definition of food security.

2. Bolivia: Important Statistics

As of 2012, Bolivia’s population stands at 10.5 million people, an estimated 59% of whom live in poverty (Crossroads International). The country’s HDI[i] ranking is 113th out of 182 countries (World Bank). Normal life expectancy is 66 years and under-five mortality rate is 54 per 1,000 live births (“Bolivia - Nutrition At a Glance”). In 2005, 22 percent of the population were reported to be malnourished (“Price Monitoring and Analysis Country Brief – Bolivia”). Stunting is a big problem, with four out of every ten children stunted in the most vulnerable communities (“EU Food Facility Fact Sheet”) - a statistic close in range to that of Haiti even though per capital income is higher in Bolivia (“Bolivia - Nutrition At a Glance”). In 2007, total dietary energy consumption of cereals was at 47%, while meat intake was at just 10% (“Price Monitoring and Analysis Country Brief – Bolivia”). Levels of fat intake in rural Andean villages are low in general (Berti et. al). On the other hand, obesity is also becoming a big problem in the country. The World Bank claims that there are now more overweight than underweight children in Bolivia (“Bolivia - Nutrition At a Glance”). This combination of malnutrition and obesity has become a double burden for Bolivia as children who grow up malnourished - as well as people who are overweight - are more likely than healthy individuals to develop chronic diseases. Eighty four million dollars of Bolivia’s GDP of 27,035.1 million dollars is lost each year to vitamin and mineral deficiencies alone (“Bolivia - Nutrition At a Glance”). Aside from that, malnutrition inhibits the productivity of a nation, since “children who are undernourished between conception and age two are at high risk for impaired cognitive development” and “the economic costs of malnutrition and overweight include direct costs such as the increased burden on the health care system, and indirect costs of lost productivity” (“Bolivia - Nutrition At a Glance”). These are all great losses for Bolivia, an already struggling nation. Although Bolivia is not included in the GIEWS (Global Information and Early Warning System) list of counties requiring external food assistance (“Price Monitoring and Analysis Country Brief – Bolivia”) and many people may be unaware of the situation in Bolivia, food security is a big issue.

3. Food Security vs Food Sovereignty

What is food security exactly? This paper uses the following definition of food security used by both the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), which originated at the 1996 World Food Summit: “food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” (FAO). It is important to remember that “all hungry people are food insecure, but not all food insecure people are hungry, as there are other causes of food insecurity including those due to poor intake of micronutrients” (FAO). Poverty is a key determinant of food insecurity, as poverty leaves people vulnerable and in Bolivia the “income of 40 percent of the total population to 59 percent in rural areas is insufficient to meet basic food needs” (World Food Programme). However, economic growth alone will not solve the problem of food insecurity. ‘Food security’ is a technical concept that deals with protecting current food systems and the distribution of those systems. It is a goal, and ‘food sovereignty’ is the manner through which it can be accessed.

Unlike food security, food sovereignty is a political concept, found in grassroots food movements and pertaining to human being’s right to food: “Food Sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems” (La Via Campesina, qtd. in “What is Food Security,” Food Secure Canada). Food sovereignty highlights the need for a democratic food system that involves the input from both citizens and producers (Food Secure Canada). To reiterate: ‘Food security’ does not equal self-sufficiency of a country (Lee 4), but the concept of ‘food sovereignty’ provides the blueprints for getting there in a sustainable manner.

4. Back to Bolivia: The Food Security Situation

According to the World Food Programme, “access is the main cause of food insecurity in Bolivia” (“Bolivia: Overview”). Although malnutrition rates have declined in past decades, the problem still exists (de Mestral). It is interesting to take into account the geographical and cultural characteristics of Bolivia when analyzing nutritional issues, and authors Morales et. al did just that in their 2004 research titled “Geography and Culture Matter for Malnutrition in Bolivia.” First of all, Bolivia is the only country in the Americas where Indigenous people represent the majority of the population. Statistically speaking, indigenous peoples all over the world have less access to resources and opportunities than non-Indigenous people. This includes access to jobs, healthcare, and education. Secondly, the population is overwhelmingly concentrated in high and cold areas with low agricultural productivity (Morales 374). This population is limited to growing just potatoes, onions, and carrots. In addition, in Morales et. al’s article it is noted that papers analyzing the high occurrence of malnutrition in Bolivia have hypothesized that factors including high altitude, low oxygen concentration (hypoxia) and/or genetics negatively influence children’s growth (379), which suggests that the geography in itself may be contributing to poor nutrition. However, “although malnutrition is a well-known problem in Bolivia, its complex causality is not fully understood” (374). This led them to analyze the correlation between geography and culture on malnutrition, finding: “the adverse geographical environment aggravates the problems of income generation and domestic food production,” (Morales, et. al). Furthermore, they claim that another major obstacle to accessing basic services and markets in the main cities is inadequate (and costly) transportation, aggravated by the country’s rocky terrain and scattered population (Morales et. al 375). They also found that having a home with a floor is a good indicator for a child’s future health, as well as having a refrigerator and good drainage (Morales 384). They concluded from their study that altitude and Quechua culture both influence child health (Morales 387), but that at the same time there is a “need for more investigations of the physical process in which these factors affect children’s nutrition” (or at least in 2004, when the study was conducted).

5. Government and Non-Government Actions

In response to the food security issue in Bolivia, the Evo Morales government has made some efforts in an attempt to improve the situation. Firstly, with the election of Evo Morales in 2005 - Bolivia’s first president of Indigenous descent – land reforms were put into place. In an article by Patrick Bottazzi and Stephan Rist, they explain how land reform does more than just redistribute land; it also changes society. They claim that land distribution has transformed the power structure of Bolivia (Bottazzi and Rist 547). Aside from simply improving the equity of land distribution in Bolivia, the development of large agro-industrial companies in Santa Cruz dominating the produce market was another motive for people to fight for land reforms (Bottazzi and Rist 541).

Despite the seemingly positive changes of land reform, people are not content with the reforms because they advocate for a communal conception of land ownership (thus limiting access to credit and land selling). Further, some groups have severely limited access to land (i.e. peasants in the CSUTCB[ii]) (Bottazzi and Rist 545). The land registration process appears to be unbalanced and largely in favour of lowland Indigenous peoples and rich cattle owners who own “latifundia[iii]” (Bottazzi and Rist 541). As a result, even five years after the reforms, Andean migrants are still dissatisfied (Bottazzi and Rist 543).

Land distribution has transformed the power structures of Bolivia and reinforced pre-existing polarities between peasant and Indigenous peoples (Bottazzi and Rist 547). One example of this is how the term ‘Indigenous’ has come to be associated with being granted large areas of collective land, while the ‘peasant’ category is generally associated with communal rights to smaller individually titled lands (Bottazzi and Rist 547). This comes from the “establishment of different conceptions of cultural (social and economic) functions of land that are characteristic for the different groups” (Bottazzi and Rist 545). It is thought that Indigenous groups require larger amounts of land. These tension between Indigenous and peasant populations in Bolivia is a problem that has been amplified by Evo Morales’ land reform strategies and must be addressed; the MAS (Movimiento Al Socialismo) and Morales government, based largely off of leftist policies and activism for and by regular people, cannot afford to lose the support of peasant classes (Bottazzi and Rist 543).

Three years after Evo Morales became president, a new constitution was written. In this new constitution were twelve articles that “specifically laid out a vision for food sovereignty.” Two laws were passed more recently, in 2011 and 2012, “that further codified the nation’s apparent resistance[iv] to industrial agriculture and economy too heavily weighted toward commodity crops” (Holt). One of those two laws was revolutionary in that it was the very first law to grant rights to Mother Nature. Drafted in 2010 by Indigenous groups, small-scale farmers, and others, this new law “defines Mother Earth as a living system with rights instead of an object open to unlimited exploitation” (Shahriari). The “Framework Law for Mother Earth and Integrated Development to Live Well ” addresses the concept of “living well”[v] which is viewed as a return to Indigenous values, prioritizing collectivism over individualism, having enough over having abundance, and an overall shift away from capitalism in favour of sustainability and a harmonious relationship with Mother Earth (Shahriari). The law calls for an end to practices that harm the environment - something that the author even admits is a “large undertaking” for Bolivia, a country where “existing environmental norms frequently go unenforced.” Shahriari believes that this approach to food security “requires the state to take action to avoid privatization of water and the participation of monopolies in the production of seeds and foods, along with promoting sustainable agriculture that does not exhaust soil. The law also calls for Bolivia to gradually eliminate the use of genetically modified seeds.”

6. Persisting Problems

6.1 Price of Quinoa

Quinoa is a grain native to the central Andes (Ballvé 16). The unfortunate truth about this traditional, locally available and nutritious grain is that while it has gained popularity on the international market, it has become too expensive for local peoples to enjoy on a regular basis. Increasing global demand benefits quinoa farmers, but this comes at the expense of decreasing nutrition for Bolivians as this expensive grain is being replaced by more affordable, processed foods such as rice and noodles. This trend leads to obesity and contributes to the previously mentioned “double burden” of disease faced by Bolivia (de Mestral). On the other hand, De Mestral points out that perhaps the financial benefits received by quinoa growing communities selling on the international market will improve malnutrition in the long run. One quinoa farmer quoted in an article on organic quinoa growing in Bolivia stated that remuneration for quinoa has improved significantly now that they “have relationships with the gringos” (Ballvé 17).

Besides the problem of native crops being replaced by Old World crops since the time of Spanish rule, Ballvé claims that there also exists a type of “racist stigma” against quinoa as a “third-rate ‘Indian’ or ‘rural’ food” (Ballvé 16). This racist stigma brings to mind the polarities between Andean peasant and Indigenous groups in Bolivia that were exacerbated during Evo Morales’ land reforms. It seems absurd that in a country where the general population has poor nutrition, something as nutritious as quinoa lacks popularity simply due to racist presumptions.

Another issue is the risk of outsiders trying to patent quinoa. In the past, US researchers did try to patent quinoa, but luckily for Bolivia it was unsuccessful (Ballvé 18). As a result, however, in combination with the patent controversy and government neglect, people in Bolivia have become wary of outsiders (Ballvé 18). With the election of Evo Morales, a person who appears trustworthy by many, people are willing to work with the government once again (Ballvé 18).

Financing for quinoa factories from ALBA[vi] country member Venezuela exists, but “lacks a strategic vision,” according to Andean product promoter Jose Luis Soto, interviewed in Ballvé’s article on the organic quinoa growing movement in Bolivia. (Ballvé 18). In his article he mentions that “although organic quinoa fetches a better price, organic fields are less productive and more labour intensive” (Ballvé 17). In addition, organic pesticides are expensive and sometimes the rules are hard to follow. In sum, organic quinoa growing may not be such a good option for Bolivian quinoa growers at this time if they are to reduce costs.

7. Analysis and Conclusions

Present day Bolivia has the capacity to achieve food security and food sovereignty, providing that the government works actively to help Bolivia achieve these goals. Aside from issues of access in high-altitude communities and limits to what can grow at high altitudes, a wide variety of many delicious and nutritious things grow in Bolivia, including quinoa (which does grow in high-altitude). Quinoa has become a famous and trendy superfood in the north, yet while exporting quinoa benefits quinoa growers, other Bolivians cannot afford the high price and are substituting quinoa with more affordable, less nutritious, grains. Especially in places where access to food is not an issue, the food security problem seems to be largely a problem of nutrition due to lack of knowledge and awareness, and the existing cultural habit of eating large amounts of processed foods and potatoes (often altogether).

If we are to criticize the sustainable food security of other countries, it is interesting to question the food sustainability of our own country. Bolivia does import many products, but it is important to recognize that so do we in Canada. In fact, just one trip to the supermarket shows that nearly all of the produce is imported (Canada’s cold weather is a limiting factor on what can grow). As North Americans, we are dependent on products such as bananas. Is that sustainable? We also import apples from Chile, even though Canada grows a delicious variety of apples. We live in a world where it is possible to import the products we like to be able to consume all year around, even though these products may grow very far from us. Bolivia is also part of this global food system. Yet as far as importation of products is concerned, Bolivia seems to be more sustainable than Canada. What is more, at least from what I saw, Bolivia only imports produce from neighbouring countries. While there are benefits to being part of this global food system, it greatly endangers the food sovereignty and food security of developing nations such as Bolivia.

With the arrival of the grocery store in the last ten years, Bolivia is becoming increasingly dependent on foreign markets. Items in the grocery store are more expensive than in open markets, and in fact the produce is of a lower quality. The difference in quality alone is enough to believe that Bolivian open markets will not cease to exist. Nearly all of the products in Bolivia grow nationally, with some imported to supplement. The imported products do not seem to be critical for Bolivian consumption but are more a matter of consumer preference. Nonetheless, even the products that Bolivia currently imports can also be cultivated domestically, considering the wide variety of climates and zones within the country, including the tropics. Witnessing the amount of produce that grows nationally shows me that Bolivia has very fertile land. It is up to Bolivia to protect this precious local fertility for the benefit of its people.

Recommendations to produce a food secure Bolivia include the government needs to working towards improving nutritional education and awareness for parents and children, and promoting the consumption of healthy, local foods. An awareness of where food is coming from, how the global food system is affecting Bolivia, and the role that Bolivia plays in this system also needs to be improved. The more people know and are aware of, the more people might start to care and want to work collectively to improve the situation of their country.

Aside from more education, the government should work towards providing more incentives for things that would improve nutrition locally, such as cultivating beans, raising chickens, and milking cows - all feasible activities in most parts of Bolivia. Instruction on how to grow at-home vegetable gardens would be very beneficial for people, most importantly the financial savings that can be acquired.

Land reforms need to be improved to give more people access to land and also work towards erasing racial stigmas between groups. Eliminating racial stigmas also entails more consumption of quinoa, because at the moment it is still viewed by some as a “third rate” or “Indian food” (Ballvé 16). Help from the government to lower the price of quinoa (at least domestically) would also facilitate more consumption. Quinoa is native to this region of the world and has a lot of potential to bring back nutrition for Bolivians. In the high-altitude communities where access to a wider variety of produce is a problem, the government should work towards improving the efficacy and cost of transportation to these areas. Stronger infrastructure is clearly needed and plays a huge role in development.

Bolivia has a lot of potential to become completely food sovereign and its laws thus far are a good example for other countries, including our own. If the Bolivian government works actively towards achieving these goals and strictly enforcing the laws it already has, together with the respect of these laws by both domestic and international interests, perhaps it is just a matter of time before food sovereignty is achieved. It is time to start seeing some results!

Notes

i Human Development Index

ii. Confederación Sindical Única de Trabajadores Campesinos de Bolivia

iii. Large estates such as farms

iv. I find it interesting that this author writes “nation’s apparent resistance,” because from the policies implemented, it indeed only “appears” that Bolivia is legalizing food security. This is one of few authors I read that seems skeptical of these laws in Bolivia; other articles seem to praise Bolivia for its efforts and lack critique.

v. In Spanish, “Ley Marco De La Madre Tierra y Desarrollo Integral Para Vivir Bien.”

vi. Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas

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