Food Sovereignty, Whakapapa, and Place

Abstract

Food sovereignty is increasingly promoted as an alternative to dominant food systems. In Aotearoa it is inseparable from Māori relationships to whenua and from colonial dispossession. This paper presents a kaupapa Māori review of academic, policy, and grey literature, with insights from the Manawatū region. Food sovereignty is conceptualised as a relational geography grounded in whakapapa and tino rangatiratanga. The analysis argues that food sovereignty cannot be separated from Māori food sovereignty, given Te Tiriti o Waitangi obligations and enduring constraints that shape food systems. It also proposes that food sovereignty can be enabled through healing social and environmental relationalities.