On the Difficult Equilibrium Between Global Trade, Food Security, and Sovereignty. A Case Study of Cabo Verde and Its Implications for the Socio-Ecological Transformation of Food Systems Beyond Growth

Food security is under threat by ecological crises produced by growth-oriented capitalism. Global trade is a fundamental component of capitalist growth, and while some evidence suggests that it contributes to greater food security, critical observers often provide evidence of its negative impacts and call for fostering local production instead. We look at Cabo Verde (CV), combining fieldwork, semi-structured interviews and historical contextualization. The food system of this African island nation and former Portuguese colony is based on a difficult equilibrium between food sovereignty, security and trade. An arid archipelago with limited agricultural potential, CV has suffered from drought-famine cycles for centuries. In the 20th century, finally, thanks to increased food imports which today cover 85–90 % of demand, basic food security has been achieved. CV’s food security therefore depends on those processes of global development and growth that contribute to the global socio-ecological crisis which threatens food security globally. The case study’s broader implications suggest the need to pay attention to spatial relationality, balancing the support for local production with global trade in the context of a socio-ecological transformation of food systems beyond growth. Less emphasis should be put on asking if trade as such is desirable and more attention dedicated to studying and transforming the conditions under which trade occurs.