Insights on governance and food security
By Alysia Jimenez, MSc Food Security
Food waste is an awfully ‘wicked’ problem
Throughout my studies as a MSc Food Security student, I have come to see how food security is not a single-issue problem but a complex and widely interconnected challenge. The Environmental Governance and Policy course has been especially important in shaping this perspective.
This course has encouraged me to move beyond technical or production-based understandings of food security and to think critically about governance, fairness, and sustainability. I have begun to see food as a human right, and food security as something that requires multi-scalar and participatory approaches, linking local, national, and global systems. This shift has also made me more attentive to how policies interact with structural causes of food insecurity.
Rethinking food security
Before beginning the module, I assumed that reducing food waste or improving production yields would be the most effective ways to address hunger. However, this course has prompted me to challenge these assumptions. I have learned how to better frame food insecurity through the human rights perspective.
This shift changes the kinds of policies and initiatives that seem appropriate, emphasizing access, equity, and justice rather than simply output. I also learned that while food policies are often developed at the national level, food insecurity is shaped by global supply chains, local practices, and community participation. This recognition means that solutions need to operate across different scales and contexts.
This course has helped me realize that food security must be framed in environmental, social, and economic terms simultaneously. Policies or interventions that focus only on one dimension (for example, reducing waste without addressing overproduction) can produce new challenges or fail to engaging with underlying issues.
This more systemic and layered way of thinking has been central to my growth in the MSc Food Security program. One example that helped me unpack these dynamics was France’s Garot Law (LOI n° 2016-138).
The Garot Law: a case study
France’s 2016 Garot Law prohibits supermarkets of 400 square meters or more from disposing of unsold food and requires them to form redistribution agreements with charities and food banks. The law also introduces an anti-food waste hierarchy, which prioritizes prevention first, then reuse (such as redirecting food to animal feed), and recycling (such as composting).
This reflects circular economy principles, which work to improve the use and efficiently of our resources to better meet the needs of individuals and societies. The law not only addresses food insecurity but also contributes to broader environmental governance goals.
The strengths of the law are clear. It provides political recognition of food waste as a social and environmental problem, requires supermarkets to formalize redistribution agreements, and ensures that usable food reaches people in need. Donations from supermarkets to charities significantly increased after the law’s introduction, with the proportion of unsold products redirected rising from 66% in 2016 to more than 90% in 2018.
By diverting organic waste away from landfill, the law also reduces methane generation, an important contribution given that food waste contributes 8–10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. These features make the Garot Law a positive example of how governance can translate activism and public concern into legislation.
At the same time, the law’s limitations reveal the challenges of relying on single, targeted interventions. Supermarkets are responsible for only about 5% of overall food waste in France, and many were already donating food before the law. While the state offered some support, the significant increase in donation created additional burdens for food banks, which often lacked cold storage, infrastructure, or volunteers to manage the extra supply.
Additionally, law does not address the primary driver of food waste, particularly overproduction within industrial agriculture and distribution inefficiencies. Tackling these issues requires more ambitious reforms, such as those being introduced through the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy, which allocates funding to diversify crops, reduce monocultures, and promote regenerative practices like composting and crop rotation.
Furthermore, the law’s limitations underscore a deeper moral dilemma that should make us ask why is food insecurity is being addressed through surplus redistribution rather than through securing an adequate and sustainable diets without a reliance on charity models?
As we can see, laws are not perfect and we cannot always rely on large institutions to get initiatives right. However; they do legitimize public concerns and create opportunities for newer and improved approaches to emerge. The Garot Law illustrates how circular economy principles can be embedded into legislation but also risks obscuring deeper structural causes of food insecurity.
Looking forward: key takeaways from the course
The Environmental Governance and Policy course has significantly influenced how I understand and frame food security. I now approach challenges not as isolated technical problems but as governance issues that demand social reforms and layered solutions. The Garot Law illustrates both the potential and the limitations of policy; as the law demonstrates how public concern can be translated into law, but also how solutions can remain incomplete if they fail to address root causes.
Engaging with the Garot Law through the lens of environmental governance has changed how I approach my MSc Food Security degree. I now look for wider solutions for food insecurity; asking not only what policy can achieve, but also who benefits and whether the intervention empowers communities, address inequalities, and contribute to environmental and economic sustainability.
In terms of my future trajectory, I want to take these insights into both research and practice. I am especially interested in food security policies that adopt participatory and justice-oriented approaches, ensuring that affected communities play a central role in shaping solutions. I also hope to contribute to discussions about sustainable agriculture and food governance, where questions of equity, resource management, and resilience are increasingly addressed.
Ultimately, the module has showed me that food security cannot be separated from environmental governance. Policies like the Garot Law are important in sparking conversations, but further progress will come from systemic reforms that integrate environmental sustainability with social and economic justice.
On MSc Food Security
I chose the MSc Food Security programme because of its interdisciplinary and global approach. This program has allowed me to explore how social, environmental, and economic systems intersect to shape food security outcomes. Before joining the programme, I tended to think about food insecurity in practical terms, i.e: availability, distribution, and efficiency.
However, courses like Environmental Governance and Policy and hands-on learning opportunities like the field study in Peru, have expanded my understanding of how social and political factors shape access to food. This learning has inspired me to pursue professional work that advocates for justice-oriented and sustainable food systems. Overall, the program, has strengthened my passion for equitable food access and empowered me to pursue professional work that builds on community participation, sustainability, and rights in food systems.
______________________________________
Learn more about our MSc in Food Security
On this MSc, you will explore how food security has become a critically important issue for societies around the globe.
You will develop a broad range of skills, including analytical tools, to deal with food security data and empower you to generate solutions to make the food system more sustainable.
Share
