Food Sustainability in Bolivia Through Fair Food in Switzerland? How to Improve Food Sustainability in Both the North and the South Through Sustainable Trade Relations

Bürgi Bonanomi, Elisabeth; Jacobi, Johanna; Scharrer, Bettina (2018). Food Sustainability in Bolivia Through Fair Food in Switzerland? How to Improve Food Sustainability in Both the North and the South Through Sustainable Trade Relations. Revista Latinoamericana de Derecho Comercial Internacional, 6(2), pp. 27-65. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

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The food systems of the global North and the global South are interdependent. Transforming them into sustainable food systems thus requires a joint effort. Of particular importance is how trade relations are shaped between partner countries. Viewing the respective food systems of Switzerland and Bolivia from this perspective reveals strengths and weaknesses. Their food systems bear potential for complementary that could be maximized if their trade relations were shaped in a more sustainable way; similar dynamics apply to other global North and South countries. In contrast to common polarizing discourses, the present paper argues that the current international trade regime leaves at least some policy space to shape agricultural trade in a more sustainable way. One central question is whether exporting and importing countries should be permitted – or encouraged – to distinguish and treat differently goods that have been produced in a different (more sustainable) manner. Such measures would be consistent with the “fair food” concept recently enshrined in the Swiss Constitution. If interpreted in a non-discriminatory, cooperative, and creative way, the fair food concept bears major potential to advance the UN Sustainable Development Agenda by enabling sustainable food systems to gain momentum, both in the global South and the global North.

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