Using food regime analysis, this paper explores how neoliberal agricultural policies are affecting food sovereignty in Pacific Island countries ( pic s). The principles of food sovereignty are strongly rooted in Pacific Islands agricultural practices. However, under the corporate food regime, the locus of control for food security is shifting away from communities and the nation-state to the world market. It is argued that food sovereignty in the Pacific Islands is being undermined through membership in the World Trade Organization ( wto ), wto accession agreements, and regional free-trade agreements. These agreements seek to reduce tariffs, curtail government support to local agriculture, and oblige pic s to extend private property protection to plants and seeds. Driven by commercial interests, trade agreements are also facilitating control of communal lands by the private sector, which has serious implications for food sovereignty.

This article explores the implications of the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Agriculture for the right to food in the global South. In a context in which a worldwide backlash has developed against the World Trade Organization (WTO), the politics of the Doha Round negotiations are analyzed from a food rights perspective. It is argued that since 2004 attention in the WTO has shifted from overarching human rights concerns toward a focus on technical detail constraining developing countries from acting to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to food.

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The early 21 st century food price shocks presented the first substantial test of a new era in international food governance. Leading into this period of crisis, the lines between what is 'food' and 'not food' became muddied and contested. As people took to the streets across much of the Global South to protest growing difficulty in accessing food, there was a global urgency to understand, and address, the causes of higher, more volatile prices. Amid various explanations, questions arose about the rise of industrial agrofuels and the influx of capital into agricultural derivatives markets in driving food price shocks. Publications during candidature Published conference abstracts Shona Hawkes. 'Reclaiming food, reclaiming markets: What US financialisation and agrofuels can tell us about power, crisis and resistance in the food regime'. Global food security symposium: A focus on power, equity and justice. Monash University. Caulfield, Australia.