* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The World Food Programme’s Nobel prize is timely – but food security depends on radically transforming our food systems

Amrita Gupta is the communications lead for the Agroecology Fund and Daniel Moss is its executive director. Anna Lappé directs the food and democracy program of the Panta Rhea Foundation and is a member of the fund.

During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, as lockdown restrictions scrambled supply chains, the national peasant movement Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas set up an online farmers’ market and delivery system on Facebook, so urban dwellers in Manila could access locally grown grain, fruits, and vegetables. 

In Argentina, as thousands lost their jobs and homes, the grassroots organization Union de Trabajadores de la Tierra (Union of Land Workers), supplied vulnerable communities with fresh food. These “sovereign food canteens”, said UTT’s Lucas Tedesco, are powerful reminders that small producers “are the ones who feed our fellow citizens.”