Food, the Environment & the State: A Political Theory of Sustainable Diets

It is widely understood that the global food system is responsible for a large proportion of anthropogenic environmental impact. With this understanding, in recent years the notion of ‘sustainable diets’ has become widespread, both in public discourse and amongst scholars. Today, there exists a vast literature in the natural and social sciences attempting to quantify the environmental impacts associated with different foodstuffs or agricultural practices, and investigating the policy mechanisms available for the promotion of so-called sustainable diets. Up until now, however, there has not been comparable normative work in the field of political theory. This thesis sets out to fill that gap. The overarching question I address is: should states promote sustainable diets? Using Martha Nussbaum’s Capabilities Approach as a normative foundation, in the first part of the thesis – chapters 1 and 2 – I define ‘sustainable diets’ and argue that states have a pro tanto duty to promote them. Then, in the second part – chapters 3-5 – I argue states must balance this duty against other important considerations: food security, access to adequate ‘eating experiences’, and access to ‘dietary identities’. Finally, in chapter 6, I explore how states can promote sustainable diets and give some brief comments designed to guide and evaluate any such efforts.