The updated Peoples’ Food Plan

The Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance has been hard at work with a range of collaborators across many areas of interest, to deliver the updated Peoples’ Food Plan. The updated Peoples’ Food Plan will remain a living document on our website that will be adapted and amended as our food system and policy settings evolve. This means that as legislation, regulation, policies and standards change, the Peoples’ Food Plan will reflect how these changes impact smallholders, First Peoples and communities.

We are calling on First Peoples, farmers, fisherfolk, women, LGBTQIA+ peoples, academics and eaters to get involved and continue to help us build a Peoples’ Food Plan by the people, for the people!

If you have an issue that believe should be addressed in the updated Peoples’ Food Plan, please scroll down to submit feedback via the form below.

If you would like to download the Peoples’ Food Plan without the option to leave comments in the document, please download a PDF version of the updated Peoples’ Food Plan here.

In 2012, AFSA developed the original Peoples’ Food Plan in response to the Australian Government’s National Food Plan. Unlike the Government’s National Food Plan, which was developed without participation from small-scale farmers and local communities, the Peoples’ Food Plan reflected the concerns and aspirations of eaters, farmers, community organisations, independent food businesses and advocacy groups. Developing the Peoples’ Food Plan was conducted as a model of participatory democracy in policy development – open, inclusive and democratic – because we knew the scale of the challenges and the urgency of the work needed to transform our dysfunctional food system, and that decision making is best located with those it affects.

Through the collectivising work around the original Peoples’ Food Plan, the food sovereignty movement in Australia emerged as an alliance of farmers, food systems organisations and individuals ready to take food justice into their own hands. 11 years on, AFSA has grown into a farmer-led civil society organisation championing the fight for food sovereignty.

With over a decade of evidence-based campaigns and policy submissions to government, AFSA is updating the Peoples’ Food Plan in 2023, drawing on key themes and recommendations put forward in our body of work.

AFSA has already been working with members and allies through targeted and public consultation to get the updated Peoples’ Food Plan draft to where it is now. We now invite anyone and everyone to give us feedback on the key themes, issues, actions and recommendations. We want the Peoples’ Food Plan to be democratically determined by those involved in this process, which is why we’re inviting contributors to make suggestions directly in the document, or offer general feedback via the form below. If you would like to dive into the document and make suggestions, email AFSA’s General Coordinator, Jess Power for access. The embedded document on this page will be updated regularly, reflecting this participatory process.

The Peoples’ Food Plan is structured in a way that aims to give policymakers, farmers, educators and allies a clear snapshot of why we need urgent food and agricultural transformation in Australia. AFSA asserts that current crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and biodiversity loss expose the fragility of industrial agriculture and global food chains, while also presenting governments with an opportunity to improve social and ecological outcomes through farming and localised food economies.

In each section of the Plan, we provide context for key policy issues related to food systems and agriculture in Australia, followed by what the food sovereignty movement deems ‘false solutions’ pushed by corporations. We then put forward Peoples’ Actions from the ground up, offering guided actions for individuals, communities, collectives, schools, and universities as well as policy recommendations for all levels of government to enact a clear pathway towards food sovereignty.

To support how policy can enable socio-ecological benefits in food and agriculture systems, case studies from Australia and around the world are included in each section. The case studies demonstrate how the Seven Pillars of Food Sovereignty already exist within the domestic and global food system.

You are welcome to read and provide feedback on one, multiple or all sections of the Peoples’ Food Plan. AFSA offers two options for submitting feedback:

  1. You can access the document for viewing and leave comments on any or all sections of the Peoples’ Food Plan for AFSA and others to read (to do this you will need to email AFSA’s General Coordinator, Jess Power, to obtain a link to the document);
  2. You can submit feedback privately via the form below, which will be sent directly to AFSA’s General Coordinator, Jess Power.

Public consultation will remain open until after the Voice to Parliament referendum. All feedback will be reviewed and incorporated into the final draft which will be launched at a later date. If you have any questions about the updated Peoples’ Food Plan draft or public consultation, please email us.

***PLEASE NOTE: The embedded document on this page may not be compatible for viewing on a mobile device. Please view the page on a tablet or computer for optimal viewing. If you do not have access to a tablet or computer, please email us for a link to the document.***

If you would like to read the Peoples’ Food Plan without the option to leave comments in the document, please download a PDF of the updated Peoples’ Food Plan here.

We’ve created distilled versions of the Peoples’ Food Plan, which summarise the key context, issues and recommendations for each section of the Peoples’ Food Plan. You might find these particularly useful when working with policymakers on specific issues. For example, if you’re putting together a submission pertaining to rezoning of agricultural land, you can use the Land and Water-use distillation below as a guide.

Access to the Peoples’ Food Plan distillations here:

Help AFSA publish the new Peoples’ Food Plan

Send us your feedback

Peoples' Food Plan Feedback
What section(s) of the updated Peoples’ Food Plan draft do you wish to provide feedback on? (Select as many as relevant or that you have read in full)
If you wish to provide feedback on more than one section, please refer to each specific section in your response.
Our aim is to build allies and strengthen relationships, not alienate people.
Do you agree with the Peoples' Actions (grassroots actions for individuals, communities, collectives, schools and universities)?
Do you agree with the Peoples' policy recommendations (government actions at a federal, state and local level)?
We welcome Australian and international case studies.
Do you consent to being listed as a contributor to the updated Peoples' Food Plan as an individual, community, collective, farm or other organisation?