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SOCIAL SECURITY FOR FOOD

Given that the right to food is not effective for all, that food insecurity is on the rise and that the current agricultural model is in crisis, the members of the French "Collectif pour une sécurité sociale de l'alimentation" have been working for two years to define a Social Security for Food (SSF) project in France.

The collective movement has 10 members: Ingénieurs sans Frontières Agrista, Réseau CIVAM, Confédération paysanne, Collectif Démocratie Alimentaire, l'Ardeur, Union Nationale d'Associations Familiales, Mutuale, Atelier Paysan, Ami.e.s de la Confédération paysanne, VRAC. They all share the aim of putting food back at the heart of the political arena. Their aim is to transform the food system based on collective decisions around a model of food for all.

Conceived as a 6th branch of the French health social security system, the SSF is a systemic public policy, based on the principle of universality and on a system of contributions to ensure the right to sustainable food for all. The various partners agree on the format of the SSF via a "food card" giving access to agreed products worth €150 per month per person. The agreement would be based on primary funds managed democratically at local level and coordinated by a national body. The €150 per person per month would represent an annual budget of €120 billion for the State, or 8% of the added value produced in France.

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A number of points relating to the funding of the scheme are still under discussion and are the subject of disagreement: should contributions come from salaries or from companies' added value? Should they come solely from employers, or could employee contributions also be considered? A variety of scenarios are currently being studied. A number of issues are being considered with a view to making the SSF a tool for transforming food systems: gender relations in food behaviour, North-South relations in terms of food supply, access to land for producers, education and awareness-raising on sustainable food, etc.

In France, a number of local initiatives are based on this model. This is the case of the "marché du lavoir" in Dieulefit (Drôme), where different prices are proposed: a first price that just allows the producer to cover his costs, a slightly higher "solidarity price", and an "accessible price" that represents 65% of the first one (Reporterre, 2022).