Before moving on to a discussion on the what a human rights approach means for development, I think it is important to reflect on what development means, where it comes from and some of the implications associated with this very political and politicized term. In the book The Development Dictionary: A Guide to Power as Knowledge, Gustavo Esteva (2001:8) warns that “development occupies the centre of an incredible powerful semantic constellation.” Esteva is suggesting that our application and use of the term necessitates careful reflection because in saying “development”, most people end up saying the opposite of what they intend to convey (Esteva 2001:6).

Last week I presented some of my reflection on global governance to my supervisors and others in the Department. I had some fun playing around with James Rosenau's understanding of...

[caption id="attachment_7" align="alignleft" width="222" caption="Heritage maize for seed      (Pays Basque, 2008)"][/caption] I spend a great deal of time thinking and writing about global agri-food governance and in an attempt to coordinate, synthesise and share these thoughts, I have started this blog. I will be posting regularly on issues linked to the regulation and governance of our food systems. The majority of the posts will be linked to my PhD research but I will also reflect on issues brought up in the courses I am teaching and other activities I participate in.