Abstract
Venezuela’s food sovereignty movement was part of a national strategy to transition from a capitalist-based economy to ‘Socialism of the Twenty-First Century’, based on social equality, inclusion, endogenous development and participative democracy. This chapter describes fieldwork from 2009 until 2012 on collaborative grassroots-government food programmes in three cities—Ciudad Bolívar, Merida and Caracas. It provides a brief history of Venezuela and its three food pathways (Indigenous, informal and independent). The government-led food sovereignty programmes are then analysed, focusing on strategies of land reform, urban productive programmes, subsidised and regulated supermarket chains, eateries and the provisioning of free food. While these strategies could not be fully realised due to subsequent nationwide unrest, this chapter highlights both potential strategies and considerations for instigating large-scale food systemic change.