Invited talk at Indian Sociological Society

Description

On 31st March, 2025, Prof Jasmine Fledderjohann delivered an invited lecture to the Ad Hoc Group 3: Food, Culture, & Society of the Indian Sociological Society, chaired by Dr Rituparna Patgiri. Prof Fledderjohann critiqued arguments that food insecurity is a problem of overpopulation and introduced a framework for viewing food insecurity as a matter of reproductive justice. Reproductive justice is a social movement and framework for addressing structural barriers to the realisation of the rights to: 1) have a child; 2) not have a child; 3) parent children with dignity and safe and healthy environments; and 4) control one’s own body and future. Drawing on the qualitative interview data collected by our brilliant fieldwork team, Prof Fledderjohann provided empirical evidence of how food insecurity threatens reproductive justice in India. For example, many women reported self-sacrificing strategies for managing household food insecurity, e.g. neglecting their healthcare needs, taking on heavy manual labour, and reducing their own food consumption to ensure other household members’ consumption. Because access to healthcare and adequate nutrition are essential for the biological ability to conceive and for health, neglecting these needs threatens the right to have a child, to not have a child, and to control one’s own body. She explored many more pathways through which food insecurity threatens all four reproductive justice rights, including exposure to domestic abuse, creating impossible spending trade-offs between costs for food and other essentials (e.g. energy costs, adequate housing, medical treatment), and sacrifices in quality, quantity, and diversity of food items consumed.

Period	31/03/2025
Held at	Indian Sociological Society
Degree of Recognition	International