**2.2. Food security perspective**

"*Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life*" [27]. Most societal and environmental challenges that humanity is currently facing relate to unsustainable consumption patterns and lifestyles. Consumption as it relates to this vision does not simply fulfill needs, but also satisfies new wants and desires. This unsustainability is supported by consumerism and producerism that have high interests for fierce productivity. Food is no exception to this global trend. The severe industrialization of the agricultural system is making the new food chain rely on pesticides and antibiotics. Processed and transformed, chemically-preserved, and nutritionally-poor, food products are nowadays more accessible and convenient options to healthy food. As a matter of fact, the results of this unsustainable production system are disastrous. It has contributed to the degradation of the conventional agriculture, and overall public health. In fact, the last two decades were driven by two major trends in the agriculture industry; first, an increase in the use of genetically modified food (GMO); and an increase in food-related diseases, such as mad cow, bird flu, and more recently the horsegate.

Emerging efforts to provide food safety and quality has led to growing number of national and international quality assurance schemes. To this end, several "new" alternatives eliminate a number of concerns towards industrial food production and distribution. These "alternative food" options include labels such as local, natural, pesticide-free, ecologically friendly, slow food movement, and localvores. A *localvore*<sup>1</sup> is a person who eats foods grown locally; within often defined as within a 100-mile radius. In eating locally, most localvores hope to better understand their food sources and support their local economy. Advocates of these move‐ ments are against any industrialization of the food chain, its production and distribution. Three pillars are key here: food mileage, support for the local economy and production methods. It is clear that these new "sustainable" alternatives are based on food security principles: food access, utilization and stability [6].
