In food systems scholarship, the case for basic income to reduce food insecurity is well-established. Less well-appreciated is the potential for basic income to support young farmers, improve rural vitality, promote gender equality and racial justice in agriculture, and assist farmers in building resilience in the face of climate chaos and other overlapping crises. In and of itself, basic income cannot transform the food system. However, by guaranteeing an income floor and thus freedom from necessity, it could be a potent tool in radical, democratic struggles against systems of oppression and towards justice—in the food system and beyond.

Selon la recherche sur les systèmes alimentaires, il est clair qu’un revenu de base réduit l’insécurité alimentaire. Par ailleurs, on s’intéresse moins au potentiel qu’aurait un tel revenu dans le soutien aux jeunes agriculteurs, l’amélioration de la vitalité rurale, la promotion, dans le secteur agricole, de l’égalité entre les sexes et de la justice raciale, et le renforcement de la résilience des agriculteurs. Ces derniers font en effet face au chaos climatique et à diverses crises qui se chevauchent. En soi, le revenu de base ne peut bien entendu pas transformer le système alimentaire. Toutefois, la garantie d’un revenu minimum, et donc de l’autonomie financière, serait un outil puissant tant pour les luttes démocratiques radicales contre les systèmes d’oppression et que pour celles en faveur de la justice. Nous sommes d’avis que son impact transcenderait même le système alimentaire.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Power, E., McBay, A., (2025), "An unconditional basic income is necessary but insufficient to transition towards just food futures", HSSCommons: (DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v9i2.533)

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1. basic income
2. family farmers
3. food system justice
4. just food futures
5. rural vitality

Original publication: Power, Elaine; McBay, Aric. "An unconditional basic income is necessary but insufficient to transition towards just food futures." Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation, vol. 9, no. 2, 2022, pp. 31-37. DOI: 10.15353/cfs-rcea.v9i2.533. This material has been re-published in an unmodified form on the Canadian HSS Commons with the permission of Canadian Food Studies / La Revue canadienne des études sur l'alimentation. Copyright © the author(s). Work published in CFS/RCÉA prior to and including Vol. 8, No. 3 (2021) is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY license. Work published in Vol. 8, No. 4 (2021) and after is licensed under the Creative Commons CC BY-SA license. For details, see creativecommons.org/licenses/.