As GRAIN takes its annual look over the past year, the tenacity of long-standing struggles and the beginning of new ones propel us forward. GRAIN’s 2021 activity report highlights the resilience of these international movements, which are resisting corporate control of their lives and developing real alternatives towards food sovereignty.
To support this resistance, our work in 2021 covered several fronts: we exposed new threats with reports on greenwashing and Big Tech moving into food and farming; we organised with grassroots groups and local communities against land grabs, and launched a global week of action against UPOV’s attack on seeds. Whether it was a virtual discussion on the Covid-lockdown of people’s markets in Asia, an agroecology training programme in West Africa or visits to seed banks in India and Zimbabwe, these diverse efforts come down to one thing: defending people’s food systems. In this, GRAIN never works alone, but in partnership with groups and communities worldwide.
But the past year has also been one of profound loss to GRAIN and to social movements. We said goodbye to several close friends, including our own colleague Carlos Vicente. Our 2021 Highlights report pays tribute to them and shares struggles that continue to live on.