Only the soil can free us by Joeva Rock, Africa is a country | 29 Nov 2018 Burkina Faso | food sovereignty Why agricultural change is political change. Take the case of farmers in Burkina Faso. Why agricultural change is political change. Take the case of farmers in Burkina Faso.
Corporate control and food sovereignty: issues and ways forward by Focus on the Global South | 15 Nov 2018 Cambodia | Indonesia | Lao People's Democratic Republic | Myanmar | Thailand | Viet Nam | corporations | food sovereignty On 24 July 2018, Focus on the Global South, ETC Group, and the Chulalongkorn University Research Institute (CUSRI) organized a forum in Bangkok on corporate concentration in agriculture and food, and its implications on food sovereignty in South East Asia. The forum brought speakers from a number of national, regional and international organisations, and the audience of around 60 individuals comprised representatives from social movements, civil society organisations, academia, and the general public. On 24 July 2018, Focus on the Global South, ETC Group, and the Chulalongkorn University Research Institute (CUSRI) organized a forum in Bangkok on corporate concentration in agriculture and food, and its implications on food sovereignty in South East Asia. The forum brought speakers from a number of national, regional and international organisations, and the audience of around 60 individuals comprised representatives from social movements, civil society organisations, academia, and the general public.
We feed the world by Jyoti Fernandez | 14 Oct 2018 United Kingdom | food sovereignty | laws & policies | actions Great talk by Jyoti Fernandez of the Landworkers Alliance on the opening night of the We Feed the World exhibition reminding us of the role we all can all play in standing up for a fairer food and farming system. Great talk by Jyoti Fernandez of the Landworkers Alliance on the opening night of the We Feed the World exhibition reminding us of the role we all can all play in standing up for a fairer food and farming system.
Bringing farming back to nature by Daniel Moss and Mark Bittman | 27 Jun 2018 technologies | food sovereignty | seeds & biodiversity Farming the land as if nature doesn’t matter has been the model for much of the Western world’s food production system for at least the past 75 years. The results haven’t been pretty: depleted soil, chemically fouled waters, true family farms all but eliminated, a worsening of public health and more. But an approach that combines innovation and tradition has emerged, one that could transform the way we grow food. It’s called agroecology, and it places ecological science at the center of agriculture. It’s a scrappy movement that’s taking off globally. Farming the land as if nature doesn’t matter has been the model for much of the Western world’s food production system for at least the past 75 years. The results haven’t been pretty: depleted soil, chemically fouled waters, true family farms all but eliminated, a worsening of public health and more. But an approach that combines innovation and tradition has emerged, one that could transform the way we grow food. It’s called agroecology, and it places ecological science at the center of agriculture. It’s a scrappy movement that’s taking off globally.
A sign-on statement to stop the poisoning of the people and the planet by Pan-Asia Pacific (PANAP) | 24 Jan 2018 corporations | food sovereignty | India | actions Thirty-three years ago today, the horrendous Bhopal gas tragedy at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in India immediately killed 3,000 people and 15,000 more subsequently. Survivors, exposed to the deadly gas and their children, continue to suffer from the world’s worst industrial disaster. Thousands of tons of hazardous wastes remain buried underground and the area remains contaminated. Meanwhile, Union Carbide, which became a subsidiary of Dow-Chemical Co. in 2001, has yet to fully account for the tragedy. Thirty-three years ago today, the horrendous Bhopal gas tragedy at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in India immediately killed 3,000 people and 15,000 more subsequently. Survivors, exposed to the deadly gas and their children, continue to suffer from the world’s worst industrial disaster. Thousands of tons of hazardous wastes remain buried underground and the area remains contaminated. Meanwhile, Union Carbide, which became a subsidiary of Dow-Chemical Co. in 2001, has yet to fully account for the tragedy.
Farming for a small planet by Frances Moore Lappé | 12 Jan 2018 corporations | climate crisis | food sovereignty An excellent, and well documented, summary article by Frances Moore Lappé explaining why the industrial food system can't feed the world, and agroecology can. An excellent, and well documented, summary article by Frances Moore Lappé explaining why the industrial food system can't feed the world, and agroecology can.
Dalit women : we’re fighting RCEP by bilaterals.org | 9 Nov 2017 India | food sovereignty Fatima Burnad is a member of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) and she advocates for women farmers’ rights. She and other Dalit women in India are concerned that Dalit women will be the most affected by RCEP and that land grabbing for corporate agriculture will impact food sovereignty, rights over land and seed preservation. But they will resist. Fatima Burnad is a member of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) and she advocates for women farmers’ rights. She and other Dalit women in India are concerned that Dalit women will be the most affected by RCEP and that land grabbing for corporate agriculture will impact food sovereignty, rights over land and seed preservation. But they will resist.
The true cost of US food identified in new report by Sustainable Food Trust | 17 Aug 2017 United States | food crisis | food sovereignty The Sustainable Food Trust today publishes summary proceedings of an international conference which brought together leading experts to establish the true cost of food in the United States (US). The US was one of the first countries to intensify food production and as a result was also one of the first to suffer from the negative impacts. The Sustainable Food Trust today publishes summary proceedings of an international conference which brought together leading experts to establish the true cost of food in the United States (US). The US was one of the first countries to intensify food production and as a result was also one of the first to suffer from the negative impacts.
Better and different! Transforming food systems through agroecology by Brot für die Welt et al. | 24 Jul 2017 food sovereignty For over half a century the struggle against poverty has been a focus of global rhetoric. Rarely, however, do people ask the most important question: Who is going to fight poverty? The World Bank and many governments have their answer: outside experts, donors and corporations will alleviate poverty. This perspective more or less reduces the struggle against poverty to an investment programme. Civil society organisations and social movements, in contrast, have a very different answer. In their view, the poor need to free themselves from poverty. This will require broadening their scope for action and strengthening their rights, and involves a programme of empowerment aimed at both more encompassing as well as piecemeal shifts in the balance of power. The poor are not needy recipients of aid; they only have their hands bound. This is where the concept of agroecology, the focus of this brochure, plays in. For over half a century the struggle against poverty has been a focus of global rhetoric. Rarely, however, do people ask the most important question: Who is going to fight poverty? The World Bank and many governments have their answer: outside experts, donors and corporations will alleviate poverty. This perspective more or less reduces the struggle against poverty to an investment programme. Civil society organisations and social movements, in contrast, have a very different answer. In their view, the poor need to free themselves from poverty. This will require broadening their scope for action and strengthening their rights, and involves a programme of empowerment aimed at both more encompassing as well as piecemeal shifts in the balance of power. The poor are not needy recipients of aid; they only have their hands bound. This is where the concept of agroecology, the focus of this brochure, plays in.
The right to seeds: a fundamental right for small farmers! by Coordination SUD | 12 Jun 2017 food sovereignty | seeds & biodiversity Without seeds, there is no agriculture. Since the beginning of farming, over 10,000 years ago, farmers have selected the best seeds from their harvests to plant in the next season, to exchange, or to sell informally. In this way they select the plants, from the varieties they have, that really correspond to their needs and to the usual diet of the local population. Owing to this selection, these varieties evolve over the years to adapt to the soil in which they grow and to climate changes. These practices are thus conducive to constant improvement and diversification of the biodiversity cultivated. Without seeds, there is no agriculture. Since the beginning of farming, over 10,000 years ago, farmers have selected the best seeds from their harvests to plant in the next season, to exchange, or to sell informally. In this way they select the plants, from the varieties they have, that really correspond to their needs and to the usual diet of the local population. Owing to this selection, these varieties evolve over the years to adapt to the soil in which they grow and to climate changes. These practices are thus conducive to constant improvement and diversification of the biodiversity cultivated.
Women and traditional oil palm: a struggle for life by World Rainforest Movement | 17 May 2017 Cameroon | land grabbing | food sovereignty Marie Crescence Ngobo coordinates the Sustainable Development Actors Network in Cameroon (RADD, by its French acronym). RADD works with women on economic and social issues, organising activities that help women regain their identity and autonomy, in order to improve their families’ living conditions. Marie Crescence Ngobo coordinates the Sustainable Development Actors Network in Cameroon (RADD, by its French acronym). RADD works with women on economic and social issues, organising activities that help women regain their identity and autonomy, in order to improve their families’ living conditions.
Meat and dairy industries damage climate by Food Tank | 1 Mar 2017 Argentina | China | United States | corporations | climate crisis | food sovereignty Food Tank interviews GRAIN about its recent report on industrial meat and climate. Food Tank interviews GRAIN about its recent report on industrial meat and climate.
Interview with Guy Marius Sagna, Coordinator of the National Coalition "No to EPAs" in Senegal by Bilaterals.org | 13 Feb 2017 Cote d'Ivoire | Ghana | Senegal | food sovereignty | laws & policies Guy Marius Sagna is the Coordinator of the National Coalition "No to EPAs" in Senegal. He discusses two free trade projects in Africa: Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA). "These deals have been preceded by the IMF and the World Bank’s structural adjustment programmes that imposed liberalising our economies and opening our markets. It’s part of an international labour division scheme that makes our “underdeveloped” countries consumers of goods from other countries whose role is to produce those goods. The EPA reinforces this process, which will impoverish our countries even more". Guy Marius Sagna is the Coordinator of the National Coalition "No to EPAs" in Senegal. He discusses two free trade projects in Africa: Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA). "These deals have been preceded by the IMF and the World Bank’s structural adjustment programmes that imposed liberalising our economies and opening our markets. It’s part of an international labour division scheme that makes our “underdeveloped” countries consumers of goods from other countries whose role is to produce those goods. The EPA reinforces this process, which will impoverish our countries even more".
Faced with the rise of nationalism and xenophobia, food sovereignty is more necessary than ever by Michel Buisson, Gérard Choplin, Priscilla Claeys and Gustave Massia | 1 Feb 2017 food sovereignty With Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, the rise of the extreme right in Europe and the increase in migration, there is an urgent need to intensify the cooperation between countries and their populations. Wars, climate change, the depletion of natural resources, poverty, hunger and malnutrition, but also the increase in inequalities, are all fundamental problems that humanity must seek to resolve together. This cannot be done without questioning both the current neoliberal globalization, and the xenophobic and nationalist orientations that are opposed to economic globalization while protecting and defending their own interests. With Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, the rise of the extreme right in Europe and the increase in migration, there is an urgent need to intensify the cooperation between countries and their populations. Wars, climate change, the depletion of natural resources, poverty, hunger and malnutrition, but also the increase in inequalities, are all fundamental problems that humanity must seek to resolve together. This cannot be done without questioning both the current neoliberal globalization, and the xenophobic and nationalist orientations that are opposed to economic globalization while protecting and defending their own interests.
Baek Nam-gi: agriculture and state violence by ISC | 10 Nov 2016 Korea, Republic of | food sovereignty On Nov. 14, 2015, Baek Nam-gi, a farmer and activist, was knocked to the ground by a water cannon fired by police. For 317 days afterward, he was unconscious and fought for his life in an intensive care unit, hovering between life and death. He ultimately passed away on Sept. 25. Baek, a farmer of life and peace, went Seoul to protect agriculture, the basis of life and peace. It was right after he had finished planting wheat seeds. On Nov. 14, 2015, Baek Nam-gi, a farmer and activist, was knocked to the ground by a water cannon fired by police. For 317 days afterward, he was unconscious and fought for his life in an intensive care unit, hovering between life and death. He ultimately passed away on Sept. 25. Baek, a farmer of life and peace, went Seoul to protect agriculture, the basis of life and peace. It was right after he had finished planting wheat seeds.