Food and Faith

Soccer fun at the US Social Forum

At the United States Social Forum in Detroit, while the Agrarian Road Trip folks were hitting the workshops, members of the Poverty Initiative as well as the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Picture the Homeless, and NESRI rallied for a solidarity soccer game, as a sign of solidarity with the struggles of the South African poor, in particular the Abahlali baseMjondolo, who are fighting displacement caused by the World Cup. See the video:

Would you believe it? Corporate lobbying is blocking food reforms

Oh, you aren't surprised?

Yes, it is true. One of, if not the most, consolidated industry on the planet - agribusiness - is lobbying against food and agricultural policies that would help impoverished people and nations.

Perhaps the stature and position of the speaker is what is noteworthy here. Dr. Samuel Jutzi is a Senior United Nations director of the animal production and health division of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization was paraphrased in this article from The Guardian --

"...powerful lobby groups were able to delay decisions, sometimes for many years, and "water down" proposed improvements. Their job was made easier because the FAO works by consensus, so persuading as few as two or three national governments to oppose an idea was enough to block it.

Then this direct quote --

"I have now been 20 years in a multilateral organisation which tries to develop guidance and codes for good agricultural practice, but the real, true issues are not being addressed by the political process because of the influence of lobbyists, of the true powerful entities."

Joyce d'Silva, a director with Compassion in World Farming, confirmed this position adding that it was "horrifying" that --

"the narrow interests of certain commercial sectors can have more influence than organisations which represent the values and aspirations of millions of citizens."

Read more

Hunger costs poor countries $450 billion a year

A new report by ActionAid reveals that hunger could be costing poor nations $450 billion a year – more than ten times the amount of aid needed to halve hunger by 2015 in order to meet Millennium Development Goal One (MDG 1). ActionAid’s report scores donor and developing nations on their efforts to fight hunger and is released as world leaders prepare to meet next week at the UN in New York to discuss progress on the Millennium Development Goals.

via actionaidusa.org

Seems illogical, but the costs of poverty are far greater than what it would cost to end poverty!

Here is an excerpt: “Malawi and Ghana are shining examples of how supporting small scale farmers is the key to halving hunger,” said ActionAid’s Africa Hunger Free Coordinator Henry Malumo. “With only five years left and a billion people hungry, it’s critical that the world follow their example.”

Helping to whitewash or transforming tainted $ into something good?

I'm curious to see what folks think of this. When I started receiving emails from various groups to vote for them so they could win some Pepsi Challenge money, I had mixed feelings because of my disdain for giant corporations pushing empty caloried, corn syrup water on folks in the US and around the world - with all the effects on water sources, corn production and its downstream effects, health, and so on. So, when I saw this exchange on the Community Food Security Coalition listserv this morning, I thought I'd share it and see if others have thoughts on this...

Related post: End hunger with corporate partnerships?  (Oh, and by the way, another term for this I heard was 'poorwashing'.)

=======

Thanks for writing this Michelle. When I was in charge of grants for several food-related nonprofits I consciously made the decision not to apply for this grant.

It would be one thing if Pepsi set up a foundation arm (a la Kellogg), but its such a blatant marketing ploy - and pitifully small grants to boot! Imagine if Kellogg had a "Tony the Tiger" grant program that required that you promote frosted flakes on Facebook to compete for "votes"?!?

My best, Liz Snyder

What? Spend only $4.50 a day on food?

A friend of one of our Hunger Action Advocates is doing the $4.50 a day challenge.

"I’m taking the “Eat on $4.50 a Day” Challenge, thrown down by Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and United Way Silicon Valley. This is Hunger Action Week, and the hope is that people like me who don’t have to struggle to survive will get an idea of how those who do exist on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (the new term for “food stamps”). The average benefit is about $4.50 a day per person."

Read more

Aid for poor = Aid for banks. Would it be too much to ask?

World Communion of Reformed Churches  

News Release

20 September 2010

The same commitment to overcoming global poverty is needed as that which was generated in response to the crisis in the banking sector, a senior church official has told the head of the Swiss delegation to the UN summit meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) underway in New York this week.

Setri Nyomi, general secretary of the Geneva-based World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), told Switzerland’s Foreign Minister, Micheline Calmy-Rey, that the resources found in 2008 to address the financial crisis surpassed what many thought was possible at the time.

 

“We need that same level of commitment from nations like Switzerland if we are to meet the Millennium Development Goals,” Nyomi told Calmy-Rey. “How could it be that there is money for a safety net for the financial crisis but not for the food crisis?”

What is AGRA and why do you need to know about it?

The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) will impact millions of the most impoverished people in the world -- for good or for bad.  We as Christians are deeply concerned about the persistence of poverty, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. So, below are some juicy resources to help get you up to speed. The analysis will also help with the background you need to understand other US policies that are being formulated to direct more agricultural aid for Africa. Read them, pick one to discuss with folks in your congregations, and check back here for future posts on AGRA, Feed the Future and related legislation.

Since this is being "imposed on Africa," it might be nice to let them have the first word --

Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) – A New Green Revolution is imposed on Africa by a collaborative effort between amongst others, the Bill and Melinda Gates and Rockefeller Foundations, the World Bank, and agro-industries to replace Africa’s seeds, crops and knowledge with hybrids, GMOs, fertilisers and pesticides. Because this industrial system needs large tracts of land, AGRA is also funding the push to change land tenure systems, privatise land and so facilitating the rapid change of land from community custodianship to just another commodity in the pockets of investors. The sheer amount of money and political influence the Green Revolution push has behind it, is now dominating the debate on agriculture, pushing for stricter intellectual property rights on seeds, weak biosafety legislation, in the process narrowing Africa’s options for food sovereignty both on country and local level.  (from Mount Kenya Declaration on the Global Crisis and Africa’s Responsibility).  

For starters, here is a recent editorial of sorts from Eric Holt-Gimenez - Monsanto in Gates' Clothing? The Emperor's New GMOs http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/308

Read Ending Africa’s Hunger by Raj Patel, Eric Holt-Gimenez and Annie Shattuck. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090921/patel_et_al

1) Voices From Africa – African Farmers And Environmentalists Speak Out Against A New Green Revolution In Africa.  Edited by Anuradha Mittal with Melissa Moore.  Published March 2009.  40 pages [PDF] http://www.seattleglobaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/voicesfromafrica_full.pdf

Celebrate the launch of the US Food Sovereignty Alliance!

Call to Action October 10-17, 2010

Ending Poverty by Rebuilding Local Food Economies

Celebrate the Launch of the US Food Sovereignty Alliance!
 
Emerging out of the US Working Group on the Food Crisis, the US Food Sovereignty Alliance will be the first of its kind in the United States. To celebrate its launch, we encourage people fighting for food justice and sovereignty to take actions during the week of October 10-17.
 
In solidarity with people all over the world, we call on food justice groups to hold community events that educate, celebrate, and create affordable access to safe, healthy, culturally appropriate food while turning our food systems into engines for local economic development. We call for actions to build food sovereignty in the US.
 
October 10:  Global Work Party to Tackle Climate Change
October 12:  Day of Indigenous Resistance to Conquest
October 15:  World Rural Women's Day
October 16:  World Food Day                
October 17:  International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
 

October 10:  350.org is calling for actions on 10/10/10.
Up to one-third of global greenhouse gases come from industrial agricultural, but small-scale farming can eliminate hunger and cool the planet. Climate change also disproportionately affects food insecure people and communities of color. Some suggested actions:

• Throw a work party to support or create community gardens or farmers‚ markets
• Hold "Farm to School Fresh Food Feasts" or a community meal of local food
• Petition local governments to support local agriculture to end climate change and poverty

October 12:  Day of Indigenous Resistance to Conquest (formerly Columbus Day) is celebrated across the Americas with actions toward recovering the land, water, and autonomy that belonged to indigenous peoples and their displaced urban allies. Currently, corporations are grabbing land in the U.S. and all over the world, depriving all people of their rights and their livelihoods. Some suggested actions:

• Celebrate "liberated land" - community gardens, public parks, or protected indigenous lands
• Join existing land campaigns and alliances like Right to the City, Take Back the Land, and FIAN International
• Circulate petitions denouncing genetically engineered food, fish, and trees

 
October 15: World Rural Women's Day
Rural women make up more than a quarter of the world population. They hold a key role in food production and contribute to the well-being of their families, rural economies, and food security. Some suggested actions:

• Write a letter to the editor of your local or regional paper about the importance of rural women in our states and around the world for food production and food security
• Invite women farmers to discuss their lives and struggles
• Create an award for exceptional local rural women or women's groups
• Link up with sister organizations for a joint event like a community meal
• Inform local media, the mayor, city council, and local business associations about what you're doing and why

 

October 16:  Ending Poverty by Rebuilding Local Food Economies/World Food Day
La Via Campesina -- a global movement fighting for food sovereignty and agrarian reform -- calls for actions against transnational corporations responsible for privatizing seeds, promoting a chemical-dependent, industrial-scale form of agriculture and aquabusiness/industrial fisheries that bankrupt and displace fishers, farmers, and farmworkers. Local food economies are the solution. Some suggested actions:

• Declare Who Fishes Matters by signing the petition and uploading your own short video about why the concentration, consolidation and industrial-scale takeover of our fisheries is a bad idea. More action steps.
• Support CIW's Campaign for Fair Food against supermarkets that refuse to pay higher wages to farm workers
• Host a Food Justice Workshop to share food and information about taking back our local food systems
• Celebrate and organize Grub Parties with local chefs, gardeners, farmers, and eaters to build community and dismantle racism and sexism
• Promote local food with Farmers' Market Fair Food Festivals
• Protest BP in solidarity with fishermen, farmers, restaurant workers, and others in the Gulf of Mexico food system

 
October 17:  International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

October 10-17, 2010 is also the Churches Week of Action on Food, and denominations and congregations in the US around the world are praying, studying and acting during this historic week. Guides, worship resources, and action ideas are available. The Guide to the Churches Week of Action on Food for use in the United States and the worship service liturgy can be both be downloaded.
 
To get involved or inform us of actions you will be planning, contact the co-facilitators of the Grassroots Mobilization & Action Committee: Tristan Quinn-Thibodeau, WhyHunger:  [email protected] (646) 380-1162; or Stephen Bartlett, Agricultural Missions: [email protected]  (502) 896-9171.  Also consider joining this committee!
 

Justice for People of the Land and Sea!
Healthy Food for All!

Download the PDF Flier of the Call to Action October 10-17, 2010

Download Word Doc of the Call to Action October 10-17, 2010

Living wage organizing works!

Betty Martin (on the right) has worked for the Buffalo School District as a bus aide for over 20 years. As she puts it, she is the “first line of defense” for Buffalo’s school children. She is the first person a child sees on his/her way to school and the last person he/she sees before going home. Betty has broken up fights between students, warded off assaults from students, waited with children when parents haven’t shown up for pick-ups, and calmed a bus load of kids after the bus was caught in a gun fight.

When the Coalition for Economic Justice (CEJ), a group funded by the Presbyterian Hunger Program, met Betty she was at top pay with the district, $9.05/hour with no benefits. Starting bus aides were earning just $7.66/hour. She had just risen to the rank of union president and returned a call from CEJ to find out more about who we were and how she could help herself and her coworkers secure a living wage.

Although Betty’s fight is far from over, she has built her skills as a leader over the last two years, mobilized and engaged her coworkers, and played a huge role in securing passage of a living wage policy at the Buffalo School Board level – a policy impacting nearly 1,000 school service professionals.

Everything you need to know about the Churches Week of Action on Food can be found HERE
World Food Day is Oct. 16 and October 10-17 is the Week of Action! Join with churches around the world to call for and make changes in the way food is grown and shared. Download the Food Week guide and download the Liturgy.