Food Sovereignty: Land, Water & Seeds

Presbyterian Hunger Program

PEC: Ethical Earth Care!Andrew Kang Bartlett

October 2013

Myriad Possible Entry Points

• Why start from hunger?• Nearly a billion go hungry• Over a billion overeat• Global Food/Farm System largest impact• Greatest moral problem we face

Poverty & Hunger• Approximately 3

billion living on less than $2 per day

• 1.3 billion of these live on $1 or less per day

• Most impoverished people are farmers, fishers & others who rely on agriculture

• Family farmers feed 70% of world

No food shortage

Food production has kept up with population growth so far

• The challenge will be to keep apace with population in the future

• And by 2030, we may need about 50% more food production

Where do the crops go?

LIVESTOCK & AGROFUELS

More than 1/3rd of grain produced in the world goes to livestock

US: 38% of corn crop used for ethanol (4.3 Billion bushels)

Remainder for food to eat

Modern-dayslavery & exploitation

Horrible conditions

Low pay, wage theft& dead end jobs

Corporate Control &Shaping of Policies

Industrial Agriculture’s Impact

» Petroleum-intensive (1/3)» Corporate-shaped policies =

overproduction & export/import» Environmental damage (largest)» Disease ($100-270 billion per year in

U.S.) - Sahtouris

Eating is central

• Eating is where we interface daily and directly with planetary/biological system (i.e. God’s creation)

• Air, water & food critical to life• Air (grace), sunshine (grace), water

(grace), food (grace, sweat and radah--skilled mastery )

What might God’s food system look like?

Food for all ~• Healthy and life-giving nutrition• Produced ecologically• Eaten in gratitude and with joy• Responsive in times of critical shortages

and famines• Produced and shared in ways that

ensure future generations can feed themselves

Food Security

Food Security views hunger as a lack of food and advocates for more production, increased government aid, and encourages voluntary, charitable donation.

Congregation and community-based feeding programs, food banks & large programmatic and sometimes education/advocacy non-profits

Food Security

• Food security is about access to safe and healthy food, but doesn’t take into account the social & environmental impacts of how and by whom the food is produced, processed and marketed.

• Food sovereignty is bringing about a new paradigm. . .

Systems Thinking

We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. ~ Albert Einstein

Must move from binary, linear thinking to systems thinking

Dominant Food SystemCorporate Mandate & Greed

Economic Exploita-

tion

Consoli-dated Power

Power to Shape Policy

Loss of Family Farms

Control of Seeds,

Inputs & Land

Environ-mental

Degrada-tion

Food Sovereignty Democratizing the food system

People’s right to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right

to define their own food and agriculture systems.

In Food Sovereignty…• Farmers receive a fair price, and

farmworkers and food chain workers are paid and treated well

• 1st priority is to produce, store and distribute for local consumption, not as commodity on the global market

• Producers and communities maintain control over land, water, seeds and other resources

Food Sovereignty

Food Sovereignty views hunger as a problem related to control of food systems. In Food Sovereignty, resources and policies focus on returning decision-making & control of food systems to people, communities, regions and nations.

PHP & increasing #s of US groups; social movements, mostly agrarian, largely from the Global South & alliances (USFSA)

Problem

Pam, a 13-year-old living on Market and 41st

Barack, a 4-year-old in rural Cameroon

_________, a concerned person of faith

Food Sovereignty• Farmers receive a fair price, and

farmworkers and food chain workers are paid and treated well

• Food is stored and distributed for local consumption and not traded as a commodity

• Producers and communities maintain control over land, water, seeds and other resources

Problem

Pam, a 13-year-old living on Market and 41st

(or in a shrinking rural town 30 miles from a supermarket)

Environmental Sustainability- reduced transport cost- reduced cold storage- reduced packaging- sustainable urban design (heat

island effect, storm water, resource conservation)

Stewardship of Land- family farmers retain farm and

land- urban sprawl limited land

remains in the hands of people- vacant plots used for food and

beauty

Community & Quality of Life- greater sense of place- different generations working

together- bringing beauty to

neighborhoods

Local Economic Activity- circulating local dollars (multiplier

effect)- employment & job training- small farm businesses are relatively

easy to start

Food Justice- right to fresh foods by all

residents- elimination of food deserts- taking back control (democracy)- justice for farm workers and other

workers in the food system

Problem

Barack, a 4-year-old in rural Cameroon

The Battle for the Future of Agriculture

Africa is the battleground

Green Revolution in Africaversus

Agroecological Food Production

Food security or food sovereignty?

Enough Food

• No lack of food on our planet, and farmers can grow even more if they get support

• But the question is how to ensure a fair distribution of the food? Also, who will produce the food that the world needs?

CAMEROON

• Recurrent food crises in northern Cameroon

• Food aid and speculation take place, increasing vulnerability for thousands of families

Cameroon

• RELUFA worked with groups affected by hunger and created granaries to store food in villages

• People now have food with dignity not only in times of scarcity, but anytime during the year

Impact of food sovereignty in Cameroon

• System helps break speculation; food (and seed) is now available in the communities all though the year

• Gave voice to local groups

Impact of food sovereignty in Cameroon

• The program allowed parents to focus not only on food, but on education for their children and other family needs

Impact of Food Sovereignty program in Cameroon

Communities are now mobilizing to move to the next step and have their voices heard in agricultural policy choices

The Battle for the Future of Agriculture

Green Revolution in Africaversus

Agroecological Food Production

New “Green” Revolution for Africa

» Promoting high-tech, industrial agriculture model:» Biotechnology (GMOs), hybrid seeds

requiring irrigation, fertilizer, pesticides» Productivity seriously drops when

complete (expensive) package not available

Agroecological Food Production

» Sustainable and organic approaches

» Conservation farming» Sustainable fishing» Support needed to scale up

Meta-study compared data from nearly 100 studies of conventional and sustainable/organic agriculture, concluded: • worldwide switch to organics

could increase global food production by as much as 50%

-- enough to feed a population of 9 billion people without any additional land

• Confirms earlier research: 2003 peer-reviewed analysis of 208 projects (with almost 9 million farmers) in over 50 developing countries found a 93% increase in food production when farmers switched to sustainable methods.

Problem

________, a concerned person of faith

Apply a systems approach

Pam, a 13-year-old living on Market and 41st

Barack, a 4-year-old in rural Cameroon

•Social theater, political, community assets, relationships, ownership, power dynamics, money, biological, animals, micro-organisms, consciousness…

Problem

Pam, a 13-year-old living on Market and 41st

Barack, a 4-year-old in rural Cameroon

What perspectives aren’t included in addressing problems that systems thinking could contribute? Come up with at least one new approach…

Build Alternatives and Resist:Create, play, build, grow locally & JOIN in solidarity with people around the U.S. + world

US Food Sovereignty Alliance * www.usfoodsovereigntyalliance.org

• Inner work to align with God/the Source (yoga, silence, running…)

• Find kindred spirits, dedicate time to develop relationships (eat together, worship, laugh a lot, show up for each other…)

• Community work to strengthen web of connections, make interdependence obvious (timebank, group work…)

• Find your gifts & share them• Follow your bliss

Food Sovereignty

Democratizing the food system

People’s right to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right

to define their own food and agriculture systems.

Food SovereigntyStrategies

• 1) Connect with social movements (e.g. Via Campesina) and organize

• 2) Build local food economies here and everywhere

Food SovereigntyStrategies

• 3) Create policy climate so sustainable food systems can grow (trade, debt, ag policy)

• 4) Resist forces that perpetuate destructive, unjust industrial food system (anti-trust/corporate control)

Food Sovereignty Connections

• 1) WCC/PWE: Life-Giving Agriculture

• 2) Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance: Food for Life Campaign

• 3) Covenanting for Justice: Economic links around poverty & exploitation…

• 4) Strong Social Movements – peasant, enviro, health, food systems

Food Sovereignty Connections

• 5) Climate Change/Environmental Impact: Food is a top priority

• 6) Food Sovereignty is at the nexus of hunger, land/water stewardship, environment, local control, and justice

• 7) Central to Christian mission: If you care about people, food and hunger is central to one’s witness

From Understanding to Caring- God’s creation as sacred- regaining agrarian values and

behaviors

2013 PHP VISTAs

• Gina (national focus), Todd, Amber & Emily (Louisville)

• Elise, Ilana & Whitney in Indianapolis

• Casey in Cincinnati