Fixing the Broken Food System

Building local, national and international solutions for hunger and the crisis in the global rural economy

Earlier ths week at the Community Food Security Coalition conference in Vancouver, BC, Grassroots and the National Family Farm Coalition debuted a new booklet that we created this summer on food sovereignty.

In the simplest terms, food sovereignty is the belief that communities should have plenty of food that’s not only healthy for the bodies, healthy for their way of life and that the communities themselves have control over.

Grassroots is proud to be working with the NFFC and other members of the Via Campesina to help build local, national and international alternatives to the broken food system.

Here are a few of the moving and inspriational words they’ve shared with us about their struggles:

“Family farmers around the world are like canaries in the mine shaft. The rest of the world had better start listening.”
GEORGE NAYLOR, U.S.

“What we want is simple: to live in dignity from our agricultural production.” MARIAM SISSOKO, MALI

“Why do they want to turn our mother earth into merchandise, into a source of profit, not a source of life?”
GILMA BENINTEZ, COLOMBIA

“Those who are against food sovereignty have the power of money, but we have something even stronger: the power of hope and the power of unity.”
BADRUL ALAM, BANGLADESH

“We can’t depend upon government assistance. The real answer lies in coalition building and farmers working together to save each other.”
RANDY JASPER, U.S.

In celebration of World Food Day (October 16), we’ve put together a collection of quotes, essays and poems from the members of our community.