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Food Sovereignty

Grassroots International partner Via Campesina receives prize

By: Carol Schachet | Outubro 20, 2009

At a gathering of food and trade activists from around the United States and Canada, Grassroots International's partner, the Via Campesina, receieved the 2009 Food Sovereignty Prize for its relentless struggle for the rights of peasants and small producers of the world and against the disastrous neoliberal system of industrial agriculture. The award was received during the annual conference of the Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) held in Des Moines, Iowa, October 10-13.
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Food Sovereignty

Land + Water + Food = Resource Rights = Human Rights = Poverty Eradication

By: Nikhil Aziz | Outubro 18, 2009

October 17th is marked as by the United Nations as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. At Grassroots International, we have been working with our partners for over 25 years towards achieving that goal. Clearly, a lot needs to be done to get us there.
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Food Sovereignty

Land Water Food = Resource Rights = Human Rights = Poverty Eradication

By: Nikhil Aziz | Outubro 18, 2009

October 17th is marked as by the United Nations as the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. At Grassroots International, we have been working with our partners for over 25 years towards achieving that goal. Clearly, a lot needs to be done to get us there.
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Food Sovereignty

Family Farmers Feed Brazil

By: Saulo Araujo | Outubro 16, 2009

The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) recently published a report on the country’s agricultural sector. The last report had been published in 1996. The new document supports several points raised by peasant organizations, such as our partner the Via Campesina International, around the critical role of the small scale agriculture to climate justice and hunger. The main points are outlined below.
1.
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Food Sovereignty

Today is World Food Day!

By: Lilian Autler | Outubro 16, 2009

Today is World Food Day!

World Food Day is celebrated every year on October 16 – the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. World Food Day raises awareness of the issues behind poverty and hunger. This year's theme for World Food Day is "Achieving food security in times of crisis."

A critical issue related to food and agriculture that is finally gaining more attention is climate change. Industrial agriculture contributes significantly to climate change through greenhouse gas emissions.
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Food Sovereignty

Farmers are central to the success of any African Green Revolution: An interview with Mamadou Goita

By: Carol Schachet | Setembro 25, 2009

Mamadou Goita, the Executive Director of the Institute for Research and the Promotion of Alternatives in Development (IRPAD) in Mali, was interviewed at the Salzburg Global Seminar by Susanna Thorpe, of WREN Media. IRPAD is a Grassroots International ally that works closely with our partner, the Via Campesina. Mamadou’s was a rare dissenting voice at the conference "Toward a 'Green Revolution' in Africa?" where top-down technocentric solutions dominated the discourse.
Here is the youtube video of Mamadou's interview:
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Food Sovereignty

Why Do We Need a Global Climate Justice Movement?

By: Nikhil Aziz | Setembro 16, 2009

Because we need just, equitable and not simply effective action on climate change – it’s not just about numbers but about just numbers. Because the rich countries are shifting the burden to the South – on the developing and least developed countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America that have contributed the least to global warming. Because short-term economic interests are driving the negotiations – the considerable lobbying power of big oil, big coal, big agriculture, and other big corporations is out in full force ahead of the upcoming Copenhagen negotiations in December 2009. And because the people are not being heard – especially those who will be adversely affected
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Food Sovereignty

Guatemala is Hungry for Justice

By: Saulo Araujo | Setembro 15, 2009

Earlier this week, the BBC produced a shocking article: “Eyewitness: Guatemala food crisis.” The piece exposes the sad reality that haunts families throughout the country, particularly those in indigenous and peasant communities. I also encountered this dire situation -- children dying of starvation and many others suffering from hunger-related diseases -- during my visit to Guatemala last April, when I heard from our local partners that many peasant communities were showing signs of a food shortage.
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Food Sovereignty

Growing hope and fighting hunger on the Gaza Strip

By: Nikhil Aziz | Setembro 10, 2009

This is the time of year when gardeners start to reap their rewards—fruits and vegetables that make for a healthy feast. But for the people of Gaza, gardens produce a serving of self-sufficiency, too.

Urban gardens usually bring to mind savvy urbanites indulging in an organic lifestyle—witness Michelle Obama and her model urban garden at the White House. Although urban gardens in the West may not be a total indulgence—Ms.
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Food Sovereignty

Now Available – Food Rebellions! Crisis and the Hunger for Justice

By: Grassroots International | Agosto 4, 2009

Were pleased to announce the release of Food Rebellions!, co-published by Grassroots International and our ally Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy. Food Rebellions! Crisis and the Hunger for Justice, written by Eric Holt-Gimez and Raj Patel with Annie Shattuck, offers us the real story behind the global food crisis and document the growing trend of grassroots solutions to hunger spreading around the world.

To learn more, read the Press Release below. You can also order books directly from Food First.

August 4, 2009

Just releasedFood Rebellions! Crisis and the Hunger for Justice
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Food Sovereignty

[Cassava] Bread and Roses: Brazilian Farmers Seek a Dignified Life

By: Carol Schachet | Julho 29, 2009

During our visit to Brazil earlier this month, Saulo Araujo and I met with Grassroots International’s partners and the communities in which they work. I had prepared myself to talk about a range of issues, from Creole seeds to water scarcity to land occupation. I hadn’t expected to hear so much about the importance of a dignified life.
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Food Sovereignty

Land Reform Under Lula

By: Carol Schachet | Julho 20, 2009

The Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) of Brazil, which has mobilized more than a million Brazilians to occupy and farm large landholdings, was cautiously optimistic when Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva of the Workers Party won the presidency in 2002. “We campaign for Lula,” remarked MST organizer Jonas da Silva (no relation) during the campaign, “even though we are critical of him for shaping his discourse for the middle class.” In the country with perhaps the most unequal land distribution in the world, electing a pro-worker, pro-poor president marked a potential turning point.

But as Lula finishes up his second term (new presidential elections take place in October 2010), the MST’s assessment is grim. Land redistribution has stagnated, the government continues to b
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Food Sovereignty

Nicaragua’s Peasant Movement achieves milestone on the road towards Food Sovereignty

By: Saulo Araujo | Julho 16, 2009

After four years of hard work, peasant organizations and allies in Nicaragua are now celebrating the approval of a new Food Sovereignty, Food Security and Nutrition Law.
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Food Sovereignty

The Early Phases of Recovery in Gaza:

By: Carol Schachet | Julho 16, 2009

Ahmed Sourani is the Director of Projects & Cooperation for the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC). PARC is a longtime partner of Grassroots International and perhaps the most important player in the Palestinian agricultural sector. PARC focuses its work in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on rural development including food security, income generation, water rights and protecting against land confiscation by Israel; environmental protection; and strengthening women's position in society.
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Food Sovereignty

A Movement for the Land, and for Dignity

By: Carol Schachet | Julho 14, 2009

Along with Saulo Araujo, Grassroots International’s Program Coordinator for Mesoamerica and Brazil, I just visited the central region of Brazil, about three hours outside the capital of Brasilia.

And the women of the Central Cerrado have gone nuts. Or, to be more precise, they have begun to process and sell Baru nuts.

These members of the Popular Peasant Movement (MPC) in Goias, Brazil, began to package their food as a collective factory with more than a dozen women (and a few men).
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Food Sovereignty

From Seed Sovereignty to Food Sovereignty: The MCP’s Creole Seeds Project

By: Carol Schachet | Julho 14, 2009

A partner of Grassroots International, the Popular Peasant Movement (MCP) has been conducting trials to identify and produce the best local seeds. The Creole Seeds Project, as it is known, plays a vital role in reaching out to farmers who are being lured in by the promises of agrobusiness.

“The Creole Seeds Project is a great project because the community wants to see it to believe it. They can see the results for themselves—that our local seeds are more productive, insect resistant and produce better tasting crops than hybrids or other seeds,” said Elias Freitas Mesquita, MCP’s regional coordinator.

He added, “The seed project is like a magnet that attracts the farmers, who then build more alliances.”
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Food Sovereignty

Sugar Cane Invades the Brazilian Central Plateau

By: Carol Schachet | Julho 14, 2009

When plans for a Grassroots International site visit to Brazil suddenly included my name last winter, I was thrilled. Oh boy! I could visit with our partners in country and learn directly from them their struggles, their hopes. I told Saulo Araujo, Grassroots’ Coordinator for Mesoamerica and Brazil (and my to-be traveling companion) that I wanted to talk to the people who ultimately benefit from Grassroots’ funding.

Saulo listened well, I realized the first time I saw the itinerary he pulled together—no office visits to be found. Instead, we were scheduled to visit encampments, settlements, and various on-the-ground projects.
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Food Sovereignty

Food & Water Watch Disputes Obama Administration’s Reliance on Trade, Biotechnology to Combat Global Hunger and Poverty

By: Nikhil Aziz | Julho 12, 2009

Grassroots International ally, Food & Water Watch (FWW) issued a statement questioning the Obama Administration's "new" approach to addressing global hunger and poverty announced at the G8 Summit in Italy. Is this really new, or old wine in new bottles? FWW argues that more free trade and biotechnology (or reinventing the Green Revolution) are not new ideas and only end up supporting agribusiness and other corporations.
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Food Sovereignty

Dairy Farmers Host Emergency Rally in Iowa

By: Carol Schachet | Junho 4, 2009

Even though I grew up in Missouri, my first introduction to agriculture did not occur until my college days in Northfield, Minnesota, in the early 1980s. Depending on which way the wind blew, my college (Carleton) was filled either with the toasted grain aroma from the Malt-o-Meal factory or the smell of the surrounding dairy farms. Sadly, the dairy farms began to lose out in more than just the scent in the air. I remember clearly my sophomore year when a big stoic man stood up at church and, with tears in his eyes, told us that the last of his dairy cows were sold in an attempt to pay off farm creditors. Thus began my awareness of corporate farming, agricultural and trade policy and their devastating impact on families and communities.
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Food Sovereignty

Civil Rights, Market Cooperatives, Buying Networks

By: Carol Schachet | Maio 27, 2009

Ben F. Burkett is president of the National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC) in the U.S., and a cooperative-marketing-specialist member of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives Land Assistance Fund. He was in Mozambique attending the 5th International Conference of La Via Campesina as a delegate of the NFFC. La Via Campesina is an organization of organizations, part of a global movement of peasants, family farmers, indigenous and landless people. The interview was conducted (and later edited) by Nic Paget-Clarke for In Motion Magazine on October 22, 2008 during the Via Campesina conference. The conference was held at the FRELIMO Party School in Matola, Mozambique.
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