Food Sovereignty by Jill Richardson

8/2/2019 Food Sovereignty by Jill Richardson

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Food Sovereignty

by Jill Richardson


2/23

Del Monte Pineapple, Kenya


3/23

Del Monte...

About 5000 acres One of several enormous plantations in

Thika, Kenya.

Pays workers $2.40/day (less than minwage)

Agrochemicals sicken nearby farmers &have killed livestock

Small farmers in this area raise families on1/5 of an acre, 1/4 of an acre... a 5 acre farm

is big for this area.


4/23

Impiel Family, Philippines


5/23

Isabela, Philippines

Gerry Impiel and his wife have no education,8 kids, and a few hectares of land with notitle to it (and no way to get a title).

They take out a loan 2x/year to buyMonsanto's GMO corn and chemicals andthen sell the crop, which will become

livestock feed. They do not grow enough rice or produce

enough income to supply them with foodthroughout the year.


6/23

Santiago de Okola, Bolivia


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Santiago de Okola

Agrochemicals were introduced byforeigners a few decades back.

Farmers are now working to go organic &abandoning exotic livestock breeds for localones.

They raise livestock for wool, meat, milk, andincome, and grow grains, potatoes, andother Andean crops.

In recent years, climate change has made it

increasingly difficult to farm - new pests, new


8/23

U.S.A.

Agribusiness owns our regulatory bodies &Congress.

Most people don't know where their foodcomes from.

Those who can least afford health care topay for diet-related illness are also least able

to afford a healthy diet & lifestyle. Good food requires more than money: time,

cooking equipment, knowledge, access to

grow or buy it near your home...


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10/23

Food Sovereignty

to provide local fisheries-based communitiesthe priority in managing the use of and therights to aquatic resources.

Food sovereignty does not negate trade, butrather, it promotes the formulation of tradepolicies and practices that serve the rights of

peoples to safe, healthy and ecologicallysustainable production."

- Statement on Peoples Food Sovereignty byVia Campesina et. al


11/23

Threats to Food Sovereignty

Ownership and control over seeds Unjust distribution of land

Inequitable trade policies

The climate crisis!!!!!


12/23

Seeds

"Improved varieties," typically hybrid seedsand now, increasingly, GMOs are designedto produce high yields with high amounts of

chemical inputs:o Chemical fertilizer (made from fossil fuels)

o Herbicides

o Insecticides and other pesticides

o Often irrigation

o Mechanization

Hybrids do not "breed true" - you cantechnically save them, but you won't get the


13/23

Biointensive Garden, Bolivia


14/23

Biointensive Garden, Bolivia

Garden to feed students in rural university 100% organic - except...

All of the locally available seeds are hybridsand the affordable ones are pre-treated withpesticides...

So they plant pesticide-treated seeds, whichthey must purchase and cannot save.

The only saved seeds they have are for therocoto pepper, a popular Andean pepper for

which there aren't commercially available


15/23

Imagine you're Monsanto...

After you stop retching, consider this: Is it more profitable to develop a new seed

that is locally suited for each place where

you sell seeds? Or is it more profitable to sellcotton seeds adapted to Texas to farmers inIndia? And corn seeds bred for Iowa to

farmers in Kenya?


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The Alternative

The "Green Revolution" model: high input,high yielding seeds, planting the mostprofitable crop as a monoculture, buying

inputs on credit, and then buying your foodwith the money you earn.

The alternative is traditional varieties ofsaved seeds, few external inputs, planting avariety of crops and several varieties ofeach, and eating what you grow. This is therecipe for food sovereignty.


17/23

Why?

Lower risk, but more certain results If one crop fails, chances are another won't

Polyculture & crop rotation decrease risk ofpest problems.

Organic methods, using locally availableinputs (manure, rainfall, ash, compost) are

more resilient to climate extremes and canmatch yields from chemical agriculture

Your profit is your own.

If all else fails, you can eat your crop. (You


18/23

What does this mean in America?

So you're not going to drop everything andbe a farmer :)o Urban agriculture - backyard chickens, gardening,

community gardens, herbs in pots, composting, etc.o Farmers markets

o Natural food cooperatives

o Create a buying club with friends

o Preserve in season crops to eat out of season(freeze, dehydrate, can, pickle, ferment)

o Go berry picking, apple picking, etc.

o Get a rain barrel to harvest rainwater


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Local Action


20/23

Some Ideas

Front yard gardens are advertisements forgardening, and they build community &challenge the idea that we all need a lawn

If you have a lawn, don't rip it out - compostit in place.

Can you legally get chickens, miniaturegoats, or bees? And if not, would yourneighbors turn you in? Bribery with eggs canwork.

Cities are now changing urban ag laws.


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Organizations

La Via Campesina Food First Institute for Ag & Trade Policy

Oakland Institute National Family Farm Coalition Food and Water Watch

Food Democracy Now


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Books

For a historical perspective, Kitchen Literacyby Ann Vileisis and The War on Bugs by WillAllen

On climate change: Diet for a Hot Planet byAnna Lappe

On global food issues: Stuffed and Starvedby Raj Patel

And - in a year - my upcoming book Starvedfor Justice, about how the U.S. uses

agricultural aid as a tool of imperialism.


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Books to Start Gardening

Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guideto the Soil Food Web

How to Grow More Vegetables... by JohnJeavons

Food Sovereignty by Jill Richardson

Documents

Transcript of Food Sovereignty by Jill Richardson