People Putting Food First #105

1. Meetings on Climate Change, Hunger, Rural Development and Agroecological Alternatives to the Green Revolution held in Mali, Africa November 26th – December 2nd 2007
2. One Piece of Building Healthy Communities in West Oakland
3. Hungry Planet, hungry Americans, and hungry Africans—What can be done to obtain food sovereignty?

1. Meetings on Climate Change, Hunger, Rural Development and Agroecological Alternatives to the Green Revolution held in Mali, Africa November 26th – December 2nd 2007

Food First collaborated with other organizations to bring more than 150 participants from 25 African countries and 10 non-African countries. Attendees including farmers, pastoralists, environmentalists, women, youth and development organizations, gathered at the Nyéléni Center in Selingue, Mali from November 26th to December 2nd. Field trips to area farms helped to inform the discussion on:
-- Climate change and agriculture, fisheries and pastoralism in Africa
-- The fight against hunger
-- Development aid for agriculture and rural development in Africa
-- African Agroecological Alternatives to the Green Revolution.

Documents from the meetings are available at www.moreandbetter.org
View a YouTube short report by Eric Holt-Giménez at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zz3CWWz6XwY

The two-day conference organized by Food First focused on African Agroecological Alternatives to the Green Revolution. A number of initiatives from multinational companies, foundations and politicians are pushing a “new green revolution” in Africa. One of them is Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). In 2006, The Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced a joint $150 million Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to save Africa from hunger. AGRA is actually breaking ground for a larger network of chemical, seed, fertilizer companies and Green Revolution institutions seeking to industrialize African agriculture as they have already done in the U.S. and in large parts of Latin America and Asia. AGRA’s high-profile campaign for a new Green Revolution, headed by Kofi Annan, is designed to attract private investment, enroll African governments, and convince African farmers to buy hybrid seeds and chemical fertilizers. AGRA is laying the foundation for researchers, institutions, and African farmers to introduce GMO crops—not only for rice, wheat and maize, but also for cassava, plantain and other African food crops.

The AGRA-led Green Revolution not only threatens the richness of African traditional agriculture, it ignores (and is attempting to co-opt) the many successful African agricultural alternatives including sustainable agriculture, agro-forestry, pastoralism, integrated pest management, farmer-led plant breeding, sustainable watershed management and many other agroecological approaches. Because AGRA is but one—highly visible component of a wider industrial push, attendees realized that they need to decide where to put their energies, and be prepared for the divisive nature of involvement with AGRA.

The participants declared –We commit ourselves to:
1. advancing a campaign for African traditional, sustainable and agroecological alternatives to the Green Revolution
2. providing information and promoting public debate at local and national levels about the push for a “new Green Revolution”
3. demanding transparency and accountability from all Green Revolution institutions and seed, chemical and fertilizer companies.

For more on the conference including a brief history of the Green Revolution go to http://www.foodfirst.org/node/1807

2. Building Healthy Communities in West Oakland

In the low-income neighborhood of West Oakland, California there are very few gardens and green spaces. OBUGS, a nonprofit organization, has been working to change that since its beginning almost a decade ago. It has built and established successful educational programs for children and youth in five food-producing gardens and green spaces.

At Marston-Campbell Community Garden, OBUGS’ garden program, Lafayette Elementary School students work with knowledgeable and inspiring on-site garden teachers doing hands-on science projects in both in-school and after-school programs. The program includes art and aerobics to teach environmental education, nutrition, ecology and plant anatomy. Students learn about healthy eating habits, recycling, composting, as well as agroecological practices to preserve soil fertility and use water efficiently. Students plant and harvest the garden produce, and are very proud to cook and eat the vegetables that they grow. OBUGS executive director Michelle Lieberman says, “The importance of cooking and eating fresh vegetables is something that will stay with the kids for the rest of their lives.”

OBUGS also holds monthly open gardening days where for parents and community members can learn and work in the garden. In the summer, OBUGS runs a free six-week daycamp, taking kids on educational and fun fieldtrips to parks, farms, and museums. The camp teaches the benefits of organic gardening, healthy cooking, in addition to the usual games and crafts. To find out more about OBUGS, visit their website: www.obugs.org

3. Hungry Planet, hungry Americans, and hungry Africans—What can be done to obtain food sovereignty?

In conjunction with the recent opening of an exhibit showcasing the newly published Hungry Planet: What the World Eats at the Museum of the African Diaspora, Food First/the Institute for Food and Development Policy and the California Food and Justice Coalition held a briefing on the current state of U.S. food systems and the push for a new “Green Revolution” in Africa. While the two presentations from the organizations were distinct, they both showcased the way in which power structures systemically undermine local food sovereignty.

Heather Fenney of the California Food and Justice Coalition opened by speaking on the relationship between hunger and food policy in the U.S. Specific focus was placed on the ways in which the Farm Bill subsidizes both the production and consumption of unhealthy foods, as well as the how biases in budget allocation lead to food insecurity. She stated that while 35 million Americans currently experience food insecurity (they are unsure of where their next meal will come from), food bank food is down by 60% over last year. This paradox is further illuminated by the fact that the most agriculturally productive county in California, Fresno, also has the highest rate of food insecurity. The increasing prevalence of food insecurity in the U.S. is coupled with a consistent lack of support for small farmers and local food systems: 70% percent of USDA funds go to just 10% of the largest farms. Basic crops receive the most government subsidies (i.e. corn, soybeans, rice, wheat, and cotton) while crops that provide diverse food options and that aren’t suited to industrialized production methods receive little support. Additionally, communities that receive the most government support (food stamps and other assistance) are often communities with scarce access to healthy and locally-produced food. These facts tell a story of a food system that “is broken.”

Heather Fenney was followed by Eric Holt-Giménez executive director of Food First/ Institute for Food and Development Policy, who spoke on the Alliance for a New Green Revolution (AGRA), a project funded by the Rockefeller and Gates foundations to bring agricultural technology to Africa. The major push of the project is to encourage the adoption of genetically modified seed packages among African farmers. While the scheme is being disguised as philanthropic, Holt-Gimenez submitted that its success would only lay the groundwork for the subsequent introduction of corporate for-profit campaigns. He highlighted the massive failure of the first Green Revolution, which left more people hungry even as the production of food increased as their livelihoods were destroyed and environments devastated. Having recently returned from a conference on African Agroecological Alternatives to AGRA in Mali planned by Food First, Holt-Giménez also introduced the major tenets of the alternatives proposed in response to the project, which include food sovereignty, farmer-driven solutions, socially driven policies, and transnational solidarity.

Fenney and Holt-Gimenez were joined by Shyaam Shabaka of the EcoVillage Farm Learning Center of Richmond, CA, who reinforced the concerns voiced by both presenters and emphasized the need for immediate and direct action. The mobilization that occurred in response to the 2007 U.S. Farm Bill was promising in terms of public outcry, but immensely disappointing in terms of results. Shabaka submitted that widespread and immediate action must be taken in order to ensure universal food sovereignty.

For more information on the Farm Bill and African Agroecological Alternatives to AGRA, please go to the following links:
http://www.foodsecurity.org/california/Farm_Bill
http://www.foodfirst.org/node/1807
----------------------------
This edition of People Putting Food First! e-newsletter was written by Food First intern Jessica Aguirre, volunteer writer, Vanessa Barrington, and consultant, Leonor Hortado. If you have stories, questions or feedback, please contact: info at foodfirst.org.