People Putting Food First #120

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New at www.foodfirst.org
New feature: Now most pages of the web site have RSS feeds
The Wall Street Meltdown: The View from Asia
http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2258
$700 Billion Buys Lunch for Every Child in the U.S. for 29 Years
http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2256
The Financial Crisis and the Food Crisis: Two Sides of the Same Coin
http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2252
Africa’s Food Crisis: A Letter From Uganda
http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2250
The U.S. Food System Was Also Deregulated in the 1990s and the Stakes are Much Higher than the Current Economic Meltdown
http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2253
Ending the Food Crisis--World Food Day 2008
http://www.foodfirst.org/en/node/2232

In this issue of People Putting Food First

1. Monsanto's intimidation tactics are no longer legal in California

Legislation protecting California's farmers from liability was signed by Governor Schwarzenegger on Sept. 27, 2008. The bill, AB 541 (Huffman, D-Marin/Sonoma is the first bill passed by the California legislature that regulates genetically engineered (GE) crops.

AB 541 indemnifies California farmers who have not been able to prevent the inevitable drift of GE pollen or seed onto their land with the subsequent contamination of their non-GE crops. Farmers with crops that become contaminated by patented seeds or pollen have been the target of harassment lawsuits brought by Monsanto. The bill also protects these farmers from liability if their contaminated crops cause harm to other farmers, the environment or consumers.

AB 541 was sponsored by a coalition including Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF), Earthbound Farm, California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), and United Natural Foods Inc "AB 541 provides much needed protection for farmers who typically lack the resources to fight lawsuits brought by biotech conglomerates," stated Renata Brillinger, director of the Genetic Engineering Policy Project, which is the coalition that sponsored AB 541. "This is a good first step towards establishing that Monsanto—not farmers—is legally responsible for the economic, environmental and health harms caused by their patented and uncontrollable products."

2. Defending the Human Right to Water, and Putting People First

Water is part of the global commons, provided freely by nature. There is a growing movement to defend water as a fundamental human right. But since the early 1990s the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have promoted privatizing water services around the world through European and US corporations. Access to clean water is also threatened by deforestation, poor agricultural practices, pollution and drought. Globally, 20% of people don’t have access to clean drinking water, and in rural Brazil that number approaches 90%. The lack of water also harms agricultural productivity, malnourishment, and sometimes death.

The Brazilian Agricultural Ministry’s Embrapa program has developed a simple system to collect rainwater from the roofs of rural households and store it in cisterns—to be manually pumped out when needed. Embrapa is exporting this knowledge to other Latin American countries and Africa. A similar program—called “One Million Cisterns”—is funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Social Development-Hunger Zero, The Brazilian Banking Federation, and Oxfam. It has built 195,441 cisterns at US$ 567 each. One Million Cisterns has also started a public information program to help families conserve their cooking and drinking water. Almost every family in Brazil’s semi-arid zone can potentially collect and store enough water during the rainy season to provide eight liters a day per family member. A third group, the International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance, is facilitating knowledge exchanges for rainwater harvesting.

"I spent my whole life carrying water in the drought season.” says Josefa Cabral “If I counted the hours spent coming and going it would be days, weeks, and months of my life. Coming and going with a can of water in my arms, stealing my time, wasting my energy, my youth, breaking down many dreams, undermining our hope. But I never gave in."

Embrapa has also developed systems for capturing and storing irrigation water during the rainy season. Their simple solution is to dig a deep ditch, or barrage, 525 feet wide and lined with tarpaulin next to the fields. Each barrage supplies irrigation for two hectares during the dry season—water that would otherwise filter down to the rock layer and be lost. Embrapa is exporting this technical knowledge to other countries as well.

These simple technologies put the ability to collect and save water directly into the hands of the people who need it—without intermediaries charging fees that place water out of reach of peasant families. It also gives these families more control over their own food security. The success of these simple, affordable solutions to an ancient problem provides a direct alternative to the top-down privatization model offered by multilateral development banks, and strengthens the growing social movement for water rights by providing concrete examples.

For more information:
http://www.social.org.br/relatorio2004ingles/relatorio013.htm
http://www.brazzil.com/articles/181-july-2007/9926.html
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=3057
http://academic.evergreen.edu/g/grossmaz/VANOVEDR/
http://www.irha-h2o.org/

3. New Farmers Market in Oakland, CA USA

This new Saturday market (10-2 P.M.) at 4173 Macarthur Blvd is run by the Oakland Food Connection. Check out the other programs of this grassroots organization of dedicated volunteers at www.foodcommunityculture.org

To find a farmers market near your home, go to http://www.localharvest.org/

4. The value of growing your own food

A dime spent on seeds yields about one dollar’s worth of produce, and people are taking note.[1] Because of raising prices and a stagnant economy, more and more people have been forced to choose between buying food or fuel. Such an impossible decision has led both suburban and urban dwellers to rip out laws, and garden on fire escapes and rooftops, and grow vegetables on empty lots. Interest in growing produce has always picked up during economic downturns, most recently during the 1975 national oil crisis. At that point, says Bruce Butterfield, the market research director of the National Gardening Association, “49% of households were growing veggies.”[2] During World War II, 20 million Americans planted victory gardens, producing 40% of the country’s food supply.[3]

The largest U.S. seed company, W. Atlee Burpee & Co, reports selling twice as many seeds this year as last, with half that increase from new customers.[4] Seed Savers Exchange, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving heirloom vegetables, sold 34,000 packets of seed in the first four months of this year, already exceeding total sales of last year.[5]

Cities are also getting involved, often in collaboration with nonprofits such as People’s Grocery of West Oakland, CA. With a few public urban gardens in the neighborhood and a 17-acre plot in Sunol Water Temple Agricultural Park in South Alameda County, People’s Grocery is growing food for a community that suffers from severe food insecurity. For example, the area of West Oakland has just one grocery store and 36 liquor stores.[6] The AgPark in Sunol is owned by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. Sustainable Agriculture Education, a Berkeley nonprofit, holds the master lease. AgPark farmers pay nominal rent and water costs.

Last year the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development helped farmers gain access to two half-acre parcels of city land to grow food and develop community gardens.[7] More cities are making food more accessible for families feeling the crunch of high prices by making land and other resources more available to nonprofits.

[1] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24729307/
[2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/02/AR200808...
[3] http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/canada/urban-farmer-veggie-garden-1940.html
[4] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24729307/
[5] ibid
[6]http://www.odyssey.org/toolkit/4_Case%20Studies/1_Case%20Study_Food%20Access%20Projects%20in%20Oakland.htm
[7] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/02/AR200808...
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This edition of People Putting Food First was compiled by Food First Fellows Leonor Hurtado and Rick Jonasse, and intern Amanda El-Khoury.

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