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Report from the 2002 World Food Summit: Day 4

Dr. Peter Rosset
June 13, 2002

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Rome--Today was the last day of the World Food Summit, the day for the civil society organizations (CSOs) and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to present our response to the governments of the world. 182 governments unanimously endorsed the final official declaration, a document that was at best disappointing for civil society.

The only positive thing in the official declaration was the proposal for a "voluntary" code of conduct on the Right to Food to be developed over the next two years. The United States, which had vehemently opposed the right to food in any form, finally accepted this version which is a) not mandatory and b) not immediate. Apart from that, the declaration is a disaster as far as ending hunger goes. It repeats the flaws of the 1996 Summit declaration which led to the failure to meet hunger reduction goals over the past five years, including an endorsement of free trade, a recommendation of more structural adjustment for the poorest countries, and a call for greater private investment. It also adds the golden goose that the U.S. wants -- biotechnology -- and drops a key victory from the 1996 declaration, land reform. All in all, a bad performance by governments.

On the other hand, the farmer, pastoralist, fisher, forest peoples', womens', environmentalist, trade union and consumer organizations, and NGOs from the seven regions of the world (2/3 from the Third World) present at the alternative forum, were all quite clear that ending hunger will require at the very minimum getting agriculture out of the WTO, carrying out true land reform, promoting agroecology rather than biotechnology, and an end to the repression of grassroots movements around the world, as summarized in our final declaration, final declaration, which also critiques the official document.

Was it worth it for civil society to show up in Rome, given the general disinterest shown by governments? YES. We are building a movement that began in Chiapas and Seattle, and working together helps build trust and confidence in one another and further develops our jointly evolving analysis. Each meeting is now a step toward what will be the key turning point of this historical conjuncture: the next WTO Ministerial meeting to be held in Cancun, Mexico, in September of 2003.