food justice

Somewhere in Detroit, orange braceleted activists were discussing the rights of domestic workers, pushing for more transparent democracy, and taking breaks to eat ice cream in support of rural farmers while serenaded by a radical marching band protesting the current prison system to the tune of a Lady Gaga hit. It did, in fact, seem like another Detroit was happening, as promised in the addendum to the week’s slogan: “Another World Is Possible, Another U.S. Is Necessary.”  This U.S. Social Forum, which took place June 22nd through June 26th, was the second time such a gathering has happened in the U.S.  The first occurred in 2007 in Atlanta, growing out of the World Social Forum movement.  According to its website, “The World Social Forum is an open meeting place where social movements, networks, NGOs and other civil society organizations opposed to neo-liberalism and a world dominated by capital or by any form of imperialism come together to pursue their thinking, to debate ideas democratically, to formulate proposals, share their experiences freely and network for effective action. Since the first world encounter in 2001, it has taken the form of a permanent world process seeking and building alternatives to neo-liberal policies.”  As a result, over 15,000 activists and organizers had descended on venues throughout Detroit to discuss, build, and act.  

While others ask how to build a more inclusive good food movement, Henry Harris has an answer: beets.

As a primary organizer of the Food Security Roundtable, Henry has recently worked with Mothers on the Move of the South Bronx to bring a ton of fresh organic vegetables, including over three hundred pounds of beets, straight from farmers in Vermont to communities where such quality produce can be difficult to find.

And now he is turning his energy to another innovative collaboration, working with staff and volunteers from Just Food and other organizations to build a diverse delegation from New York to attend the Growing Food and Justice Initiative (GFJI) conference in Milwaukee at the end of October.

The Growing Food and Justice Initiative came about through the work of Growing Power, Will Allen’s national non-profit. As the successes of Allen and his organization are being lauded by everyone from Bill Clinton to the Macarthur Foundation, this year’s conference will focus on building cross-cultural understanding for systems change.

Posted by Lexi Van de Walle
New York City Showcases Vibrant Local Markets to Youth from Around the Globe
May 4-15, 2009

Young People Demonstrate Power and Concern at Several Events

New York, NY Now, as the converging food, finance, energy and climate crises push governments and citizens to consider innovative ways to manage current and future challenges, young people are staking their claim to the future by voicing their support for sustainable development to feed the world’s growing population.

Willing to face these crises head on, a sizeable youth caucus from the 53 member countries will attend the 17th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development and participate in events in- and outside the UN ranging from local NYC market tours to high-level policy debates.

Farmers, community groups, researchers, government and UN partners gathered Monday April 6th 2009 to address the Global Food Crisis and the Right to Food. Read NYC community gardener Ceci Charles-King's closing statement below and learn more about the UN Commission on Sustainable Development by visiting www.sustainablefoodmonitor.org. You can also watch a recorded video from the UN meeting on utube .

Posted by Siena Chrisman, Global Movements Program, World Hunger Year

Winter Tomatoes
I stopped at a produce stand on my way to the airport in Florida two weeks ago, tempted by tomatoes and strawberries in March. Locally-grown fresh fruit seemed a welcome change from the squash, sweet potatoes, and occasional winter greens that make up the bulk of my seasonally-based early spring diet in New York. But in the end, I couldn't buy anything. Amidst the wonderful smells of fresh strawberries and ripe tomatoes, all I could think about was whose hands had picked the fruit. 

I was in Florida representing WHY in a food justice delegation hosted by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and Just Harvest. The delegation included about a dozen leaders of the sustainable food movement, including Food First Executive Director Eric Holt-Gimenez, Diet for a Small Planet author Frances Moore Lappé, Stuffed and Starved author Raj Patel, food justice activist LaDonna Redmond, and Slow Food USA President Josh Viertel, as well as family farmers, youth leaders, and writers.

Posted by Kerry Trueman, eatingliberally.orgThe Real Food Challenge is a nationwide network of college and university students who are campaigning to bring food that’s local, fair, ecologically sound, and humane to their campus dining halls. With colleges and universities spending some $4 billion annually on food, the students leading the RFC see a tremendous opportunity to leverage that purchasing power to effect real change in our food system.According to the RFC’s website, there are already at least 300 institutions with college farms, fair trade initiatives, or farm-to-cafeteria programs, and other campuses are following suit. I asked the RFC’s Northeast Regional Coordinator, Sam Lipschultz, how the RFC is progressing in its goal of increasing the availability of fresh, fair foods in campus cafeterias:KT: Your organization, The Real Food Challenge, is essentially seeking to reintroduce pure, unadulterated, healthy foods at colleges and universities all over the country by enlisting your fellow students to demand more locally sourced and sustainably grown foods on their campuses. This entails, in part, working with huge food distribution companies who’ve traditionally relied on a centralized, industrialized approach to supplying their clients. Are you and your RFC colleagues persuading these corporations to alter their buying habits?SL: Students across the country are working, often in alliance with faculty and administrators, to demand that their food services procure and serve real food--and they're winning. The beauty of a national initiative like the Real Food Challenge is that it shows the food service provider at a given school that thousands of students and allies have the back of the student advocates on that campus.

Posted by Jeff Heehs

Dismantling racism in the food system, within and by way of sustainable food projects, was the focus of a gathering of around 150 community food activists from all over the U.S. and Canada from September 18 to 21 in Milwaukee. Group trainings and discussions provided “safe space” for participants to share a challenging, emotional process of understanding and confronting racial privilege and oppression in ourselves and our communities, amid workshops and talks on food justice and sustainability initiatives.

The conference was the product of planning by the Growing Food and Justice for All Initiative (GFJI), an outgrowth of activities initiated within the Community Food Security Coalition. Milwaukee’s urban farming non-profit Growing Power organized and sponsored the event. Just two days after the conference adjourned we were all thrilled by the announcement that Will Allen, the towering founder of Growing Power and host of the Gathering, was named recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant for his pioneering work in urban agriculture and community building.

Prior to the main gathering a core group of facilitators attended an intensive leadership training program on interpersonal methods to understand and challenge racial inequities in general and in the food system. These facilitators then conducted workshops, called Dismantling Racism 101, for others attending the Gathering. Using techniques of non-verbal interaction resembling games or silent theater among mixed groups, followed by open discussion, the workshops were a powerful, revealing experience.

Other workshop leaders presented on topics including:
- projects promoting food sovereignty and self determination among groups of Native Americans, immigrant farm workers, rural latino communities, urban communities of color and others