October 10
BY WENDELL BERRY
Now constantly there is the sound,
quieter than rain,
of the leaves falling.
Under their loosening bright
gold, the sycamore limbs
bleach whiter.
Now the only flowers
are beeweed and aster, spray
of their white and lavender
over the brown leaves.
The calling of a crow sounds
loud—a landmark—now
that the life of summer falls
silent, and the nights grow.
Wendall Berry believed that traditional values, such as marital fidelity and strong community ties, are essential for the survival of humankind. In his view, the disintegration of communities can be traced to the rise of agribusiness: large-scale farming under the control of giant corporations.
In his opinion, we have lost control of our own bread-basket. And in turning over control our breadbasket solely to the grocery store chains, we have also lost something of ourselves. He points to the current agri-business model as being responsible, too, for deception of farmers, tricking them or running them out of business.
Besides relying on chemical pesticides and fertilizers, promoting soil erosion, and causing depletion of ancient aquifers, agribusiness has driven countless small farms out of existence and destroyed local communities in the process
"We must support what supports local life, which means community, family, household life—the moral capital our larger institutions have to come to rest upon. If the larger institutions undermine the local life, they destroy that moral capital just exactly as the industrial economy has destroyed the natural capital of localities—soil fertility and so on. Essential wisdom accumulates in the community much as fertility builds in the soil."
Today we have gathered here to ask ourselves the question: Does Food Matter to us, to our family, our neighbourhoods and our community? Are we food secure?
Do we have the right as people and communities to safe, nutritious, culturally appropriate food, to food-producing resources, and to the ability to sustain themselves?
Do we have the right to define our own agricultural, labour, fishing, food and land policies which are ecologically, socially, economically and culturally appropriate to their unique circumstances?
“The right of corporations to force-feed citizens of the world with culturally inappropriate and hazardous foods has been made absolute [in the globalizing economy]. The right to food, the right to safety, the right to culture are all being treated as trade barriers that need to be dismantled…we have to reclaim our right to nutrition and food safety. We have to reclaim our right to protect the earth and her diverse species. We have to stop this corporate theft from the poor and from nature. Food democracy…is the new agenda for ecological sustainability and social justice.”—Vandana Shiva in “Stolen Harvest”
Food security happens when all people at all times have access to enough food that...
• is affordable, safe and healthy for all people (are you confident about your food system, 3 days from starvation if the grocery store closes)
• is culturally acceptable
• meets specific dietary needs (overfeed and under nourished)
• is obtained in a dignified manner (hand up verse a hand out)
• is produced in ways that are environmentally sound and socially just
• The food system
Food security is not just a poverty issue; it is a much larger issue that involves the whole food system and affects every one of us in some way.
The food system includes...
• everyone who grows or catches food, like farmers, fishers, and hunters
• earth, air, water, energy (the physical environment)
• food processors, packagers, distributors, marketers, and advertisers
• food wholesalers and the warehouses where food is stored
• the transportation system: trucks, planes, boats, trains
• places that sell food: grocery stores, markets, bakeries, farm stands, co-ops, restaurants
• places where food is served: hospitals, nursing homes
• governments, policies, taxes (the political and economic environment)
• the health care system, the workforce, schools, technology (the social, educational and cultural environment)
• everyone who eats!
Food security happens when...
• farmers and fishers can earn a fair income for their efforts
• food is produced in a way that is safe for people and the environment
• local, regional, and community food production is supported
• social justice and inclusion are priorities
• all people are empowered to work together to create positive change in the food system and our communities
Food insecurity happens whenever food is hard to get, such as when:
• there are no farms or grocery stores nearby
• when local fresh food is rejected by our food system and grocery stores over trucked in foreign food when you could get it fresh down a country road
• there is no safe land to grow our own food, no green space for us
• our food travels great distances to get to us by barrels of oil
• our municipal government, councilors, mayors block local food security initiatives in our community
• there isn't enough money
• healthy & safe food is not available
• healthy foods cost more than unhealthy foods
• our rivers are polluted so fish don't survive
• our traditional foods are not available or accessible
“Eating with the fullest pleasure – pleasure, that is, that does not depend on ignorance – is perhaps the profoundest enactment of our connection with the world. In this pleasure we experience and celebrate our dependence and our gratitude, for we are living from mystery, from creatures we did not make and powers we cannot comprehend.” Wendell Berry
So why get involved in community gardens, food security movement, meetings such as this?
Because your health, your life, your community depends on you.
Community Gardens…
- Allows participants to save money by growing their own fresh and nutritious produce
- Improves individual's health and nutrition
- Provides feelings of accomplishment and happiness
- Helps people get out of their house and involved with their community
- Creates a source of leisure, exercise, and relaxation
- Becomes a place to meet new friends and to connect with nature
- Provides an opportunity to get to know your neighbour through neighbourhood meetings
- Transforms land use from industrial, concrete, factory, vacant, even blight, to a green space that is alive and sustainable
- Creates civic and neighbourhood pride in places that often pit neighbour against neighbour
Via Campesina's seven principles of food sovereignty include:
Food: A Basic Human Right. Everyone must have access to safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food in sufficient quantity and quality to sustain a healthy life with full human dignity. Each nation should declare that access to food is a constitutional right and guarantee the development of the primary sector to ensure the concrete realization of this fundamental right.
Agrarian Reform. A genuine agrarian reform is necessary which gives landless and farming people – especially women – ownership and control of the land they work and returns territories to indigenous peoples. The right to land must be free of discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, race, social class or ideology; the land belongs to those who work it.
Protecting Natural Resources. Food Sovereignty entails the sustainable care and use of natural resources, especially land, water, and seeds and livestock breeds. The people who work the land must have the right to practice sustainable management of natural resources and to conserve biodiversity free of restrictive intellectual property rights. This can only be done from a sound economic basis with security of tenure, healthy soils and reduced use of agro-chemicals.
Reorganizing Food Trade. Food is first and foremost a source of nutrition and only secondarily an item of trade. National agricultural policies must prioritize production for domestic consumption and food self-sufficiency. Food imports must not displace local production nor depress prices.
Ending the Globalization of Hunger. Food Sovereignty is undermined by multilateral institutions and by speculative capital. The growing control of multinational corporations over agricultural policies has been facilitated by the economic policies of multilateral organizations such as the WTO, World Bank and the IMF. Regulation and taxation of speculative capital and a strictly enforced Code of Conduct for TNCs is therefore needed.
Social Peace. Everyone has the right to be free from violence. Food must not be used as a weapon. Increasing levels of poverty and marginalization in the countryside, along with the growing oppression of ethnic minorities and indigenous populations, aggravate situations of injustice and hopelessness. The ongoing displacement, forced urbanization, repression and increasing incidence of racism of smallholder farmers cannot be tolerated.
Democratic control. Smallholder farmers must have direct input into formulating agricultural policies at all levels. The United Nations and related organizations will have to undergo a process of democratization to enable this to become a reality. Everyone has the right to honest, accurate information and open and democratic decision-making. These rights form the basis of good governance, accountability and equal participation in economic, political and social life, free from all forms of discrimination. Rural women, in particular, must be granted direct and active decision-making on food and rural issues.
