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This post has been reviewed by the Halifax Media Co-op editorial committee.
STORY about FoodSolidarity posted on April 13, 2010 by Hillary
The Roots of Food Insecurity
Activists challenge corporate food system
.jpg "Food and Agriculture policies of G8 countries undermine a people’s right to define their own food and agriculture systems, say local activists. Illustration: Christine Comeau")
Food and Agriculture policies of G8 countries undermine a people’s right to define their own food and agriculture systems, say local activists. Illustration: Christine Comeau
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There is a disconnect between the goals proposed by Canada for the G8 and G8 policies, say food security activists in Halifax.
In January, the Canadian government outlined its priorities for the G8 Summit to be held in Toronto in June. It called for greater attention to the health of women and children, and held nutrition and access to proper food to be of central importance to this goal. “Far too many lives and unexplored futures have already been lost for want of relatively simple health-care solutions... [such as] clean water, inoculations and better nutrition,” reads the statement.
But according to Sonia Grant, a member of the Food Action Committee of the Ecology Action Centre, "There is an inherent contradiction in the G8's prioritization of women and children's health through better nutrition at these upcoming meetings, and its policies.”
Grant is among those planning an event leading up to the G8 development ministers’ summit opposing the corporate control of food and agriculture.
“Women make up the majority of the world's small-scale farmers," says Grant, but they are not supported by G8 policies. "Globally, the G8 prescribes policies which support corporate monopolies over land, and over the production, processing, and distribution of food. These policies severely undermine a people’s right to define their own food and agriculture systems.”
The International Peasant Day Organizing Committee has planned an event in Halifax in solidarity with La Via Campesina on April 17 to raise awareness of food sovereignty locally and globally and to oppose the corporate control of food and agriculture. Aaron Beale, one of the organizers of the event, hopes that it will “connect a lot of people in Halifax who care about food and food issues.”
“There are a lot of people doing really good work around food issues locally," he says. "But it's important to understand the relationships between our local food system and bigger institutions like the G8. There is a lack of a more radical 'challenge the roots' kind of approach.”
The organizing committee is working to emphasize these root causes and support local farmers and communities by connecting them. Grant states, “as corporate control of food and agriculture transcends national boundaries, solidarity with farmers in all parts of the world is an essential part of the global struggle for food sovereignty.”
Kayleigh MacSwain is a freelance writer and a member of the organizing committee for Halifax's International Peasant Day.
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