It’s simple: we need a more just and sustainable food and agriculture system if we are going to overcome the global crises we face today. Over the course of this month, through key UN meetings and with a visit from partners in Brazil doing important work to protect the rights of smallholder farmers, we’ll offer ways you can plug into the struggle. Check out our resources below:
Blogs
Back to the land: Why food production is central to the global crises we face
In wealthy countries like the U.S., where food is cheap and readily available, agriculture has too often been an afterthought. But as the global crises we face become more severe, people are waking up to how important agriculture is to our daily lives and to the state of the world. Whether it is the climate crisis, the crisis of poverty and economic inequality, or humanitarian crises like migration, the problems and contradictions in our global system of food and agriculture sit at the center. It is critical that we change the way we produce our food.
Agroecology: for the sake of the planet and the people
World Food Day is approaching fast, and as usual, it will be celebrated under the auspices of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and during the 46th Meeting of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).
The CFS meeting agenda is packed, but I’m very excited to be here because, for the first time ever and after years of pressure by civil society and food producers, agroecology will be a topic of discussion. Our hope, and what we will push for throughout the entire meeting, is that the CFS will support a radical shift toward agroecological practices, for the sake of the planet and the people.
The Next Decade Could Determine if Family Farms Survive
Luckily, Family farmers and social movements are ready to transform U.S. farm policy.
Family farmers are vital for the future. Not only will we need family farmers to produce healthy food for more people, but we need family farmers to do so by transitioning to a food and agricultural system that both works with nature and builds resilience to climate change. That’s why the recent launch of a new United Nations (U.N.) Decade on Family Farming is so critical.
Take Action
Get TIAA out of Farms Now
The financial firm TIAA is one of the largest* pension funds in the U.S. and has built a reputation for social responsibility. Yet it is buying farmland in places where land grabbing and fraud are widespread, both in the U.S. and in countries like Brazil. These land deals are destroying the environment and contaminating water sources in one of the most biodiverse regions of the world, the Brazilian Cerrado.
Congress: fight hunger, support family farmers!
Over the past decade, an initiative called the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program has invested $1.5 million in supporting the workers who grow most of the world’s food: small-scale, family farmers. More than 10 million farmers in more than 40 countries have participated in the program. While activities look different from country to country, what ties them all together is the commitment to connect family farmers with the resources they need to adapt to climate change.
Now the program is entering a new phase to increase its impact, and we need to make sure rich governments continue to fund it. This is where you come in. Tell Congress to fund the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program!