Above photo: From Blog for Iowa.
For the World Food Prize: a Modest Proposal by Thomas Mathews with OWFP, Sept 3, 2016 yet unpublished DM Reg letter to editor.
“The richest square mile on earth is just north of Des Moines.” That’s what our 7th grade geography teacher told us. It was the 1961– 62
school year. The wealth that our teacher was talking about was not gold, or diamonds, or oil. He was talking about Iowa farmland, the richest on earth.
Today that square mile might still be farmland; I don’t know. More likely it is part of the urban sprawl of the city of Ankeny, one of several large, fast-growing, suburbs of Des Moines. A square mile is 640 acres, which only a few decades ago would have made four 160-acre family farms. Those acres of once fertile black land may now be buried under “development”. They may be part of a housing subdivision, or a shopping mall, or a parking lot. The topsoil that could have provided food for hundreds may well have been scrapped off and sold in plastic bags at a Lowes or Home Depot.
Once “developed”, farmland is lost forever.
The World Food Prize (WFP) is concerned about world hunger, yet they have not said a word about the destruction going on around Des Moines, the city they call home, of thousands of acres of the greatest food-producing resource on the planet. This is a problem that can be
remedied if the WFP has the will and the courage to take on the powerful corporate interests that benefit financially from urban sprawl development. The WFP must speak out about loss of farmland, starting with the land around Des Moines, the location of their
headquarters. Des Moines happens to be the place where much of the most productive land on earth can still be protected from the bulldozer, if enough people care.
The task is large. The news media treat urban sprawl as if it were something to be celebrated as progress. Vast numbers of the public have lost any connection to farming and food production: they work in office cubicles, buy food at supermarkets, drive their cars everywhere, and consider this way of life to be normal.
So the fight by the WFP to save farmland, not only in central Iowa, but nationwide, must be ongoing–not just a project for one year–and not just in October, but throughout the year. The WFP has resources for public education that must be put to use to stop the destruction of farmland in Iowa and nationwide.
The legislative means for saving land from uncontrolled development is the urban growth boundary, or “Green Line”, which is successful in Oregon. This should be the goal for Iowa.
A first step for the WFP would be to convince city-dwelling central Iowans to convert their manicured lawns to growing food for their families. As they witness the amazing productivity of Iowa soil, these families will be mobilized to push for legislation that will, at last, stop the destruction of Iowa farmland by the bulldozers of urban sprawl.
The World Food Prize must take on this task of saving farmland, with enthusiasm. They must take on this task if they are truly concerned about ending hunger.
Don’t forget to show up:
What: OWFP Rally and Direct Action with Rev. Billy
Date:Thursday Oct 13
Time: 6 p.m.
Where: IA State Capital, west side , People’s Park
We are happy to announce that “Reverend Billy from the Church of Stop Shopping” will be joining OWFP this year for our 5th annual Rally and Direct Action on the steps of the Iowa State Capital before the World Food Prize ceremony inside the “People’s House”.
Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping
http://www.revbilly.com/
PLAN ON JOINING US … SPREAD THE WORD!
Frank Cordaro <frank.cordaro@gmail.com>
515 490 2490
And the Occupy the World Food Prize Working Committee:
Sharon Donovan <sjbd14@gmail.com>
515 987 5443
Tom Mathews <Thmathews@aol.com>
515 979 9318
Occupy the World Food Prize
http://
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Previous OWFP Rallies and Direct Actions:
2015 – OWFP Rally and Direct Action (6 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
2014 – OWFP Rally and Direct Action (5 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
2013 – OWFP Rally and Direct Action (4 min 15 sec)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
2012 – OWFP Summary Report (9 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
