Food and Agriculture

‘This Is Hell’: UN Food Chief Visits Yemen

March 11, 2021 Dave DeCamp, AntiWar.com. Educate! Blockade, Children, Food and Agriculture, Yemen

The head of the UN’s World Food Program (WFP) visited Yemen and described the conditions he saw in the country to reporters as “hell.” His visit comes as the UN is warning 400,000 Yemeni children will starve to death in 2021 if conditions do not change. David Beasley described what he saw in a visit to a Yemeni hospital to The Associated Press. “In a children’s wing or ward of a hospital, you know you normally hear crying and laughter. There’s no crying, there’s no laughter, there’s dead silence,” he said. “This is hell. It’s the worst place on earth. And it’s entirely man-made.” The suffering in Yemen is a direct result of the US-backed Saudi-led war that has been raging since March 2015. Besides a vicious bombing campaign that frequently targets civilian infrastructure, including food supplies, the US and Saudi Arabia have been enforcing a blockade on Yemen.

The Next Neocolonial Gold Rush?

March 10, 2021 Stacy Malkan, US Right to Know. Educate! Big Ag, boycott, Food and Agriculture, United Nations

Planning documents for the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit shed new light on the agenda behind the controversial food summit that hundreds of farmers’ and human rights groups are boycotting. The groups say agribusiness interests and elite foundations are dominating the process to push through an agenda that would enable the exploitation of global food systems, and especially Africa. The documents, including a background paper prepared for summit dialogues and a draft policy brief for the summit, bring into focus “plans for the massive industrialization of Africa’s food systems,” said Mariam Mayet, executive director of the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), who provided the documents to U.S. Right to Know. The dialogues “are deaf and blind to the converging systemic crises we face today, and the drastic urgent re-think it demands,” ACB said in a statement.

Given Recent Innovations, Maybe We Don’t Need To Eat Or Use Animals At All

March 2, 2021 Matt Johnson, DesMoines Register. Create! Factory Farming, Food and Agriculture, Iowa

I’m currently facing a felony prosecution in Wright County after exposing Iowa Select Farms killing thousands of pigs via “ventilation shutdown," which involves shutting down a building’s vents as heat and steam are pumped in. The practice was so egregious that employees at the company sought the support of Direct Action Everywhere, the animal rights group I organize with, in exposing and ultimately stopping it. As recently reported by the Intercept, a high-level executive at the company was fired for raising his concerns, and FBI agents were called in to try to flip a whistleblower into becoming an informant against us. It’s all part of a long-term pattern: government support for an abusive and environmentally destructive industry, even to the point of intimidating and silencing its critics.

Mexico To Ban Glyphosate, GM Corn

February 26, 2021 Timothy A. Wise, Inter Press Service. Create! Food and Agriculture, glyphosate, GMOs, Mexico

Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador quietly rocked the agribusiness world with his New Year’s Eve decree to phase out use of the herbicide glyphosate and the cultivation of genetically modified corn. His administration sent an even stronger aftershock two weeks later, clarifying that the government would also phase out GM corn imports in three years and the ban would include not just corn for human consumption but yellow corn destined primarily for livestock. Under NAFTA, the United States has seen a 400% increase in corn exports to Mexico, the vast majority genetically modified yellow dent corn. The bold policy moves fulfill a campaign promise by Mexico’s populist president, whose agricultural policies have begun to favor Mexican producers, particularly small-scale farmers, and protect consumers alarmed by the rise of obesity and chronic diseases associated with high-fat, high-sugar processed foods.

Food Not Bombs displaced from Santa Cruz lot

February 24, 2021 Jessica A. York, Santa Cruz Sentinel. Educate! California, City Government, Food and Agriculture, Food Not Bombs

Santa Cruz, CA - An activist group on the brink of celebrating a consecutive year of coronavirus pandemic-era free meal service was summarily ejected from a private downtown parking lot Thursday. Potentially setting the stage for the latest standoff with the City of Santa Cruz, organizer Keith McHenry then moved Food Not Bombs’ distribution effort into an adjacent “Lot 27” public parking area just across Front Street, the same one the group was locked out of last year due to what officials cited as “public nuisance” complaints. “We’re like, just keep moving and doing what needs to happen,” McHenry said of consistently serving as many as 200 free vegan meals a day since Marcy 14.

Hunts Point Produce Workers Continue Their Strike

January 22, 2021 David Cruz, Gothamist.com. Resist! Food and Agriculture, New York City (NYC), Strike, Worker's Rights

Bronx, New York - Essential workers who distribute 60% of the city's fruits and vegetables to supermarkets and restaurants have entered day three of a work strike—the first in 35 years–at Hunts Point Produce Market in the Bronx, where NYPD officers were dispatched to break up a picket line on Monday night. If workers and company representatives do not arrive at a speedy agreement, New Yorkers could see a significant decrease in the amount of produce that lands at grocery stores and supermarkets by the end of this week, a union spokesman warned. 1,400 workers walked off the job at the Hunts Point Produce Market—part of the world's largest food terminal—on January 17th, the result of a wage dispute.

Indian Government Offers To Suspend Farm Laws

January 21, 2021 Al Jazeera. Resist! Corporatization, Farmers, Food and Agriculture, India

India’s government has offered to suspend implementation of three new farm laws that have triggered the biggest farmers’ protests in years. The cornerstone of the legislation, introduced in September, allows private buyers to deal directly with farmers. Angry farmers, who say that will make India’s traditional wholesale markets irrelevant and leave them at the mercy of big retailers and food processors, have camped out on main highways outside capital New Delhi for more than two months. Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday said the government was open to suspending the laws for up to 18 months, during which time representatives of the government and farmers should work to “provide solutions” for the industry.

Will US Farmers Follow India’s Lead?

January 8, 2021 Leanna First-Arai, Truthout. Organize! Bankruptcy, Farmers, Food and Agriculture, Joe Biden

Thousands of farmers in India are braving cold winter temperatures in the outskirts of New Delhi, their tractors and tents blocking traffic along three main roads leading to the capital city, in protest of new agricultural laws that farmers say leave them at the mercy of multinational corporations. The protests, which began in August, morphed into a general strike of 250 million workers on November 26, which has been called the largest-ever global demonstration. The ongoing demonstrations have struck a chord with agricultural communities in North America, where solidarity protests were held throughout December, including a march to the Indian Consulate in Toronto and a protest outside of Facebook’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California.

Organizations Diverting Food Waste To Provide Meals For People In Need

January 1, 2021 Amy Martin, Food Tank. Create! Food and Agriculture, Food Waste, Hunger

One-third of the world's food is wasted, according to the United Nations (UN). That number jumps to 40 percent in the United States—enough to feed 2 billion people. Uneaten food has dire consequences for the planet: decomposing waste releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas. According to the UN, if food waste was its own country, it would be the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gas in the world, after the United States and China. And yet, a recent Census Bureau survey finds that 1 in 8 Americans is struggling to secure reliable, nutritious food. "There's no shortage of food," Regina Anderson, Executive Director of the Food Recovery Network, tells Food Tank.

Biden Chooses Tom “Mr. Monsanto” Vilsack As Agriculture Secretary

December 29, 2020 Madeline Knight, Left Voice. Educate! Food and Agriculture, Joe Biden, Monsanto, USDA

After weeks of rumors, President-elect Joe Biden confirmed last week that he has picked Tom Vilsack as his secretary of agriculture. Vilsack previously held the position under the Obama administration, from 2009 to 2017. This decision has disappointed many progressive Democrats who were hoping Biden’s cabinet picks would include a more diverse coalition and signal a push to the left. Vilsack, on the contrary, is quite literally more of the same: a wealthy white man and establishment Democrat with countless corporate interests and an atrocious record on climate change and civil rights. We should not be surprised by this decision, though.

India’s Farmer Revolt

December 15, 2020 Subin Dennis, Tribune Magazine. Resist! Corporatism, Farmers, Food and Agriculture, India

The farmers’ struggle taking place now on the borders of Delhi and its neighbouring states is one of the most important mass agitations that India has seen in its three decades of neoliberal reforms. Since 26 November, hundreds of thousands of farmers have congregated on the borders of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. At the beginning, most of them were from the state of Punjab, located about 200 km from Delhi, but many more have since joined from the state of Haryana, which abuts Delhi on three sides, and then from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh as well. With their caravans, the farmers have occupied long stretches of several highways that connect Delhi to its neighbouring states.

Inmate Kitchen Workers Forced To Serve Expired Meat In Prison

November 19, 2020 Jimmy Jenkins, KJZZ. Educate! Arizona, Food and Agriculture, health, Prisoner rights

Arizona - Incarcerated people who work in the kitchens at the Eyman, Lewis and Yuma state prisons claim they were forced to serve expired meat to their fellow inmates, resulting in foodborne illnesses. Several inmates report being diagnosed with H. pylori infections, which they attribute to the food and unsanitary conditions in the kitchens. The inmates say they were subsequently put on antibiotics in recent days and weeks to treat the infections. KJZZ is not naming the inmates because they fear retaliation for speaking out about the prison conditions.

Saving Nature And Humanity Without Sacrificing Either

November 15, 2020 Charles Whitaker, Climate Conscious. Create! climate crisis, Food and Agriculture, Public transportation, Urban Design

Saving nature without sacrificing modern life is the preeminent challenge of our time. It is a complicated problem that must be attacked simultaneously from multiple angles. Failure to act on one angle will invalidate efforts on other angles. This problem must be addressed in two distinct phases. First, we must stop living in a manner that actively harms both ourselves and the natural world. Then, we must learn how to create a world where both nature and humanity thrive. This two-part article will explore how we can reorganize our civilization to be compatible with such a vision.

How To Save Nature And Humanity Without Sacrificing Either

November 14, 2020 Charles Whitaker, Climate Conscious. Create! climate crisis, Consumerism, Food and Agriculture, Solidarity

Saving nature without sacrificing modern life is the preeminent challenge of our time. It is a complicated problem that must be attacked simultaneously from multiple angles. Failure to act on one angle will invalidate efforts on other angles. This problem must be addressed in two distinct phases. First, we must stop living in a manner that actively harms both ourselves and the natural world. Then we must learn how to create a world where both nature and humanity thrive. This two-part article will explore how we can reorganize our civilization to be compatible with such a vision.

‘It’s A Beautiful Thing To Be Able To Feed Your Community’

November 4, 2020 Frances Madeson, Nation of Change. Create! Cooperatives, Food and Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, Mississippi

A little over a year ago Abrianni Perry, a 28-year-old transplant from Houston, came to Cooperation Jackson to learn about cooperatives from people who’ve been doing it for decades. She’s been happily plunging her hands into the rich West Jackson, Mississippi ever since. “It’s a beautiful thing to be able to feed your community, especially in a food desert,” she says as she works the seven acres of the Fannie Lou Hamer Community Land Trust’s Freedom Farm in anticipation of the fall growing season. “The dirt is soft, and when it’s wet I feel like a little kid making mud pies.

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