Food and Agriculture

During Red April, MST Restates The Importance Of Agrarian Reform

April 17, 2024 Mariana Castro, People's Dispatch. Resist! Brazil, Class Struggle, Food and Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, Rural Workers

Under the slogan “Occupy to feed Brazil,” the Landless Rural Workers’ Movement (MST), is organizing across the country for the National Day of Struggle in Defense of Agrarian Reform, which takes place during what organizers call Red April, a month which includes marches, occupations, training activities, solidarity activities, and opposition to land concentration in Brazil. The month marks April 17, when the International Day of Peasant Struggle is celebrated to remember the 21 rural workers murdered by the military police in the 1996 Eldorado dos Carajás massacre in Pará.

Veganic Growing And Animal-Free Agriculture: The Path Forward

April 7, 2024 Jimmy Videle, LA Progressive. Create! Farming, Food and Agriculture, Sustainability, Veganic growing

Nature is complex. Her underground web is as intricate as her above-ground diversity. Below our feet, bacteria, microorganisms, mycorrhizae, and roots of perennial plants work symbiotically, absorbing and moving nutrients to wherever the need arises. Science has defined ecosystems and family groups, constantly updating our knowledge bank based on the most recent discoveries. However, this is the human interpretation of the natural world, but the way other animal species interpret it is likely different. While all species tend to follow the rhythms of nature, there is one that seems to go against her: ours, Homo sapiens.

A Mobile Food Pantry Meets Refugees Where They Are

April 7, 2024 Marielle Argueza, Next City. Organize! Food and Agriculture, Food Security, Immigration, North Carolina, Refugees

It started at a kitchen table more than 15 years ago. In 2008, Greensboro mother of two Kristy Milholin noticed signs of food insecurity among her daughters’ classmates at Morehead Elementary School. She and her husband, Don Milholin, took it upon themselves to pack up bags of free food for several local families every Friday. “She went into mom mode. She couldn’t see kids go hungry,” says Beth Crise, who is the president and executive director of Out of the Garden project, the nonprofit that the Milholins founded after receiving increased requests from families in need.

Food Co-Op Tests New Approach To Equitable Community Solar

April 6, 2024 Sarah Shemkus, Next City. Create! Boston, Community Solar, Cooperatives, Energy, Food and Agriculture, Solar

A group of energy equity advocates in Boston is launching a community solar cooperative they say could be a scalable model for both reducing carbon emissions and building wealth in disadvantaged communities. The Boston Community Solar Cooperative is in the pre-development stage of an 81 kilowatt solar project on the roof of the Dorchester Food Co-op, in one of the city’s lowest-income neighborhoods. Residents will be able to buy or earn ownership stakes in the project, which will be governed by a board of community stakeholders.

Urban Agriculture In The Heart Of Caracas

April 5, 2024 Cira Pascual Marquina, Venezuelanalysis. Create! Food and Agriculture, Food Security, Urban Agriculture, Venezuela

Urban agriculture gardens, inspired by methods developed during Cuba’s special period, are being used to promote food security in Venezuela.

The Israeli Agricultural Industry: A Strategic Weakness

April 4, 2024 Batoul Suleiman, Orinoco Tribune. Educate! Al-Aqsa Flood, Food and Agriculture, Food Security, Israel, Neoliberalism, Palestine

Since the beginning of the brutal war waged by the Zionist enemy on Gaza, the agricultural industry in the Zionist entity has witnessed a significant shortage of agricultural labor. The Israeli government issued a decree prohibiting Palestinian workers—some of whom work in the agricultural sector—from entering the Occupied Territories. This was accompanied by the departure of around 8,000 Thai workers from the Occupied Territories at the beginning of the war. This crisis posed a challenge for Zionist farmers, especially in the Gaza Envelope.

Moving Into The Agrihood

March 19, 2024 Kirsten Lie-Nielsen, Modern Farmer. Create! Agrihood, Food and Agriculture, Food Security, Planned Communities, South Carolina

Outside of Charleston, South Carolina, in the picturesque marshes of the Kiawah River, sits more than 100 acres of working farmland. Seasonal crops rotate through expansive pastures, cattle graze the rich sea grasses and several colonies of bees hurry about their business. But unlike neighboring farms that focus on production for faraway markets or keep a single family afloat, the farm at Kiawah River is supporting 185 families who live in the surrounding homes. Kiawah River is an “agrihood”—a planned community with a working farm at its center.

The Case For Universal Basic Food

March 16, 2024 Emily Settlecowski, Next City. Create! Food and Agriculture, food justice, Food Security, Health Care, Human Rights

Food is many things in our lives. It’s a cultural connector, bridging relationships with people, places, and our heritage. Food is medicine, providing us with nutrients integral to our well-being. It’s also a renewable resource; the way we grow, transport and consume food directly impacts our climate and local environment. Above all, food is a human right. Yet our food system only values food for one thing: profit. It’s become an industrialized machine that prioritizes cheap production and corporate gains over the well-being of people, local economies, and the environment. In this pursuit of maximum financial gain, food has been reduced to a mere commodity.

The Livestock Industry Has Side-Stepped Scrutiny Again

March 14, 2024 Michaela Herrmann, DeSmog. Educate! Big Ag, Congress, Food and Agriculture, Livestock, Regulations, SEC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) made headlines around the world this week by voting to move forward with rules that will require public companies to disclose climate-related business risks to investors. Some lawmakers have welcomed the mandate from the U.S.’s most powerful financial regulator, which will now force firms to share at least some emissions data. But climate and environment campaigners are concerned about loopholes in the new rules, which have failed to include “Scope 3,” i.e. indirect, greenhouse gas emissions.

Mexico Provides Non-GM Corn Opportunity For US Farmers

March 12, 2024 Ken Roseboro and Timothy A. Wise, Food Tank. Create! Farmers, Food and Agriculture, GMOs, Mexico, Trade

United States commodity organizations have cheered on the U.S. government as it tries to get Mexico’s restrictions on genetically modified (GM) corn declared in violation of our trade agreement with Mexico and Canada, arguing that it cuts farmers’ export markets and sales revenues. But what if Mexico’s modest restrictions could instead turn out to benefit U.S. farmers who shift to premium non-genetically modified (GM) corn markets as international corn prices fall? It sounds counter-intuitive, but it might just be true. The math is pretty simple.

Native Seed Network Takes Root In The Northeast

March 9, 2024 Eve Allen, Resilience.org. Create! Food and Agriculture, Food Security, Northeast, Seed bank

Land managers and restoration practitioners have long been concerned about the scarcity of native seeds required for restoring ecosystems. Whether sourced from soil seed banks, existing native plant populations or commercial vendors, the demand for native seeds consistently outstrips the available supply. In January 2023, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released a 228-page report, underscoring the urgent need to increase native seed supplies to restore damaged ecosystems in the United States.

Meat Industry Using ‘Misinformation’ To Block Dietary Change

March 3, 2024 Clare Carlile, DeSmog. Educate! Big Ag, Big Meat, Food and Agriculture, Media, misinformation, Report

The agriculture sector has spent millions of dollars on discrediting plant-based diets, a new report has claimed. The report, published by the consumer advocacy organisation Freedom Food Alliance on Thursday (29 February), found that multinational meat companies and lobby groups were using industry-funded research, public ad campaigns and educational materials to sway public opinion on meat and dairy. The Disinformation Report: Harvesting Denial, Distractions & Deception suggests that the industry is sidestepping accountability for its role in greenhouse emissions.

Farmers’ Protests Challenging EU Policies Spread To Eastern Europe

February 28, 2024 People's Dispatch. Resist! European Union (EU), Farmers, Food and Agriculture, Inflation

Farmers and their unions in Eastern and Central Europe, are mobilizing in large numbers against growing economic distress. They have expressed their rejection of provisions in the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Green Deal, and against the high cost of production and low incomes, import of tariff-free grains from Ukraine war efforts, and exhaustive bureaucratic procedures in farm-related laws and regulations. Farmers affiliated with the Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic (AKCR), Slovak Chamber of Agriculture and Food Industry, unions in Poland, and many others participated in rallies and road blocks on February 22, demanding concrete policy measures from their respective governments and the European Union (EU) in solving their grievances.

Venezuela Produces 97% Of The Food It Consumes

February 27, 2024 Mision Verdad, Orinoco Tribune. Create! Economic Growth, Food and Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, Nicolas Maduro, Sanctions, US Sanctions, Venezuela

The gradual recovery observed in Venezuela’s economy can be seen in the increase in agricultural production, which has recorded 14 consecutive quarters of growth despite the blockade and unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro explained this last Wednesday, February 21, during a work day dedicated to national production. He highlighted that this progress towards a productive and independent economy has been carried out through Venezuela’s own efforts amid the difficulties caused by illegal US sanctions.

Indian Farmers March On Delhi To Protest Unfulfilled Demands

February 14, 2024 People's Dispatch. Resist! Farmers, Food and Agriculture, India, Mass Action, Worker Rights and Jobs

Indian farmers from the State of Punjab began a protest march towards the national capital, New Delhi on February 13, Tuesday, to raise longstanding demands that have gone unfulfilled by the Union government. Cement blocks, metal barricades, barbed wire, and iron nails were erected on the borders of Delhi and in the State of Haryana on Tuesday to stop the farmers, similar to the blockades that had been set up over two years ago, when farmers had first marched on Delhi to demand their rights. The “Delhi Chalo” protest on Tuesday was organized by over 250 farmers’ unions under the umbrella of the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM– Peasant-Worker Front) and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (non political), comprised of over 150 farmers unions and a breakaway platform from the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), a group of over 500 unions, which had organized the historic protests of 2020-21.

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