Harvesting Justice #2: Think Globally, Eat Locally

Dig Deeper

Feeling inspired? Read on for a list of actions, resources, and organizations to get you started.

Help introduce the idea of food sovereignty to your local food group, community organization, or educational institution. Order copies of Grassroots International and National Family Farm Coalition’s booklet explaining food sovereignty (or download here: www.grassrootsonline. org/publications/fact-sheets-reports/food-sovereignty-explained-simple-language-newbooklet) and use them to start conversations.

Host a workshop about food sovereignty in your community, with the help of “Food for Thought and Action: A Food Sovereignty Curriculum” (download here: www.grassrootsonline.org/publications/educational-resources/food-thought-action-a-food-sovereignty-curriculum).

Join the US Food Sovereignty Alliance, which is bringing together groups from around the country to build a national movement for food sovereignty, and to connect national initiatives with the thriving international movement. Have your organization join (www.usfoodsovereigntyalliance.org).

Organize a local campaign to protect your community from corporate farming and other corporate takeovers of natural resources:

• The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund helps people get started in challenging corporate takeover of their communities (www.celdf.org);
• Corporate Accountability International’s webpage connects you with an abundance of ways to challenge corporate control of food (www.stopcorporateabuse.org/food-campaign).

Ask your Congressperson to oppose the harmful effects of large-scale factory farming, such as requesting that he or she support the Livestock Marketing Fairness Act. Food and Water Watch’s website can keep you updated (www.foodandwaterwatch.org/food/factoryfarms).

Learn about and get inspired by Via Campesina, the world’s largest coalition of small and medium-sized farmers, women, and landless people calling for food sovereignty the world over. Watch their most recent video (www.vimeo.com/27473286).

Get involved with international campaigns such as those to halt the expansion of the WTO, stop new trade agreements and renegotiate existing ones, end Fast Track, and cancel global debt:

• Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, www.citizen.org/trade;
• Our World is Not for Sale global campaign; www.ourworldisnotforsale.org;
• Citizens Trade Campaign, www.citizenstrade.org/ctc/about-ctc;
• Democracy Is for People campaign of Public Citizen, www.democracyisforpeople.org; and
• Jubilee USA, www.jubileeusa.org.

Learn more about what you can do to stop the WTO from continuing its tremendous damage to agriculture. The “Derailer’s Guide to the WTO” by Focus on the Global South is a helpful resource (focusweb.org). Use the Tools for Activists from The Bank Information Center, which has put together a comprehensive toolkit on both understanding and challenging the World Bank (www.bicusa.org/toolkit).

Download the Harvesting Justice pdf here, and find action items, resources, and a popular education curriculum on the Harvesting Justice website.

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