DIG IN!Creative Campaigning for Food Justice
Kate and GenevieveMay 2010CUC AGM, Victoria (BC)
http://usc-canada.org/storyoffood/
A great 6 min. short animated film that can be used to help people to start thinking about what’s is wrong with our broken food system and what we can do to rebuild a healthier one.
About USC Canada... Founded in 1945, as the
Unitarian Service Committee, today, USC’s goal is...
To promote sustainable livelihoods through agro-biodiversity = Food, Farmers and a better Future
Food Bite• 1 in 6 people go to bed
hungry every night... the majority of them are rural children
• 1.4 billion people depend on the SEEDS that FARMERS SAVE
What we do abroadSeeds of Survival:• Started in 1989 in Ethiopia
after a major drought.
• Goal: To save local varieties adapted to the local climate.
• Community Seed Banks, in situ conservation, etc.
What USC does in CanadaAdvocacy:• Public Engagement events
and speakers.
• Workshops on Food Security, Youth Rights and Civil Society Advocacy.
• Support to Volunteer initiatives.
What’s the alternative? Food Sovereignty
the right of peoples to healthy and
culturally appropriate food produced through
ecologically sound and sustainable
methods, and their right to define their
own food and agriculture systems.
Nyéleni, Mali 2007, La Via Campesina
Some Campaign Actions
• Postcard campaign
• Write to MP’s, Ministers, and PM
• Rallies and speakers
• Hearings in the House and Senate
• Leading to introduction of legislation
• New social media
Canadian Food Justice Campaigns
Let’s Get Creative!
Seed Saviour
Seed Saviour
Guerilla Gardening
Guerilla Eating
Eating for Change
Eating for Change
Food Art
Spreading the Word
Spreading the Word
What else do or can we do?
One Seed at a time: the Hummingbird Story!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHtFM1XEXas
Garden Song – Peter, Paul & Mary
CHORUSInch by inch, row by rowGonna make this garden grow All it takes is a rake and a hoe andA piece of fertile ground Inch by inch, row by row Someone bless these seeds I sow Someone warm them from belowPlease keep them safe below 'Till the rain comes tumbling down
USC staff received this musical greeting from Kalahan, Timor Leste. The song is performed by young farmers in honour of USC.
They wrote the lyrics themselves: "Manilma, Manilima. Before the land was empty, but now it is full of green. And so we thank you.“
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9qc3v_wN94
THANK YOU