Activities in Copenhagen to mark the Global Day on Agriculture
Media invitation: 15th December
La Via Campesina and Friends of the Earth International are organizing a series of events in Copenhagen to mark the Global Day on Agriculture. The events draw attention to the link between agriculture and climate change, and show a clear demand for climate justice and food sovereignty.
9:00am : “Farmer’s call to the head of states: change the food system!”
Press conference at the Bella Center, Asger Jorn room, Hall H Farmers’ leaders from Asia, Africa, Europe and America will present their call to the head of states to change the agricultural model of production in order to solve the climate crisis.
Farmers are already being affected by the current climate crisis and radically reject the market mechanisms currently discussed at the UNFCCC (such as agrofuels, biochar, no till agriculture and climate-ready GMOs). They ask for a global transition towards sustainable family farming and local food production.
12:00 midday : Change the food system not climate!
Mass mobilisation starting at Havne Parken (by the Harbour pool, near Langebro Bridge)
This events forms part of the protests taking place during the Copenhagen climate talks. It will start with an action at the company Danesco, in order to visualise the role of environmentally damaging corporations in greenwashing.
4:00 pm : Screening of Killing Fields: the battle to feed factory farms film
Axelborg Building, at the crossroads between Axeltorv/Vesterbrogade, Copenhagen
The day of activities will end with the screening of the Friends of the Earth International film Killing fields in front of the Axelborg Building, the headquarters of the Danish Agriculture and Food Council. For more information on the film, which highlights the environmental and social impacts of soya plantations in South America, see: http://www.feedingfactoryfarms.org/
Background Information:
As world leaders meet in Copenhagen to discuss efforts to tackle global warming, Friends of the Earth International will be calling on the rich industrialised countries, which have historically emitted the most greenhouse gases, to agree to urgent and dramatic cuts in their emissions starting NOW.
The international farmers movement La Via Campesina which gathers hundreds of millions of small farmers from around the world is going to Copenhagen to claim that sustainable small scale agriculture is the way out of the current crises.
For more information, please contact:
Boaventura Monjane and Isabelle Delforge, La Via Campesina, (+45) 5059 8325 http://www.viacampesina.org
Jose Elosegui, Friends of the Earth Uruguay, jelosegui@gmail.com, (+45) 30 48 86 43
http://www.foei.org