Now is the Time to Transform!

#FoodSovereigntyNOW #LVC30Years #16Oct22

The 16^th of October – International Day of Action for Peoples’ Food Sovereignty against Transnational corporations – is a day to amplify the demand for food sovereignty and call out the destructive expansion and human rights violation of Transnational Agribusiness firms.

On this day, while the agribusiness promoters responsible for the failed food system and other actors in global governance focus on “food security”, La Via Campesina, along with the broader food sovereignty movement, proposes an alternative path to address the pressing crises of global warming, hunger, malnutrition and extreme poverty. This path for hope has a name: Food sovereignty! Agribusinesses seek only profit maximization!

It is unacceptable that in the 21^st century that 2.3 billion people (30% of world population) are hungry when there is enough food for all, and inequalities and human rights violations are worsening. Most of food produced, instead of feeding people, is used as agrofuel and livestock feed. We reject this neoliberal model that runs counter to our collective vision of solidarity, harmony with nature, justice, unity and peace.

The effects of the capitalist system on the environment and climate are leading to severe damage to our planet, posing an ever increasing existential threat to humanity. For instance, the climate crisis, due to extremely high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the capitalist system, continues to worsen with each year leading to more frequent violent storms, cyclones, droughts, extreme heat waves, wild fires, floods, record loss of glaciers, etc. The increased uncertainty and vulnerability that accompanies the climate change, means that this crisis requires urgent attention. Food sovereignty based peasant agroecology, the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas and localized food systems are the solution to cool the earth, and better adapts to challenging context of climate crisis.

We call upon all defenders – members, allies, new organizations, activists, academia, and the youth, rural and urban social movements, trade unions and civil society actors, artists, and environmental activists to come together to once again push forward the discussions and reflections on how to strengthen the food sovereignty movement within the current global context where hunger, inequalities and power imbalances continue to push many countries to collapse. We must remind ourselves that the only way to make our voices heard is by uniting and building new alliances within and across every border to strengthen our collective vision towards systemic change.

READ THE CALL TO ACTION AND JOIN OUR MOBILIZATIONS!