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Food, farming and biodiversity at
Friends of the Earth
FoE International Food Sovereignty
Programme
FoE Europe Strategic Planning
Process
FoEI Food Sovereignty Programme
First meeting in Jojakarta, Indonesia, April 2008
Decision that the programme be called “Food
Sovereignty”
Areas of work / important focus agreed (but too
ambitious!)
FoEI Food Sovereignty Programme
Food Sovereignty steering committee set up
Call for coordinators put out
Martin Drago from FoE Uruguay takes on the Southern
coordinator role
Northern coordinator role still open
Framework approved at BGM
We are building global food sovereignty which is based on
diverse localised solutions. We define food sovereignty as:
Peoples right to determine and control their local, national,
ecological, just, sovereign food and production systems
Peoples right to enough nutritious, healthy, ecologically produced,
culturally sound food
Food produced through ecological traditional or indigenous /
peasant / family agriculture / Artisanal fisheries/ Pastorals
In the urban context this means the ability to buy such food
sourced locally and regionally from a network of diverse retail
outlets and markets
Building the bridges between people and their food and between
those who produce and consume food
At the centre of food policies, those who produce and consume food
take precedence over trade and corporate interests. Local and
national economies are a priority
The recognition of peoples’ control over territories and seed,
upholding land rights, and the right to water
The right to reclaim and defend seed diversity as peoples heritage
at the service of humanity
The right to reproduce, exchange and breed seed varieties
Positive land conversion from intensive, large scale agriculture to
ecologically compatible and diverse systems
Food Sovereignty rejects technologies which threaten, undermine
and contaminate local food production and traditional wisdom
It also rejects the free trade system and the power of TNCs
Key strategic areas for action:
Agribusiness vs agriculture for food sovereignty
Trade in agricultural commodities and food AND food
miles vs local markets and
Fisheries and marine issues
Land and territory rights and integrity
Consumption (over and under consumption) and the
right to access food
Food Aid and Hunger
Agrofuels
GMOs and other corporate driven technologies
Agriculture and climate
Taking it forward: Amsterdam meeting,
April 2009
For the first time, with la Via Campesina and the
World March of Women
FoE groups in Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Korea,
Nigeria, Swaziland, Denmark, Latvia, England Wales
and Northern Ireland, United States, Uruguay,
Paraguay, El Salvador, and Mexico.
Representatives from FoEI Climate Justice and
Energy Program, FoE Europe Food and Biodiversity
Program, FoE Europe Economic Justice Program,
Asia Pacific regional facilitation, and the FoEI
International Secretariat.
Amsterdam meeting, April 2009
Three lines of action from the FoEI food sovereignty
work-plan approved by the 2008 BGM:
• GMOs,
• land rights and agribusiness (link with Economic
•
Justice – Resisting Neoliberalism program)
climate and agriculture. We brought in the
• Also, the promotion of solutions and our positive our
agenda as a cross-cutting theme
• gender implications of our analysis and our activities
For a GMO free world
Materials that kill the myth of GMOs and propose
alternatives. This could be the next version of the
“Who Benefits from GMOs” report, which would focus
on myths and alternatives (for farmers – production
without GMOs and for food aid – support local/regional
products instead of external GM food aid).
Create solidarity for direct actions, build a network of
direct actions and alert systems in response to
repression of activists.
Capacity building for groups and communities: test
kits for GMO, popular education, more information.
Resisting land grabbing and
agribusiness
Gathering and sharing up-to-date information about
corporate actions.
Build understanding and support for our diverse
strategies.
Track chain of custody for different products, target
specific corporations.
Strengthen regional strategies and coordination.
Build visibility for victims of agribusiness.
Opportunities around events:
International Forum of Victims of Agribusiness, Paraguay
August 2009.
Conference on AGRA, Nigeria in September/October
2009: launch the results of the joint research between
FoE Europe and groups in Africa regarding agrofuels.
Exchange with groups in Asia that may have experience
of resistance to “green revolution”.
EU/ Latin American summit in Madrid (May 2010), round
of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal on European
Corporations.
• We can present cases related to the chain of custody of
soy and other crops.
Climate justice and agriculture
New area, important
Long distance transport of food
Land use change (deforestation, plantations for
industries, monocultures, GMOs)
Industrial agriculture provokes climate change
Agrofuel production (extends fossil fuel
consumption - delays implementation of other
energies)
Role of women, and importance of peasant farming
as “cool farming”
Climate justice and agriculture
UN climate negotiations
important to denounce false solutions – such as off-setting,
agrofuels, forest carbon trading, and GMOs
more testimonials needed about who is affected by climate
change
more technical and accessible information about how to
advocate for compensation and reparation of
ecological/climate debt
develop more popular education materials about the threats
of false solutions
• for example the danger of land grabbing from REDD or
agrofuels, also “climate friendly” GM products.
Climate justice and agriculture
Events / processes
Copenhagen, joint activities with VC and WMW
make use of other international spaces such as the Food
and Agriculture Organization
FS programme coordination
Steering committee made up of regional focal points
plus alternates
ATALC: Carlos Murralles (Guatemala), ?
APAC: Basant Prasad Adhikari (until May) (Nepal)
Africa: Mariann Bassey (Nigeria), Sicelo Simelane (Swaziland)
Europe: Helen Holder (FoE Europe), Kirtana Chandrasekaran
(FoE EWNI)
Coordination: 2 people? (North and South)
Details still to be agreed
• Martin Drago, FoE Uruguay from South
• focus on agribusiness?
• Northern coordinator
• focus on GMOs?
Next steps
Minutes to be finalised and circulated
Steering group meeting to define steps and
timeline
Working groups to proceed
Fundraising
Coordination questions to be decided,
coordinator(s) to be recruited
FoE Europe Strategic Planning
Process
Prior to SPP, FoEE campaigns structured into
programmes
GMOs, agrofuels and Feeding and Fuelling Europe
become Food and Biodiversity Programme
EU agriculture policy (CAP) and biodiversity
discussed at meeting with groups in February
2008, working groups set up.
FoE Europe Strategic Planning Process
Planning process aims to define strategic aims and
objectives for FoEE programmes
Strategic planning group set up after last years
AGM:
Chair: FoEE director
Asad, FoE EWNI (contact point for FaB)
Evert, MD
Anne, FoE France
Paul, FoEE EJ coordinator
Stine, FoEE Events Manager
Klaus, Global 2000
SP process
SP group recommendations
April consultation with groups
Changes being made following consultation
Consultation with FoEI
Final decision at AGM
Evaluation
Aim: problems of European consumption and
intensive agriculture on ecosystems, biodiversity
and livelihoods
Objectives:
GMfree Europe and impacts in third countries (including
soy monoculture and livestock)
Stopping agrofuels and impacts around the world
EU agriculture policy with focus on soy/plant
protein/livestock
Biodiversity (in the EU and as a means of developing our
network)
Aims and tactics of FFE project WITHIN the objectives
Who’s gonna do all this?!!
YOU! 
Campaign coordination
GMOs: Helen
Agrofuels: Adrian
EU farming policy / CAP: Reinhild, Kirtana, Anne B,
Helen
Biodiversity in EU: Friedrich Wulf (Pro Natura) and
Nicola Uhde (BUND)
FFE team: Adrian, Gina, Suzan, Jeroen, Michiel, Kirtana,
Helen
Fundraising needed to recruit third FoEE coordinator
Food, farming and biodiversity at FoEE
Consistently voted top priority at AGMs
Last year, second after Climate and Energy
And second for resource allocation after Network
Development
Good coherence with FoEI, including strategic
partnership with Via Campesina
Thanks to you all for your hard work, support and
great campaigning!