Transcript food chain activism - Friends of the Earth

Food Chain
Workshop
Regional Gathering, 23 January
2010
Your Food Team in 2010
Sandra Bell
Senior Campaigner
Nick Beuret
Campaigner
Vicki Hird
Senior Campaigner
Helen Rimmer
Campaigner
Kenneth Richter
Biofuels Campaigner
Owen Espley
Campaign
Coordinator
Kirtana
Chandrasekaran
Campaigner
Ollie Hayes
Campaign Assistant
Interactive Food
Chain Quiz!
Demand for Meat & Dairy
Shifting Subsidies
1bn / 20bn / 60bn animals raised for livestock
each year
£7m / £70m / £700m of UK taxpayers’ money is
being used to prop up factory farming each year
Climate Change
Livestock production is responsible for
1% / 18% / 36% of global GHG emissions
Resource Use
Livestock uses 10% / 70% / 90% of all
available agricultural land, and uses 1% /
8% / 15% of the global human water
supply.
2009 Campaign Successes
EDM 845 was signed by 209 / 239 / 259
MPs
35 / 117 / 190 local groups signed up to
the campaign during the year
8,656/ 15,444 / 28,875 Fix the food chain
postcards signed in total
New Research Findings
Land Grab – the UK’s role
The area of land required to produce the
UK soy imports from South America in
2007 was 0.5m / 1.2m / 2m hectares
According to our report Eating the Planet, 50% /
75% / 100% of the world could be fed using freerange farm animal production
Demand for Meat & Dairy
60bn animals raised for livestock each year
Shifting Subsidies
£700m of UK taxpayers’ money is being used
to prop up factory farming each year
Climate Change
Livestock production is responsible for 18%
of global GHG emissions
2009 Campaign Successes
EDM 845 was signed by 259 MPs
117 local groups signed up to the
Resource Use
Livestock uses 70% of all available
agricultural land, and uses 8% of the
global human water supply.
campaign during the year
28,875 Fix the food chain postcards
signed in total
New Research Findings
Land Grab – the UK’s role
The area of land required to produce the
UK soy imports from South America in
2007 was 1.2 million hectares
According to our report Eating the Planet,
100% of the world could be fed using free-range
farm animal production
The Food Chain
Campaign 2010
Part 1
Food Chain 2009 – a brilliant start
o117 local groups joined the Food Chain
Campaign in 2009
o259 signatures on Early Day Motion 845
oMassive awareness in Westminster
oExtensive media coverage
The main aims of 2010
o A new law to reduce the
environmental impact of meat and dairy
production
Start ball rolling via Private
Members Ballot - very soon after
the general election
Getting support for the Bill
oBuild support for the Bill from now
until the general election
oExpecting election in early May
oCould happen any
time from March…
3 Main Areas of Work
1. Engaging with candidates
Contact candidates in your area get them up to speed.
You’ll need to send them:
Political candidate cover letter
‘What’s feeding our food?’ summary.
The number of postcard and email actions the
current MP in their constituency has already
received
Photos and press clippings.
2.Keeping the pressure on MPs
oNew Early Day Motion (EDM 845
has now expired)
oRenewing support now will make
MPs’ commitment to our bill
stronger
3.Keeping your candidates up-to-speed
oCandidates can’t sign Early Day Motions
themselves
oAsk them to support the Bill
If elected can then support it in the
Ballot
If not elected will still have helped raise
awareness in the political parties
oImaginative ways to lobby candidates
Photos of your group with all the cards
Hustings – quizzing the candidates
oFind an existing hustings happening in
your area
oFind out if any like-minded community
groups would be interested in teaming up
to organise one
oArrange your own hustings
Building alliances with Farmers
Winning support of farmers is key to the
campaign’s success
They’ll be affected more than most
We need to show that they support our
campaign
Much more support for groups to work with
farmers
Farmers training on March 6th
Speak to your Network Developer!
Guides to help you
What next?
All this activism take us to the General
Election.
Post-election we’ll be pushing ahead to get
our bill tabled and build support for it
Pressure revolving around 2 points
 Private Members Ballot
 Second Reading
The Private Members Ballot
Ballot is just after the election spring into action!
oLobbying the MPs top
of the list
oWe’ll support groups
to lobby ballot MPs
Second Reading
oMPs support our Bill in Houses of
Parliament
oWe’ll be in touch with activism plans
for this period in the spring
oCampaign will begin to tackle the
Government on the issue of
consumption
Good Luck!!!
Farmer project
Aims
• Demonstrate positive impact of our
campaign on UK farming
• Convince MPs to support the campaign
(especially Tories!)
“A world without roast beef: who wants that except
McCartney and Stern?”
Nick Herbert, Shadow Secretary of State
Why should farmers support the
campaign?
If we win…
• CAP reform will support planet friendly farmers
(including support for struggling upland farmers)
• Opportunities for new feed crops
• Supermarket watchdog
• Research into breeds and alternative feeds
• Consumers will choose less but better quality
meat
What support have we got
already?
“We have nothing against small scale, low output,
farming systems but to suppose this is a model
which will feed the world’s growing population is
disingenuous. Either Friends of the Earth is
looking to use much more of the world’s land
area for farming – which really would put
wilderness and rainforest at risk – or it imagines
that, in some way or other, the world’s
population is going to be dramatically smaller.”
NFU’s response to ‘Feeding the Beast’
What you need to do:
• Let your Network Developer know that you’re
interested in the project
• Come along to our training day on Saturday 6
March in Birmingham
www.foe.co.uk/community/foodchain
Q&A
What else is
happening?
Food Inc.
Get involved with this powerful documentary
•Out on February 12
•Screenings around the country on February
15, that we’ve been specially invited to and
there may be opportunities to run stalls
•March onwards - put on your own
screening?
Supermarkets
Good news! After years of campaigning by Friends of the
Earth and our local groups, the Government has finally
committed to a supermarket watchdog.
BUT they are still deciding on what the new body look like.
We need to keep pressure on them to establish a watchdog
with real teeth.
Look out for new actions in Real Food News and online.
Procurement
Every year £2.2 billion is spent on food for the
public sector such as in schools and hospitals.
Friends of the Earth is demanding this money is
spent on planet-friendly meat and dairy, with less
but better meat on public menus.
Look out for latest news in Real Food News and
online.
Common Agricultural
Policy (CAP)
A huge amount of public money goes into factory farming
when it could easily be supporting planet friendly farming
through the European CAP
The CAP is going through its biggest reform ever from
now up to 2013
We will be working in the UK and Europe to overhaul the
CAP so that it supports home grown feeds and extensive
farming
Keep an eye out for our CAP policy position and actions on
CAP for this year
GM
A large amount of soy grown in South America and
imported to Europe for animal feed is genetically modified
It is responsible for huge increases in pesticide use in
South America and is the secret door for entry of GM into
Europe.
We will be working to expose the impacts of GM farming
and keep Europe’s GM policy strong.
Schools Work
Interested in visiting a school or youth group to do a
session (eg a lesson, assembly or after-school
project) on the Food Chain?
For ideas and resources contact:
Youth and Education network
[email protected]
or [email protected]
Recap on Activism
oContact candidates
oCollect and return postcards
oTalk among your group about
farmers project – contact your
Network Developer
Thank you and good luck!