On Sunday, about 35 people gathered at the First Presbyterian Church to discuss access to healthy and sustainable food for all.
Far from the spring sunshine and under a fluorescent basement glow, event organizers welcomed participants and happily added extra rows of chairs to accommodate the larger-than-expected crowd.
Is there a world food crisis? Yes, but the problem might be better described as a crisis of the food system, according to Jennifer Gardner, Cornell graduate student and opening speaker at the event. Although the world produces enough calories for every person, inequality in distribution and access leads to the paradoxical problems of hunger and obesity.
The event continued with a panel discussion. Here are a few highlights:
•Food safety, food security, food justice, food sovereignty, food democracy? Heads in the audience nodded in agreement as organizers explained the differences. For example, food is secure in prison, but prisoners have no control over it. When agricultural companies prohibit seed saving, farmers and communities cannot safeguard their own food source.
•Eric Holt-Giménez, founder of Food First, and Ohnmar Khaing, of the United Nations FAO World Food Programme, sat at opposite ends of the panel. Khaing described a decidedly top-down approach to address emergency food access issues, whereas Holt-Gimenez advocated long-term, community-grown solutions.
•“Supposedly our food is under a free market—there is no free market. The market is under the control of corporations,” said Holt-Giménez, to the enthusiastic agreeing “uh huhs” and “mhhms” from the audience, reminiscent of an engaged church congregation. “I get very depressed working on these issues,” he said. “But you people right here in this room give me hope.”
Additionally:
•Karl North, retired farmer and former owner of Northland Sheep Dairy, spoke about writing an agricultural vision for Tompkins County as part of the Tompkins County Relocalization Project, an effort to prepare for the radical reduction in available energy associated with Peak Oil.
•Jemila Sequiera, CCE-TC’s Whole Community Project, explained her mission to address the underlying causes of obesity, while fostering sustainability, intergenerational relationships, and independence from fragile food systems.
•Marie Hall, representing the South Side Community Garden, expressed her wish to re-inspire victory gardens and teach people how to grow, process, and store their crops.
•Megan Gregory, Cornell graduate student, described her national food policy advocacy efforts with Bread for the World.
After the panel, the multi-generational and multi-ethnic audience broke up into groups to brainstorm solutions to problems at local, national, and international levels. The group tasked with answering the question “How do we create a just and sustainable food system here in Ithaca?” quickly listed more than 50 ideas, ranging from establishing a food policy council and creating mobile livestock processing to educating consumers and subsidizing youth farm employment. But then the group stumbled when categorizing the ideas into coherent actions, highlighting real challenges facing food activists.
The organizers had intended to end the event with a letter-writing campaign, but time ran out. Two sample letters were supplied: the first urged lawmakers to support foreign assistance reform, particularly by voting for the Global Food Security Act (S. 384) in the Senate and the second promoted legislation that prevents further climate change and assists those who are vulnerable in adapting to current effects.
To continue the conversation and write letters, organizers invited participants to dinner at Loaves and Fishes at 210 North Cayuga St. on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 from 5:30 pm until 7:00 pm.
The event was sponsored by the New World Agriculture and Ecology Group at Cornell, the Cornell Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Finance Commission, and the First Presbyterian Church Committee on Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation.
Update: Advocates write letters at Loaves and Fishes
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