A Call to Action on the Global Food Crisis is Launched
On Thursday, October 16, WHY and its partners held "Step up to the Plate: Ending the Global Food Crisis." The event proved to be an emotional, educational, and poignant evening. "Step up to the Plate," which took place on World Food Day, was the launch of a national Call to Action and the beginning of a campaign to put the global food crisis on the American political agenda. The Great Hall at Cooper Union was packed with more than 500 people including activists, students, and journalists. All the attendees were enthusiastic to hear what the speakers had to say and passionate about issues affecting and affected by access to local, healthy, and affordable food.
Acclaimed activists like Alice Waters (of Chez Panisse and the Edible Schoolyard, Berkeley, CA), Raj Patel (author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food Planet.), LaDonna Redmond, (president and CEO of the Institute for Community Resource Development), Ben Burkett (president of the National Family Farm Coalition), and more each spoke about food access on a global and local level. Gerardo Reyes Chavez a lead organizer for the Coalition for Immokalee Workers in Immokalee, FL gave an impassioned speech about the state of farmworker’s rights. From Taco Bell to McDonalds Chavez covered the numerous human rights abuses perpetrated by our corporate agricultural system and the impact they have on the world’s food system. Patel, who opened and closed the evening, spoke on the topic of global food politics while Waters talked about her efforts to change the food system locally by introducing agricultural academics into schools. Burkett spoke on behalf of the many family farmers unable to keep their farms alive amidst legislation that favors industrialized agriculture and Redmond addressed the lack of access to healthy food in inner city areas.
The Call to Action addresses the issue as much more than just food access, but also one of human rights. Improving global trade, finding alternative energy sources and ending poverty at home and abroad all rely on the actions taken by the next president to end the global food crisis we now face. WHY along with its many partners is proud to be a part of the global Call to Action as it falls in line with our belief that every person deserves access to healthy, local, and affordable food. To read the Call to Action and then sign-on, visit http://www.usfoodcrisisgroup.org/.
