people have access to safe, healthy food—as well as the right to know what is in their food, how it is produced and where it comes from.” Peck believes that if we want a cleaner environment, healthier people and more vibrant communities, “We need to be citizens that care about bringing democratic accountability, social justice and ecological integrity to all aspects of our food/farm system.”
Local Food Strengthens Food Democracy
By the People, for the People and Toward a Stronger Nation
by Melinda Hemmelgarn T
o more fully understand the concept of democracy, we can look to some past U.S. presidents. Abraham
Lincoln defi ned it as “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” Thomas Jefferson said, “An informed citizenry is at the heart of a dynamic democracy.” Harry S. Truman further recognized that “secrecy and a free, democratic government don’t mix.” By extension, “food democracy” describes a fair and transparent food system in which people have informed choices and control in determining what and how they eat. It’s what happens when we view people as citizens, rather than consumers, and treat food as a human right, reports the Oakland, California-based Pesticide Action Network (PAN). Kelly Moltzen, a registered dietitian in Bronx, New York, and member of the Franciscan Earth Corps, defi nes it as having the freedom to make choices about the integrity of our food from farm to plate, so that we can support the health and well-being of ourselves, the Earth and all organisms that inhabit the ecosystem.
Food Sovereignty
Feeds Independence A PAN report on food democracy describes food sovereignty as the international equivalent of the U.S. movement to re-localize control over our food and farming. It’s rooted in regenerating historically autonomous food systems with, for and by the people. John Peck, Ph.D., executive director
of Family Farm Defenders, in Madison, Wisconsin, explains that the term “food sovereignty” was coined about two decades ago by the globally-active La Via Campesina, comprised of family farmers, farm workers, fi shing folks, hunters, gatherers and indigenous communities around the world. “At its most basic,” Peck says, “Food
sovereignty is about reclaiming local democratic control over our food/farm system from corporate agribusiness.” This way, “Everyone has the right to decide what is grown or raised in their community, whether animals are treated humanely, if family farmers and other food workers are paid a living wage and can collectively bargain and whether
20 Central Florida natural awakenings
Communities In their report, Deepening Food Democracy, the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), in Minneapolis, describes how U.S. food and farming has increasingly become concentrated, consolidated and controlled by the few. Local food enthusiasts want to take back their food system from industrial, corporate masters that lobby for legislation which denies citizens the right to know how their food is produced or if it contains genetically- modifi ed ingredients (GMO). The growing local food movement is as much about returning power to communities, food workers, farmers and farm workers as it is about producing and distributing healthy, sustainably grown food, reports IATP. Anthony Flaccavento, an organic farmer in the Appalachian region of southwestern Virginia, has been working on national food and sustainable farming initiatives for nearly 30 years. In a recent Food Sleuth Radio interview, he described the resulting tremendous, multiple positive impacts of strong local economies, noting that a strong local food system is usually at their center. “Once you have vibrant, diverse local economies,” says Flaccavento, “you have better health, lower crime and incarceration rates—and more civic participation.” Basically, a more democratic food system could help fi x many of the maladies ailing our nation today. The steady growth of farmers’ markets, farm to school programs and food policy councils prove that Americans are hungry both for clean food and an enhanced sense of community. While Flaccavento appreciates conscious consumers that support local food providers, he emphasizes, “Just acting locally isn’t enough. We need to
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