The Global Politics of Food
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As this summer came to a close, many of us were beginning to see welcome glimmers of a global economic recovery. The world’s financial crisis, however, may not be the biggest crisis of this decade. With more than a billion people living in hunger and the alarming effects of climate change further threatening depleting food supplies, experts have every reason to predict that the global food crisis will get much deeper.
The Global Politics of Food was the theme of this August’s prestigious conference of the Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs in Orillia, ON. Monsanto Canada, Maple Leaf Foods, McDonalds, and Loblaws were all invited to present their views, along with the World Bank and members of the financial, agricultural, and academic communities. And so was USC Canada.
For the closing forum – a look at the future of food – USC Executive Director Susan Walsh delivered a clear and compelling case for a vision of a transformed global food system: an ecologically sensitive, resilient, and healthy approach to feeding the world, building on the often overlooked knowledge of so many small scale farmers around the planet. Watch her presentation, or read it here (pdf).
This video was filmed by Alroy Fonseca (AFF) & Ryan Davies / Dawghaus Studios. Used with permission of the Couchiching Institute on Public Affairs (CIPA, Copyright 2009). For more information on CIPA, visit couch.ca.
3 Responses to “The Global Politics of Food”
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USC Canada
was founded by
Dr Lotta Hitschmanova in 1945. Our award-winning Seeds of Survival program promotes vibrant family farms, strong rural communities, and healthy ecosystems around the world.
The presentation was spot on.
Monsanto et al with their ’self proclaimed’ focus on controlling the global food supply thru technology should be taken out of the equation and we should return back to the sanity that existed when smaller farmers nurtured the land, cared for their animals and knew about seasons and seeds. The GE road we are headed down now in NA seems driven by greedy corporate agendas, questionable, unproven science and stupid politicians.
To Susan, Alroy & Ryan,
Thank you for making this informative video available globally via net. I thought your presentation Susan was very good. The personal description of your own experience helped me see and understand the Bolivian village you visited.
Women and children are so terribly vulnerable and the current global politics of food inadequate.
I support USC’s vision of building on the knowledge and wisdom of indigenious farmers around the world. This approach is wise, respectful and makes sense.
MC Glass
Susan’s speech was a good way to round off the panel sessions of the Couchiching Conference this year. Reports of all the sessions, and some video links, can be found at the Couchiching web site, http://www.couch.ca. There is also a reading list, not to mention some fascinating Twitter links.