Civil Society Archive
De Schutter Visits Canada
This weekend, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Olivier de Schutter, arrives in Ottawa to begin a formal country mission to Canada. His 2010 report on Agroecology and the Right to Food has been widely quoted, encouraging cooperation on the dissemination and adoption of agro-ecological practices. While here, de Shutter and his team will look at several Canadian issues, including poverty, aboriginal peoples and the right to food, international development, and trade and investment. Read More…
Occupy Our Food Supply!
If you were outside the Toronto Stock exchange on Monday, February 27th, you would have seen a very different exchange going on – a seed exchange! This was part of a North American Occupy Our Food Supply day of action – and included participants like Willie Nelson, Michael Pollan, and Vandana Shiva! Read More…
Reports from Rome: From Policy Table to Field
With CFS-37 at an end, it now falls to national and local governments to come up with actions that stem from this meeting – at the country level – to deal with critical issues like price volatility. In his final report from Rome, Faris looks at a few ways they might do this, and why this will be what really changes lives. Read More…
Reports from Rome: Small Farmers Take Centre Stage
Small-holder farmers are the central actors in food production – responsible for 80% of all agricultural investment and 70% of global food production. With 1.5 billion of them, it’s confounding why they continue to be treated like a mere appendage of the food system. But USC’s Faris Ahmed is noting something interesting going on in Rome: the small-holder farmer is taking centre stage. Read More…
Reports from Rome: CFS – More than an Acronym
What the heck is the CFS and why should you care? Well, if you’re concerned about the global food crisis this Committee for World Food Security is hugely important. The CFS is meeting in Rome until October 21, and our own Faris Ahmed is there to help make sense of the decisions that come out of those meetings. In his first report, Faris offers reasons why this is THE body to watch when it comes to food security. Read More…