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Nyeleni Europe 2011: European Forum for Food Sovereignty
22 August 2011
Food sovereignty in Europe now
Krems, August 21st
Europe's people are now experiencing the first structural adjustment policies which governments are imposing on their populations that until now have been imposed on peoples in other regions in particular the Global South; this with the sole interest of saving capitalism and those who benefit from it (private banks, investment groups and transnational corporations). All signs are that in the near future these antisocial policies will become more severe and extensive. The first general mobilizations to denounce the economic and governance systems which have brought us to this point have begun and we offer - creatively and energetically - the response of European social movements to confront the model of global agriculture which is the exact reflection of the capitalist system that created it.
Food systems have been reduced to a model of industrialized agriculture controlled by a few transnational food corporations together with a small group of huge retailers. It is a model designed to generate profits, and therefore completely fails to meet its obligations. Instead of being dedicated to the production of food which is healthy, affordable and benefits people, it focuses increasingly on the production of raw materials such as agrofuels, animal feeds or commodity plantations. On the one hand, it has caused the enormous loss of agricultural holdings and the people who make their living from those holdings, while on the other hand it promotes a diet which is harmful to health and which contains insufficient fruit, vegetables and cereals.
This industrial model of production is dependent on finite fossil fuels and chemical inputs; does not recognize the limitations of resources such as land or water; is responsible for drastic losses of biodiversity and soil fertility; contributes to climate change; forces thousands of people into jobs without recognition of their most fundamental rights; and leads to the worsening of working conditions for farmers and workers, in particular migrants. It moves us further away from a respectful and sustainable relationship with nature. Exploiting and treating the earth in this way is the fundamental cause of rural poverty and hunger for more than a billion people in the world (such as now in the Horn of Africa). In addition, it causes forced migration, while creating a surplus of industrial foods, which end up being wasted or dumped in markets both within and outside Europe, destroying local production.
This situation is the result of food, financial, trade and energy policies, which our governments, the EU (especially through its Common Agricultural Policy), multilateral and financial institutions as well as transnational corporations have been imposing. Examples include the policies of deregulation and liberalization of agricultural markets and speculation on food.
Changing the direction of this dysfunctional food system will only be possible through a complete reorientation of food and agricultural policies and practices. It is vital to redesign the food system based on the principles of Food Sovereignty, particularly in Europe, and to do it now.
As a consequence more than 400 people from 34 European countries from the Atlantic to the Urals and Caucasus, from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, as well as international representatives from diverse social movements and civil society organisations, met from the 16th to 21st of August in Krems, Austria to take a step forward in the development of a European movement for Food Sovereignty. We are building on the foundations of the Declaration of the Nyéléni 2007: Forum for Food Sovereignty, which reaffirmed the international framework for Food Sovereignty - the right of peoples to democratically define their own food and agricultural systems without harming other people or the environment.
Numerous experiences and practices already exist here and now, at local, regional and European levels, which are based on Food Sovereignty and which demonstrate how it can be applied.
We are people who share values based on human rights. We want free movement of people, and not free circulation of capital and merchandise which contributes to the destruction of livelihoods and therefore forces many to migrate. Our aim is cooperation and solidarity as opposed to competition. We commit to reclaiming our democracy: all people should be involved in all issues of public interest and public policy making, deciding collectively how we organize our food systems. This requires the construction of democratic systems and processes, free of violence, corporate influence, and based on equal rights and gender equality, which will also lead to the abolition of patriarchy.
Many of us are young people who represent the future of our society and of our struggles. We will ensure that our energy and creativity make our movement stronger. In order to do so we must be able to participate in providing food and to be integrated in all structures and decisions.
We are convinced that Food Sovereignty is not only a step forward towards a change in our food and agricultural systems, but it is also a first step towards a broader change in our societies. For this we commit to struggle for:
Changing how food is produced and consumed
We are working towards resilient food production systems, which provide healthy and safe food for all people in Europe, while also preserving biodiversity and natural resources and ensuring animal welfare. This requires ecological models of production and fishing as well as a multitude of smallholder farmers, gardeners and small-scale fishers who produce local food as the backbone of the food system. We struggle against the use of GMOs and grow and recuperate a wide diversity of non-GM varieties of seeds and livestock breeds in these systems. We promote sustainable and diverse forms of food culture, in particular the consumption of high quality local and seasonal foods and no highly processed food. This includes a lower consumption of meat and animal products, which should only be locally produced using local non-GM feed. We engage in re-embracing and promoting knowledge of cooking and food processing through education and sharing of skills.
Changing how food is distributed
We work towards the decentralization of food chains, promoting diversified markets based on solidarity and fair prices, and short supply chains and intensified relations between producers and consumers in local food webs to counter the expansion and power of supermarkets. We want to provide the building blocks for people to develop their own food distribution systems and allow farmers to produce and process food for their communities. This requires supportive food safety rules and local food infrastructure for smallholder farmers. We also work to ensure that the food we produce reaches all people in society, including people with little or no income.
Valuing and improving work and social conditions in food and agriculture systems
We struggle against the exploitation and the degradation of working and social conditions and for the rights of all women and men who provide food as well as those of seasonal and migrant workers, workers in the processing, distribution and retail sector and others. We work towards public policies that respect social rights, set high standards and make public funding conditional upon their implementation. Society must give greater value to the role of food producers and workers in our society. For us, this includes decent living wages. We aim to build broad alliances among all people who work in the food system.
Reclaiming the right to our Commons
We oppose and struggle against the commodification, financialisation and patenting of our commons, such as: land; farmers', traditional and reproducible seeds; livestock breeds and fish stocks; trees and forests; water; the atmosphere; and knowledge. Access to these should not be determined by markets and money. In using common resources, we must ensure the realisation of human rights and gender equality, and that society as a whole benefits. We also acknowledge our responsibility to use our Commons sustainably, while respecting the rights of mother earth. Our Commons should be managed through collective, democratic and community control.
Changing public policies governing our food and agricultural systems
Our struggle includes changing public policies and governance structures that rule our food systems - from the local to the national, European and global levels and to delegitimise corporate power. Public policies must be coherent, complementary and promote and protect food systems and food cultures. They must: be based on the right to food; eradicate hunger and poverty; ensure the fulfilment of basic human needs; and contribute to Climate Justice in Europe and globally. We need legal frameworks that: guarantee stable and fair prices for food producers; promote environmentally-friendly agriculture; internalise external costs into food prices; and implement land reform. These policies would result in more farmers in Europe. Public policies must be designed with the help of publicly accountable research to achieve the objectives outlined above. They must ensure that speculation on food is banned and no harm is done to existing local or regional food systems and food cultures either by dumping or by landgrabbing in Europe, particularly Eastern Europe, or the Global South. We work towards new agriculture, food, seed, energy and trade policies for Food Sovereignty in Europe which are internationally sound. In particular these must include: a different Common Agriculture and Food Policy; the removal of the EU Biofuels Directive; and global governance of international agricultural trade located in the FAO and not the WTO.
We call upon the people and social movements in Europe to engage, together with us, in all our struggles to take control of our food systems and Build the Movement for Food Sovereignty in Europe NOW!
Declaration of Nyeleni Europe
For more information on Nyeleni Europe please visit www.nyeleni2011.net
Farmers’ Rights – Resource Pages for Decision-Makers And Practitioners website
This website is about Farmers’ Rights as they are addressed in the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Farmers’ Rights are basically about enabling farmers to continue their work as stewards and innovators of agricultural biodiversity, and about recognizing and rewarding them for their contribution to the global pool of genetic resources.
Agricultural Biodiversity Weblog – http://agro.biodiver.se/
Report on Success Stories from the Realization of Farmers’ Rights (report)
This is a collection of 17 inspiring stories illustrating the achievements already made in implementing Article 9 of the International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The success stories are sorted into four categories of achievements: The realization of Farmers’ Rights to save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seed; protection of traditional knowledge related to agricultural biodiversity; participation in benefit sharing and in decision-making.
The Sustainable Use of Agrobiodiversity in Italy (report)
IAO Report of case studies on the implementation of Article 6 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
Farm Seed Opportunities:Opportunities for farm-seed conservation, breeding and production (European research project)
i. Report on policy recommendations for on-farm conservation strategy, the role of innovative market mechanisms, legislative framework for landraces, conservation varieties and amateur varieties in Europe (report)
ii. Report on the analysis of the bottlenecks and challenges identified for on-farm maintenance and breeding in European agricultural conditions (report)
Agriculture at a Crossroads: International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (report)
Recommendations : “creating or strengthening conditions that can guarantee farmers’ rights to choose, select, and exchange seeds that are culturally and locally appropriate as well as to remove the monopoly from the privileges granted to breeders through Plant Breeders Rights through, for example, a compensatory liability regime. Increasing support for public sector research to deliver public goods is important to meet development and sustainability goals, along with implementation of farmers’ rights to seeds to enhance conservation of agricultural biodiversity.”
“Developments are needed that build trust and that value farmer knowledge, agricultural and natural biodiversity; farmer-managed medicinal plants, local seed systems.”
IAASTD – 22 Key Findings at a Glance (article)
Building Resilience: a human rights framework for world food and nutrition security – Report presented by Olivier de Schutter, Special Rapporteur on Food, to the Human Rights Council, September 2008 (report)
On conclusions of the IAASTD Report : “The report found that technological innovations in agriculture have generally favoured large-scale producers, and their costs have been borne by small scale producers, their communities and the environment. The IAASTD report strongly supported the potential of small-scale producers in agricultural development, pointing to the need for dedicated support for smallholders if this potential is to be achieved, and to the need to avoid dependency on expensive inputs such as inorganic fertilizers whose prices are closely aligned with those of oil, or on patented seeds. In order to reduce vulnerability in the food system, it recommended relying on locally-based knowledge, innovations, policies and investments. Participatory Plant Breeding and Farmer-Researcher groups – not exogenous technologies – were specifically highlighted as models for successfultechnological development. The IAASTD identified several areas ripe for investment and public research, among them, low-input and organic systems, biological substitutes for agrochemicals, site-specific easily adaptable cultivars, local seed systems, and reducing the dependency of agriculture on fossil fuels.”
On intellectual property rights: “It should be noted that nowhere has the protection of intellectual property rights on plant varieties or seeds been identified as a potential source of concern. But, as explained in detail in the first report of the Special Rapporteur submitted to the General Assembly, regimes that prevent farmers from re-using and exchanging seeds can have serious implications for farmers’ ability to continue farming and for agricultural biodiversity, and thus for the world’s capacity to ensure sustainable food production over the long term.”
The Right to Food – Seed policies and the right to food: Enhancing agrobiodiversity, encouraging innovation, Report presented by Olivier de Schutter, Special Rapporteur on Food, presented at the 64th session of the UN General Assembly, July 2009 (report)
Gene Giants Stockpile Patents on “Climate-ready” Crops in Bid to become “Biomassters”: Patent Grab Threatens Biodiversity, Food Sovereignty(ETC Group Report, October 2010 (report)
The six largest agrochemical and seed corporations are filing sweeping, multi-genome patents in pursuit of exclusive monopoly over plant gene sequences that could lead to control of most of the world’s plant biomass – whether it is used for food, feed, fiber, fuel or plastics. Under the guise of developing “climate-ready” crops, the companies are pressuring governments to allow what could become the broadest and most dangerous patent claims in intellectual property history.
“Climate-Smart” Agriculture: Policies, Practices and Financing for Food Security, Adaptation and Mitigation – The Hague Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change, FAO, 2010 (conference paper)
*Box** 22**: Informal seed systems and climate change* (exerpt)
Most farmers in developing countries access their seeds from what is known as the “informal seed system”.Essentially this includes all non-certified seed sources, which is primarily farmers’ own saved seed, but also includes seed obtained through exchanges through social networks or in rural markets. Advantages of the informal seed system are low costs and ease of access. In traditional systems of seed exchange, trust and reciprocity are essential to the functioning of the system and they serve to ensure quality standards. In general these networks are confined to a very local level, with little interchange with outside sources. Recent research work by FAO indicates that for many crops, local agricultural markets are becoming an increasingly important source of seeds in the informal sector, and these include exchanges of seeds sourced both locally and from external sources. However often there is a lack of information on the quality and genetic content of varieties, support is therefore required in generating this information to assist farmers in selecting the appropriate seeds, including those that may have attributes important for climate change. This may include organizing local seed and genetic diversity fairs, alternative labeling systems such as quality declared seed or farmer-based labeling schemes, and certification and training of traders. *Source: *Lipper *et al. *2009.
Who Owns Nature? Corporate Power and the Final Frontier in the Commodification of Life , ETC Group Report, 2008 publication
Who Owns Nature? reports on daunting trends in corporate concentration and technology convergence, but it also points to a very different reality and a powerful contrast to the corporate-controlled life sciences. Although a single company – Monsanto – accounts for almost one-quarter of proprietary seed sales, about three-quarters of the world’s farmers routinely save seed from their harvest and grow locally-bred varieties. Wal-Mart may be the world’s largest buyer and seller of retail food, but 85% of global food is consumed close to where it is grown – much of it outside the formal market system.
European Food Declaration (declaration)
We, the undersigned, believe that the European Union needs to meet the urgent challenges Europe is facing regarding food and agriculture.
After more than a half-century of industrialisation of agriculture and food production, sustainable family farming and local food cultures have been substantially reduced in Europe. Today, our food system is dependent on under-priced fossil fuels, does not recognize the limitations of water and land resources, and supports unhealthy diets high in calories, fat and salt, and low in fruit, vegetables and grains. Looking ahead, rising energy costs, drastic losses in biodiversity, climate change and declining water and land resources threaten the future of food production. At the same time, a growing world population faces the potential dual burden of widespread hunger and chronic diseases due to overconsumption.
We will only be able to address these challenges successfully with a completely different approach to food and agriculture policies and practices. The European Union must recognize and support the crucial role of sustainable family farming in the food supply of the population. All people should have access to healthy, safe, and nutritious food. The ways in which we grow, distribute, prepare and eat food should celebrate Europe's cultural diversity, providing sustenance equitably and sustainably.
The present Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) is currently being debated and is due for change in 2013. After decades of the domination by transnational corporations and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in determining food and agriculture policy, it is time for people in Europe to re-appropriate agriculture and food policy: it is time for food sovereignty. We believe a new Common Food and Agriculture Policy should guarantee and protect citizens? space in the EU and candidate countries and their ability and right to define their own models of production, distribution and consumption following the principles outlined below.
Collective rights over farmers’ seeds in Italy (article, GRAIN)
In Italy, eight of the 18 administrative regions have adopted their own laws on local genetic resources since 1997. They generally aim to protect and promote traditional plant varieties and animal breeds in local farming systems as a heritage of the region. Since 2000, when the regional law of Latium was adopted, they also establish collective rights over the local genetic heritage. Below is an extract from an interview with Antonio Onorati, President of the Italian development NGO Crocevia, who has been very much involved in this movement. This segment focuses on the experience with collective rights in Italy and strategy ideas for protecting farmers’ seeds in Europe.
Mission Biodiversity- Conference Report on Agricultural Biodiversity in Poland report, edition 2009, bilingual in Polish and English, by the Association for Old Breeds and Varieties)
EcoRuralis – is a grassroots association in Romania made up of small farmers who practice organic and traditional farming. It stands for farmers’ right to practice environmentally friendly agriculture. This includes the right to use, multiply and distribute traditional seeds, the pursuit of strict biosafety regulations (without genetically modified organisims); the preservation of food sovereignty in Romania; and respect for consumer health. Ecoruralis website( Romanian and English)/ EcoRuralis on traditional seeds (article in Romanian)
Information about the conservation and renewal of agricultural biodiversity and other related issues in Hungary
Second FAO Report on the State of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture – Country Report : Hungary (report)
Landscape management, local varieties, conservation of genetic diversity - Parliamentary Open Day, Budapest, May 2009
The issues of “Landscape management, local varieties, conservation of genetic diversity” have been discussed in an open session of the Parliament on 22 May 2009 with the participation of Hungarian actors involved in the conservation of genetic diversity as well as international experts invited to reflect on global correlations. Proposals made address both the conservation of genetic diversity in gene banks (ex-situ) and on-farm in-situ maintenance and use of varieties guided by the principles of food sovereignty. Parliamentary Open Day Declaration
Participatory Action Research for Conserving Crop Genetic Resources: The Orseg Region in Hungary, Environmental Social Science Research Group, Szent Istvan University of Agricultural Sciences, 2006 (research paper)
Local Food Systems in Europe:FAAN – European research project final report
Case studies from five countries Hungary, Poland, Austria, France, UK – and what they imply for policy and practice
Crofters to mark the death of pioneering agricultural scientist Erna Bennett.
Erna Bennett, an Irish scientist whose pioneering work on agricultural biodiversity has contributed to raising awareness of the importance of conserving crofting seed varieties, died earlier this month at the age of 86.
Although she began her career as a genetic scientist, Erna Bennett's work led her to become an outspoken advocate of the rights of farmers to maintain traditional seed varieties.
She worked for the United Nations' Food and Agricultural Organisation throughout the 1970s until her resignation in 1982 because of concerns that the work she had helped to initiate, to conserve the genetic diversity of the world's agriculture, was being undermined by private companies. She feared these firms had infiltrated the UN system and were applying pressure in order to be able to patent and privatise seeds as the source of life.
This is a debate and a campaign that continues to the present day and Bennett's arguments have inspired a generation of researchers and activists, including those working in the crofting counties.
Maria Scholten is a crop researcher and has been working with crofters in Uist who grow the traditional variety of small oats on machair land there.
Maria said: "Erna Bennett was a double pioneer: she was one of the first to see the need to collect and conserve seeds of threatened local varieties. She was also one of the first to observe the tendency of increased commercial privatisation of seeds and genes. She campaigned against the increasing monopolisation in the hands of a few of what once were public goods available to all - seeds - and public services - public plant breeding for all classes of farmers.
"Throughout Scotland in the past - and on the islands still at present - crofters and farmers worked for these public goods by saving seed and making seed available to other farmers. Local varieties and their seeds cannot be seen as an individual, commercial property but were a shared resource, created in and by communities. The increasing privatisation of seeds (most blatantly in patenting) goes against a mentality and value of community, public service and public goods. Dr. Bennett foresaw this change and spoke out against it."
Maria added that it is only recently that native variety seeds have been collected for conservation in Scotland. Much of the work has focussed on crofting areas which are relatively rich in native varieties. She said: "Although it is difficult to get funding for this work it is important to find out what is left of the native varieties to conserve. We are living through fast changing times for agriculture and the native varieties are a valuable part of Scotland's genetic and cultural heritage."
In Strathpeffer in March of this year the Scottish Crofting Federation will be co-hosting a European forum on agricultural biodiversity. The theme of the forum is 'Celebrating Crofters' Seeds and Breeds' and it will examine how native varieties have helped contribute to sustainable land use, agricultural biodiversity and the high nature value of the crofting counties. It is intended that the life of Erna Bennett, who worked in Scotland in the 1960s and spent her final years here, will be commemorated at the event.
Erna Bennett's 'Celtic connection' is an added reason to celebrate her work in a crofting context as she was an Irishwoman whose writing reveals that she understood the historic struggle between the Irish tenantry and their landlords. Maria Scholten commented: "This must have sharpened her eye for struggles to protect public goods, to protect small holders against private property."
1. For further details of the life and work of Erna Bennett see:
www.geneconserve.pro.br/bio_erna.htm
http://www.grain.org/article/entries/289-the-summit-to-summit-merry-go-round
Statement in support of agricultural biodiversity conservation in Latvia on behalf of the European seed network "Let's Liberate Diversity"
On March 9-11, 2012, nearly 150 delegates from over twenty organisations representing 16 countries met in Strathpeffer Scotland at the 7th annual "Let's liberate diversity" forum to discuss the state of agricultural biodiversity and food sovereignty in Europe. We were inspired by the lifestyles and practices of the Scottish Crofters' Federation that have allowed small farmers to preserve agricultural biodiversity for generations. We were dismayed, however, to hear that in an effort to implement the Conservation Varieties directive in Latvia, a farm that has been conserving a great number of tomato and vegetable varieties for over 30 years has been charged with an administrative violation for the "sale" of seeds not registered in the European Catalogue at an amateur gardeners' club seminar.