Hungry for Justice - inter-agency conference Sat 9th October

A conference on achieving world food justice

Saturday 9th October 2004
10 am to 4.15 pm
Quaker Meeting House
St. James' Street
Sheffield City Centre

Here's a map... If you get to the Cathedral, look left past Blue Moon Cafe, and it's about 100 yards down that road...

Please book - it's free, but we've only got a hundred places.

Either write to dan [at] ethicalproperty.co.uk or phone me on 07968 997861

The speakers

Four speakers will address the conference – they will talk about:

• The right to food: some African experiences – Theo Sowa
• What is food sovereignty? – Patrick Mulvany
• Cuba’s sustainable food programme – Julia Wright
• The global perspective for small farmers – Michael Hart

The workshop topics

One of the key aims of the conference is to give everyone the chance to ask their own questions and develop their own views and understanding of the issues, especially through discussion together in the workshops, with the assistance of the workshop leaders’ specialist knowledge and experience.

Gender issues: Theo Sowa

In most communities, women are the main growers and preparers of food, but are often prevented from owning land or taking part in decision making, and girls tend to have less access to education. What is the impact of gender and other inequities on food preparation and security? And what concrete actions can promote constructive change?

Farmers’ rights to seeds and other basic resources: Patrick Mulvany

Central to the concept of food sovereignty is the right to all the productive natural resources – including GM-free farm seeds and livestock breeds – growers need for healthy food and to protect the environment. What will it take, locally and globally, to turn this right into a reality?

Sustainability & Permaculture: Andy Goldring, with Julia Wright

Unsustainable methods cannot deliver longterm food security. Within the broad range of sustainable organic, agro-ecological and appropriate-technology systems, permaculture’s broad principles of care, fairness and ecological efficiency are helping growers (and others) in many parts of the world to design their own sustainable solutions. A recipe for global change?

Trade Justice: Justin MacMullan

Poor people’s ability to feed themselves is severely affected by the actions of governments, transnational corporations and major international bodies such as the World Bank. Poor countries, in debt to the rich ones, currently have little leverage. What changes are needed to give them a fair chance?

Fairtrade: Albert Tucker

The way fairtrade is organised helps to develop a wide range of skills and facilities for local economic development, and grassroots self-confidence in general. So can fairtrade also promote local food security? And could even mainstream international trade come to adopt Fairtrade’s approach too?

Global supermarkets: Dominic Eagleton & Michael Hart

The contribution of the big supermarkets’ purchasing policies and contract terms to the marginalizing of small farmers in Europe is well-known. But did you know these companies are now expanding into developing countries? What effects are they having? And how are small farmers responding?

The speakers and workshop leaders

All have been asked to bring concrete examples of the problems and the solutions, especially from their own first-hand knowledge of developing countries.

Theo Sowa: Born in Ghana, Theo works in Africa as a policy advisor to local and international organisations on rights issues in three main areas: children and young people; HIV/AIDS; and women.

Patrick Mulvany: Chair of the UK Food Group, the NGO network on global food security issues. He is also Senior Policy Adviser to the Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG). He is active internationally promoting Food Sovereignty actions.

Julia Wright: Manager, International Development Programme, for HDRA (Henry Doubleday Research Association), which promotes organic agriculture appropriate for developing countries. She has worked for 18 years in international development, and spent 2 years in Cuba for a PhD on organic agriculture & food security there.

Michael Hart: Cornish farmer, co-founder & Chairman of the UK based Small & Family Farms Alliance, which also takes a world perspective. He has firsthand experience of the global situation, visiting farms in India, USA, Poland and many other countries.

Andy Goldring: Permaculture consultant and teacher, and co-ordinator of the Permaculture Association (Britain). The PA internationally works on research, education and networking, and in projects around the world, for sustainable solutions design.

Justin MacMullan: Campaigns Policy Officer for Christian Aid. Worked for several years in their debt campaign. Seconded to Kenya to study the impact of unfair trade. Has just co-written Christian Aid’s latest major Trade Justice Campaign report.

Albert Tucker: Born in Sierra Leone, is the Managing Director of TWIN, a leading Fairtrade organisation. He is involved in plans to pioneer fairtrade networks at local and regional levels within and between developing countries themselves.

Dominic Eagleton: A policy researcher for ActionAid UK, which in October is launching an international campaign on the poverty impacts of global agribusiness. Actionaid uses partnerships to overcome injustice and inequality, in over 40 countries.