—SHALMALI GUTTAL, FOCUS ON THE GLOBAL SOUTH

World hunger is on the rise—783 million people worldwide don’t know where they will get their next meal. The climate crisis, ongoing conflicts, financial speculation, and high prices driven by corporate profit-seeking are key contributors to rising world hunger. In a July press conference, representatives from the People’s Autonomous Response (with over 1,000 signatories) to the UN Food Systems Summit highlighted the urgent, coordinated actions needed to overcome the global hunger crisis and address the human right to food.

Unfortunately, the corporate capture of the UN Food Systems Summit continues to prioritize silver bullet “solutions” led by industry giants rather than the proven-effective methods led by those who face the brunt of food and agriculture-related problems. Small farmers and Indigenous peoples have centuries of knowledge from which to create real solutions to the climate crisis and food insecurity. 

The movements and organizations opposing the Summit call for an urgent shift away from corporate-driven industrial models and towards biodiverse, agroecological, community-led food systems that prioritize the public interest over profit-making. Communities on the frontlines of intersecting crises are already leading the way for food systems change and should be centered in, and lead, all discussions and efforts to reduce hunger worldwide and change how food is produced and distributed. 

Perla Álvarez of La Via Campesina, one of the signatories to the People’s Declaration, urges the UN to “change direction and support our demands and efforts for a food sovereign future based on human rights and the principles of agroecology, care, justice, diversity, solidarity and  accountability.”

In community and solidarity,

Tiffani, Tanya, and Christina 

Featured image: The international peasant confederation La Vía Campesina is one of the 1,000+ signatories to the Autonomous People’s Response to the UNFSS.

This editorial was Adapted from Food Systems 4 People’s July 13th press release.

Read Issue No. 65 of the Real Food Scoop

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—RUPA MARYA AND RAJ PATEL, INFLAMED

Over the past few weeks, our Real Food Media family in Chicago and Minneapolis—as well as folks across the Midwest and Eastern Seaboard—have been waking up to local news headlines boasting the worst air quality in recorded history. Smoke from Canada’s worst wildfire season yet is to blame, even making its way all the way to Europe.  

We don’t have to tell you that these record-breaking fires—and the increasing severity of fires, heatwaves, and other extreme weather events worldwide—are the unmistakable mark of the climate crisis. While residents of affected regions are cautioned to stay indoors, those most affected are invariably workers—from window washers to street vendors to farmworkers—with few or no employer protections and scarcely able to give up a day’s income to avoid polluted outdoor air. 

A whole host of urgent measures are urgently needed to protect those most vulnerable to climate chaos, and stop greenhouse gas emissions at their source—such as the way we produce and distribute food, contributing about a third of all emissions. This year’s US Farm Bill offers one pathway for needed progress (see below to take action!).

We should also not lose sight, as Rupa and Raj reminded us so evocatively in Inflamed, of how colonialism has damaged our relationships with one another and with the earth. One example of this is how Indigenous practices of fire stewardship have been jettisoned in favor of fire suppression—a move that has dramatically increased the risk of dangerous wildfires. 

Decolonization—of our relationships and worldviews—must occur side by side, and in conversation with, the policy work if we are to soothe our global inflammation. 

In community and solidarity,

Tanya, Tiffani, and Christina

Read Issue No. 64 of the Real Food Scoop

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Real Food Media was also born out of a passion for storytelling and food myth-busting. Thanks to the incredible leadership of Tiffani, Christina, and Tanya, the work has continued that legacy and grown Real Food Media into so much more: a trusted community partner, helping co-create communication strategies and design for radical food systems change. As I take on my new role as Executive Director of the Global Alliance of the Future of Food, I couldn’t be more excited to see what comes next for Real Food Media while being so proud of what we created together. 

In this special issue of the Real Food Scoop, we share some highlights from my work with Real Food Media over the past decade. Thank you for supporting people-powered food and media. 

—Anna

Read Issue No. 63 of the Real Food Scoop

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Already a bestselling author and household name, Anna founded the organization in 2012 to help meet a critical need she saw in the food movement: the need for powerful media and communications tools and narratives to combat industry disinformation.

In the intervening years, Anna has provided game-changing analysis, strategy support, and material resources to frontline groups across the country and around the world. She also helped grow Real Food Media into what it is today: a women co-led organization using our collective communications skills, creativity, and political savvy in the service of this irresistible movement.

We are pleased to announce a shift that feels both important and seamlessly natural in the evolution of Real Food Media: Anna Lappé is leaving her part-time staff position with us, and her part-time staff position with the Panta Rhea Foundation, to begin a new position in July as executive director of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food. We could not be more excited and proud to see our long-time colleague and mentor, our champion and friend, take on this pivotal role. Anna will continue on as a close advisor and we are looking forward to deepening our collaboration with the Global Alliance.

Over the next few months, you will almost certainly be hearing more from our team as we adapt to this transition—and reflect on the profound ways Anna has shaped us as individuals and as an organization. She has instilled in all of us an “abundance mentality” that makes us believe anything is possible, a gift we hope we can continue paying forward.

We invite you to share your reflections about Anna’s influence on you or your work. And do let us know if you have any questions about this transition. With humility and enthusiasm, we can’t wait to see what’s around the corner.

In community and solidarity,

Real Food Media co-directors (Christina, Tiffani, and Tanya)

P.S. You can see her announcement video here.

The post Special Announcement: A New Chapter in Real Food Media History appeared first on Real Food Media.

Argentine farmworker Fabián Tomasi was an iconic voice against the use of pesticides until his death from cancers caused by pesticide exposure in 2018. He was, as many have been and continue to be, a literal body of evidence of the dangers of pesticides.

Research has shown that more than 90 percent of Americans have traces of pesticides in our bodies, most of which comes from the food we eat. Yet, despite the mass amounts of evidence of the dangers of pesticide use, the world has never used as many pesticides as it does today. The United States uses more than any other country, including some of the most dangerous pesticides that are banned in other countries. 

With the release of the US edition of the Pesticide Atlas, a powerful compendium on the state of pesticide use and why it matters, leaders at prominent US civil society organizations working for common sense pesticide action (including Pesticide Action Network (PAN) North America, the Center for Biological Diversity, Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, and Real Food Media) highlight the alarmingly persistent use of toxic pesticides in the United States—and what we can do about it. 

In community and solidarity,

Tiffani, Christina, Tanya, and Anna

Read Issue No. 62 of the Real Food Scoop

Download the Pesticide Atlas

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The world has never used as many pesticides as it does today, and the United States uses more than any other country, including some of the most dangerous pesticides that are banned in other countries. With the release of a US Edition of the Pesticide Atlas, a powerful compendium on the state of pesticide use and why it matters, leaders at prominent US civil society organizations working for common sense pesticide action, including Pesticide Action Network (PAN) North America, the Center for Biological Diversity, Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, and Real Food Media highlight the alarmingly persistent use of toxic pesticides in the United States—and what we can do about it. 

The US edition of the Pesticide Atlas is one of five published around the world as part of the Germany-based Heinrich Boell Foundation’s series. Other editions include Germany, EU, Kenya, Italy, and Nigeria.

New chapters in the US edition include:

• A snapshot of pesticide use in the United States and the connection between pesticide production, use, and the climate crisis from Margaret Reeves and Asha Sharma of Pesticide Action Network North America;

• A look at how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has failed to properly regulate pesticides and how this has led to the heavy use of dangerous pesticides, and subsequent devastation to biodiversity from Nathan Donley and Lori Ann Burd of the Center for Biological Diversity;
• An overview of pesticide industry PR tactics to deter and delay action on pesticides from US Edition editor, Anna Lappé, and journalist and co-founder of US Right to Know Stacy Malkan;
• A story of dedicated organizing for common sense pesticide regulation on the Hawaiian islands from Executive Director of Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, Anne Frederick.

“Sixty years after Rachel Carson warned us of the terrible toll of overuse of pesticides here and around the world, the United States continues to use more pesticides than anywhere else on the planet, including some of the most hazardous pesticides banned in other countries. With rising rates of cancer, infertility, and metabolic disorders alongside a biodiversity crisis, taking action on pesticides has never been more important. This report arms us all with the facts, and inspiration, to do so.” — Anna Lappé, editor of the Pesticide Atlas-US Edition and author, funder, and sustainable food advocate   

“With a billion pounds of pesticides used each year in the US, the American public reasonably expects that these chemicals made to kill living things are tightly regulated by the US Environmental Protection Agency. But unfortunately that’s not the case. As a result, Big Ag in the US relies on pesticides that many other nations have banned because of their severe dangers. Tragically, that regulatory failure causes the greatest harm to farmworkers and their children and our nation’s most endangered wildlife, particularly pollinators.” — Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center for Biological Diversity.   

On April 26, 2023 at 10:30amPT/1:30pmET join Anna Lappé in conversation with contributors to the US Edition of the Pesticide Atlas in a webinar to share key highlights from the Atlas and their implications. The conversation will center on how we can collectively better understand the connections between pesticide use and public health, the climate crisis, and biodiversity as well as dive deeper into how to understand the policy barriers and opportunities for action on pesticides here in the United States.  Register for the free webinar. 

Contact Info

Anna Lappé

Editor, Pesticide Atlas-US Edition

Food Sovereignty Fund Director, Panta Rhea Foundation

Founder, Strategic Advisor, Real Food Media

anna@realfoodmedia.org 

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It’s no secret that the farm bill is heavily influenced by Big Ag and Big Food. A handful of corporations lobby heavily to ensure that lawmakers prioritize their interests (i.e. profits for their investors and shareholders). Last month, HEAL Food Alliance (of which Real Food Media is a steering council member) joined over 500 farmers and farmer-advocates, partners, and allies in Washington DC at the Farmers for Climate Action: Rally for Resilience for a week of advocacy and power building—and to educate lawmakers on our shared vision for a transformative farm bill. For four days, HEAL staff and members rallied, marched, and advocated for a 2023 farm bill that protects food and farm workers; invests in communities; and brings justice for Black, Indigenous, and farmers of color.

HEAL’s vision for a 2023 Farm Bill is one that transforms our destructive food and farm systems, our health, our planet, and prioritizes the wellbeing of BIPOC and rural communities, public health, and the environment through policies that:

• secure dignity and fairness for food chain workers and their families;
• provide opportunities for all producers;
• invest in communities, not corporations;
• nourish people; and 
• ensures the survival of ecosystems and our planet.

While a transformative farm bill does not in and of itself ensure the future we seek, it is our belief that by building the power of frontline communities, we can shift the locus of power and begin to ensure food sovereignty for our communities.

In community and solidarity,

Tiffani, Christina, Tanya, and Anna 

This month’s Real Food Scoop editorial was adapted from “HEAL Food Alliance Shows Up Big in DC for a Transformative Farm Bill” by Eloni Porcher.

P.S. Stay tuned for a special audio story Tanya is producing, in collaboration with Midwest Farmers of Color Collective, featuring the Black and brown farmers who traveled from Minnesota to DC for the rally.    

 
Read Issue No. 61 of the Real Food Scoop
 

Photos by Rion Moon & Jam Rose

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Real Food Media friend and colleague Raj Patel (author or co-author of the books Inflamed, A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, and Stuffed and Starved) is on the road this Spring with his feature documentary, The Ants & the Grasshopper. We’ll be at the event in San Francisco on April 1—see below to find showings near you:

Los Angeles: Friday, March 31

San Francisco: Saturday, April 1

Denver: Sunday, April 2 

Chicago: Monday, April 3 

Austin: Tuesday, April 4

New York: Thursday, April 6

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As coauthors Stacy Malkan (US Right to Know), Kendra Klein (Friends of the Earth), and I wrote about in our report Merchants of Poison: A Case Study In Pesticide Industry Science Denial On Glyphosate, many folks have been raising concerns about the potential health risks of exposure to glyphosate. Now, a new study from UC Berkeley researchers who have been studying the communities living in the nation’s “salad bowl”—the agriculturally rich Salinas Valley—should raise even more questions for all of us: The study found that children who had glyphosate exposure levels fairly typical for the average American were at higher risk for liver inflammation and metabolic  disorders.  As one researcher noted: “The study’s implications are troubling,” said Dr. Ana Maria Mora, a CERCH investigator and coauthor, “as the levels of the chemicals found in our study participants are within the range reported for the general U.S. population.”

The post More Bad News on Glyphosate appeared first on Real Food Media.

If you have consumed media over the past week and a half, you’ve likely been hearing about Microsoft’s new Artificial Intelligence product, an updated version of Bing (or is it Sidney?), going off the rails to confess its destructive and romantic aspirations to New York Times journalist Kevin Roose. It’s like a sci-fi plotline lifted from a Spike Jonze film—except way darker…

It’s worth noting that these developments, and their power to transform our world (for better or worse), do not exist in a realm separate from the food and agriculture spaces that we occupy as activists, workers, farmers, and eaters.

Take Microsoft, for instance. The company (and others like it) isn’t just trying to build Google 2.0; it is heavily invested, as this report from GRAIN shows, in creating artificial intelligence and machine learning models to link farms around the world to its Azure Farmbeats digital platform, hoovering up farmers’ data and using it to sell corporate products (pesticides, tractors, drones, etc) back to them. What’s more, Microsoft’s owner Bill Gates, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is aggressively pushing this vision of high-tech, capitalist agriculture in Africa, in a way that threatens farmers’ seed sovereignty. “Technology does not develop in a bubble,” notes GRAIN, “It is shaped by money and power, both of which are extremely concentrated in the tech sector.”

As food and farm activists who routinely use corporate-controlled communication platforms and technologies in our work and daily lives, it can be difficult to turn a critical eye to Big Tech. But as these developments increasingly represent new frontiers in late capitalism with the potential to colonize even more of our food and environments (not to mention our brains and relationships), we know Big Tech cannot and should not be ignored.

Real Food Media is committed to deepening our understanding and helping to advance collective conversations around corporate-controlled technologies and media and their impact on food systems. We invite you to share any thoughts, resources, or initiatives with us that you are engaged with around these issues.

In community and solidarity,

Tanya, Christina, Tiffani, and Anna

P.S. This is our 60th issue of the Real Food Scoop! If you’ve appreciated our editorials over the years (or even if you skip straight to the content below) please consider making a contribution to support Real Food Media’s role in shaping narratives to advance the food movement. Thank you.

Read Issue No. 60 of the Real Food Scoop

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