A still from the film Seeds of Freedom

Food for thought

Sustainable, indigenous farming versus a multinational commercialised agricultural system. What are the human consequences? And the remedies? Hastings Against War has united with Hastings and District Interfaith Forum to organise a talk about the consequences and repercussions of this change in farming methods and ideology. HOT’s Zelly Restorick reports.

The local organisations have chosen the theme ‘Food for Thought’ for their gathering “to highlight the emerging crisis in the Third World*”, where sustainable, indigenous farming methods are being swallowed by a commercialised multinational agricultural system. “Once each village could feed itself. Now farmers have to grow cash crops to fill our supermarket shelves.”

* With respect to the good people of the local organisations involved in this talk, I would like to add a personal comment here on how much I detest the label ‘Third World’. The implication being that the people and the communities of these countries are somehow ‘less than’ or behind in some way; lower down the hierarchy; the bronze medal winners of the world. The words make my brain writhe; they should be declared obsolete, a relic from a past way of thinking with absolutely no relevance to the present. We in the West do not have all the answers and the skills. Our way of life is not The Way.

Similarly, the terms ‘underdeveloped’ or ‘developing’ countries: surely all countries are developing? And can it be assumed that being underdeveloped is a negative state, which is the implication? What is meant by ‘development’? These are accepted phrases in our vocabularies to which we have become accustomed that need rigorous questioning as to their current relevance.

Thought provoking speakers

The two speakers, Barbara Echlin and John Fowler, both intrinsic members of Global Justice Hastings and Bexhill, will explore the human and political consequences of these changes to agriculture – and you’ll be able to watch an important new film, Seeds of Sovereignty.

A still from the film Seeds of Freedom

Seeds of Freedom

Seeds of Sovereignty is a film produced in collaboration with The Gaia Foundation and the African Biodiversity Network who are also involved with the film, Seeds of Freedom, as part of their Climate, Seeds and Knowledge project. It’s a short film, offering insights into the situation and is worth watching prior to attending the talk (see link below).

“Seeds of Freedom charts the story of seed from its roots at the heart of traditional, diversity rich farming systems across the world, to being transformed into a powerful commodity, used to monopolise the global food system”, write the film’s producers. “The film highlights the extent to which the industrial agricultural system, and genetically modified (GM) seeds in particular, have impacted on the enormous agro -biodiversity evolved by farmers and communities around the world, since the beginning of agriculture.

“Seeds of Freedom seeks to challenge the mantra that large-scale, industrial agriculture is the only means by which we can feed the world, promoted by the pro-GM lobby. In tracking the story of seed it becomes clear how corporate agenda has driven the takeover of seed in order to make vast profit and control of the food global system.’ Watch Seeds of Freedom here.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT                                                                                                6:30pm Tuesday 1^st September 2015                                                                    Quaker Friends’ Meeting House                                                                                                         5 South Terrace, Hastings TN14 1SA                                                          Admission Free                                                                                                                     All Welcome                                                                                                                  Contact 01424 720 507

Hastings Against War website here.

Hastings and District Interfaith Forum website here.

Seeds of Freedom website here.

A still from the film Seeds of Freedom

Also in: The HOT Planet