Food Sovereignty
“Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations.”
— Declaration of Nyéléni, the first global forum on food sovereignty, Mali, 2007
The Temple of Understanding sees the urgent need to transform industrial agriculture and support smaller, more local agriculture as a key ingredient to a peaceful future.
As part of our work at the United Nations, we have, in collaboration with colleagues, made statements at the Geneva based Human Rights Council and represented the Women’s Major Group in the 2020 High Level Political Forum. Together, these statements outline our human rights based approach, and offer a set of practical implementations that remain relevant guidelines amidst the ongoing UN debates.
Ending Hunger and Achieving Food Security
Another part of our work at the United Nations is to follow up on concerns such as those raised by colleague Isis Alvarez of the Global Forest Coalition:
“Perverse initiatives endorsed by the Paris Agreement such as Climate Smart Agriculture surrender too much power to already powerful multinational corporations monopolizing the food industry setting the stage for the further demise of small peasant farmers especially women and their related traditional knowledge. Already a report from FAO (2014) demonstrated how agroecology could feed the world without the need for harmful and misleading technologies while empowering small scale farmers.”
Excerpt from the presentation by Isis Alvarez at the Open Ended Committee of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), based on “Proposed Resolution for UNEA on Paris Agreement” and “A Reality Check on the Paris Agreement from the Women and Gender Constituency (WGCY)”
Updates:
Community-based Organic Food: Reconnecting People to the Land
A Global Dialogue Rooted in Local Wisdom Hosted by the Temple of Understanding in partnership with the Real Organic Project, this powerful dialogue brought together organic farmers and educators from around the world to discuss the challenges and promise of...
Making Peace with Nature
The Temple of Understanding continues work toward protecting biodiversity with Faiths for Biodiversity, participating in the Biodiversity COP 16 in Cali, Colombia, towards Making Peace with Nature held from 21 October -1 November 2024.
Can Organic Farming ‘Scale Up’ to Meet the UN’s SDG Goals of Eradicating Poverty and Hunger?
Thursday, Apr 18, 2024, 10am-11:30am ET
Speakers: Anastasia Nesvetailova, Linley Dixon, Paul Holmbeck, Dr. Miguel Altieri
Host: Grove Harris, M.Div.
Topic: This discussion will address the essential needs and ways to scale up organic farming and agroecology towards ending hunger and poverty (United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals 1 and 2).
The Food Crisis in Kenya is a World Crisis
ECO JUSTICE FOR ALL Dialogues present The Food Crisis in Kenya is a World CrisisDiscussion with Patricia Kombo, Founder of PaTree Initiative, Kenya, and Len Morris, American documentary filmmaker, lecturer and advocate for children’s human rights, and Daniel Wanjama,...
TOU and Convention on Biological Diversity
Temple of Understanding is proud to have received accreditation from the United Nations to participate in the upcoming convening of the parties on the Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held in Montreal and virtually this December 2022. We will continue to...
Let’s Go Organic: Empowering Local Food Systems
Let's Go Organic: Empowering Local Food SystemsJoin Dave Chapman and the Real Organic project as we explore two spiritual traditions of farming, one from the Biodynamic system and the other from the Buddhist Zen tradition. This Dialogue centers on how local...