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:
Short Film on Food Sovereignty and Women by TOU, Oct. 24 Premiere in NYC
Roots of Change features women’s spirited calls to change our global direction. In this visually striking short film, women warn of the current realities and looming threats of food crisis, climate change, and corruption.
How Can Faith Impact Sustainable Agriculture?
A video from Global One about Islamic Farming.
Food Sovereignty, Women & Sustainability, 3/18/16 at UN CSW
This panel explored access to healthy food as a lens toward understanding the interconnections of all our equity and sustainability issues.
TOU Statement on Human Right to Food at UN Human Rights Council
In collaboration with the Mining Working Group and Franciscans International, the Temple of Understanding is honored to contribute a statement on the Human Right to Food for the thirty-first session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Special thanks to Sylvia Rossini for delivering the statement, entitled “Human Rights: Foreign Debt and the Right to Food.”