{"id":368,"date":"2009-04-17T15:32:32","date_gmt":"2009-04-17T15:32:32","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2021-01-30T15:37:27","modified_gmt":"2021-01-30T20:37:27","slug":"selfchosen-top-8-governments-urged-to-reject-anoth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2009\/04\/17\/selfchosen-top-8-governments-urged-to-reject-anoth\/","title":{"rendered":"Governments Urged to Reject Another &#8220;Green Revolution&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><span style=\"font-size: 13px;font-family: Verdana\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/presbyterian.typepad.com\/.a\/6a00d83451b5a569e201156f2f736b970c-pi\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"at-xid-6a00d83451b5a569e201156f2f736b970c image-full \" title=\"Farmer-suicide\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/6a00d83451b5a569e201156f2f736b970c-800wi\" alt=\"Farmer-suicide\" border=\"0\" \/><\/a> <\/span> <span style=\"font-size: 13px;color: #c00000;font-family: Verdana\">Just 2 days after <a href=\"http:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/headline\/2009\/04\/15-3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">1,500 Indian farmers committed mass suicide<\/a>, the US Working Group on the Food Crisis issued this press release prior to next week&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.g8italia2009.it\/G8\/G8-G8_Layout_locale-1199882116809_Home.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">G8 meeting <\/a>in Trevino, Italy<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<h3><strong><span style=\"font-size: 16px;font-family: Verdana\">U.S. working group on the food crisis urges G8 to reject failed green revolution policies for Africa<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><em>\u201cBusiness as Usual\u201d Will Not Solve Global Hunger Crisis<\/em>&#8220;<\/h4>\n<p>Washington D.C. &#8212; The U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis, a group<br \/>\nrepresenting anti-hunger, family farm, community food security,<br \/>\nenvironmental, international aid, labor, food justice, consumers and<br \/>\nother food system actors, urges the G8 at the upcoming Agricultural<br \/>\nMinisterial in Treviso, Italy to reject the failed policies of the<br \/>\nGreen Revolution. A recent landmark report backed by the UN and World<br \/>\nBank argues for agroecological and sustainable agriculture, rather than<br \/>\nreliance on chemical-intensive practices and genetic engineering.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Working Group is deeply disappointed by the U.S. Senate<br \/>\nForeign Relations Committee\u2019s hasty passage of the Global Food Security<br \/>\nAct (S. 384) on March 31. This bill would mark a significant shift in<br \/>\nU.S. policy by specifically mandating foreign agriculture research for<br \/>\ngenetic engineering. Previously, we had criticized the Committee\u2019s<br \/>\nMarch 24 hearing on \u201cAlleviating Global Hunger\u201d that relied on<br \/>\ntestimonies from \u201cGreen Revolution\u201d advocates for the industrial<br \/>\nagriculture system. We urge the G8 summit to resist pressure from the<br \/>\nbiotech industry and embrace genuine solutions to the food crisis.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Working Group on the Food Crisis\u2019s vision for reforming<br \/>\nagriculture policy to help end the global food crisis calls on<br \/>\ngovernments to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Re-regulate commodity futures markets to end excessive speculation<\/li>\n<li>Halt expansion of industrial agrofuels in developing countries<\/li>\n<li>Stabilize commodity prices through international and domestic food reserves<\/li>\n<li>Establish fairer regional and global trade arrangements<\/li>\n<li>Direct farm policy, research, education and investment toward agroecological farming practices.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The United States should reject the approach of the Global Food<br \/>\nSecurity Act, sponsored by Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Bob Casey<br \/>\n(D-PA), and instead bring our agricultural research and foreign aid<br \/>\nstrategy in line with the findings of the acclaimed International<br \/>\nAssessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for<br \/>\nDevelopment (IAASTD), backed by United Nations agencies, the World Bank<br \/>\nand over 400 contributing scientists from 80 countries. The IAASTD<br \/>\nfound that the most promising solutions to the world\u2019s food crisis<br \/>\ninclude investing in agroecological research, extension and farming.<\/p>\n<p>Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, Senior Scientist at Pesticide Action Network<br \/>\nand a Lead Author of the IAASTD report said, \u201cToday\u2019s global food<br \/>\ncrisis demands immediate action. But the Lugar-Casey Global Hunger Bill<br \/>\ntakes us in exactly the wrong direction. As numerous scientific reports<br \/>\nfrom the UN have confirmed, African productivity can be most<br \/>\neffectively increased through investment in organic and agroecological<br \/>\nfarming.\u201d Ishii-Eiteman further cautioned the G8 not to focus simply on<br \/>\nproduction: \u201cThe bigger, more fundamental challenge today is about<br \/>\nrestoring fairness and democratic control over our food systems. It is<br \/>\nabout increasing the profitability, well-being and resilience of<br \/>\nsmall-scale and family farmers in the face of massive environmental and<br \/>\nglobal economic challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Food First\/Institute for Food and Development Policy has released a<br \/>\npolicy brief on \u201cWhy the Lugar-Casey Global Food Security Act Will Fail<br \/>\nto Curb Hunger\u201d (attached). Eric Holt-Gimenez, Executive Director of<br \/>\nFood First, said, \u201cThe Global Food Security Act, while commendable for<br \/>\nits renewed focus on investing in agricultural development in Africa,<br \/>\nmandates funding for genetically modified (GM) crop research. Past<br \/>\npublic-private partnerships on GM crops for Africa have proven to be<br \/>\ncolossal failures. The failed GM sweet potato project between Monsanto,<br \/>\nUSAID and a Kenyan research institute is a good example of 14 years\u2019<br \/>\nworth of wasted money and effort. The G8 Conference should focus on<br \/>\nsolutions that actually work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anti-hunger groups also criticized the Global Food Security Act\u2019s<br \/>\napproach and warned about the effects of promoting biotechnology on the<br \/>\npoor. Bill Ayres, Executive Director of World Hunger Year, said, \u201cThe<br \/>\nrecent Global Food Security Act to improve the U.S. response to the<br \/>\nworld food crisis starts from a flawed premise. Indeed, the world \u2013 and<br \/>\nthe U.S. in particular \u2013 must refocus antihunger efforts to support aid<br \/>\nand agricultural research for small farmers throughout the world. But<br \/>\nthe emphasis on genetically modified crops is misplaced. We saw Germany<br \/>\nthis week ban genetically engineered maize based on health and<br \/>\nenvironmental grounds. GM maize has also been banned in France and<br \/>\nGreece. We should focus on helping African farmers maintain control<br \/>\nover their land and seeds, earn a living wage, and enhance \u2013 not<br \/>\ndegrade \u2013 the quality of their land and water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Faith groups also recommended a new approach to eliminating global<br \/>\nhunger and warned that the G8 should not emphasize biotechnology.<br \/>\nAndrew Kang Bartlett of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) said, \u201cWhile<br \/>\nthe intentions behind the Global Food Security Act may be laudable, the<br \/>\nquestion is whether poorer farmers left behind by the last Green<br \/>\nRevolution will again be swept aside by a top-down approach that<br \/>\nbenefits mostly transnational corporations.\u201d Dave Kane, of Maryknoll<br \/>\nOffice for Global Concerns, a Catholic missionary organization with<br \/>\npriests, brothers, sisters and lay people working in Asia, Africa and<br \/>\nLatin America, added, \u201cWe have found GM technology to be disastrous for<br \/>\nsmall farmers and rural communities. Our missioners in Latin America<br \/>\nand Asia have seen farmers get deeper and deeper into debt as they<br \/>\nstruggle to pay for all the seeds, fertilizers and herbicides that GMO<br \/>\ntechnologies require. The result: farmers lose their land and with it,<br \/>\nthe ability to feed themselves and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The National Family Farm Coalition, a North American member of La<br \/>\nVia Campesina, the international peasants movement, will be pressing<br \/>\nthe G8 to reconsider policies that advocate for food sovereignty. Ben<br \/>\nBurkett, a Mississippi farmer and president of NFFC said, \u201cFarmers both<br \/>\nhere and in Africa know that the current industrial agriculture<br \/>\nmodel\u2014and the push to fast-track trade liberalization\u2014has failed to<br \/>\nalleviate global hunger and denied family farmers a sustainable<br \/>\nlivelihood. A recently released report this month by Union of Concerned<br \/>\nScientists titled \u201cFailure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of<br \/>\nGenetically Engineered Crops,\u201d showed that despite 20 years of research<br \/>\nand 13 years of commercialization, genetic engineering has failed to<br \/>\nsignificantly increase U.S. crop yields while only driving up costs for<br \/>\nfarmers. In comparison, traditional breeding continues to deliver<br \/>\nbetter results. The G8 needs to move away from Green Revolution<br \/>\nmonoculture practices and instead implement the IAASTD\u2019s most promising<br \/>\noptions: support ecologically sound practices, more equitable trade<br \/>\nrules and local food distribution systems to empower family farmers.\u201d<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">###<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2>For More Information<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Visit the US Food Crisis group\u2019s website: <a class=\"ext\" title=\"http:\/\/www.usfoodcrisisgroup.org\" href=\"http:\/\/www.usfoodcrisisgroup.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.usfoodcrisisgroup.org<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h2>Contacts<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p>Eric Holt-Gimenez, Food First\/Institute for Food and Development Policy,<br \/>\n510-654-4400 x 257, <a href=\"mailto:eholtgim@foodfirst.org\">eholtgim@foodfirst.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Marcia Ishii-Eiteman, PhD, Pesticide Action Network North America,<br \/>\n415-981-6205, ext.325; <a href=\"mailto:mie@panna.org\">mie@panna.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Dave Kane, Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns,<br \/>\n202-832-1780, dkane@maryknoll.org<\/p>\n<p>Andrew Kang Bartlett, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.),<br \/>\n502-569-5388, <a href=\"mailto:Andrew.KangBartlett@pcusa.org\">Andrew.KangBartlett@pcusa.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Katherine Ozer, National Family Farm Coalition,<br \/>\n202-543-5675, <a href=\"mailto:kozer@nffc.net\">kozer@nffc.net<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Christina M. Schiavoni, World Hunger Year,<br \/>\n212-629-9788, <a href=\"mailto:Christina@whyhunger.org\">Christina@whyhunger.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. working group on the food crisis urges G8 to reject failed green revolution policies for Africa<\/p>","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1746],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food-sovereignty"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.5 (Yoast SEO v23.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Governments Urged to Reject Another &quot;Green Revolution&quot; - Food and Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2009\/04\/17\/selfchosen-top-8-governments-urged-to-reject-anoth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Governments Urged to Reject Another &quot;Green Revolution&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"U.S. working group on the food crisis urges G8 to reject failed green revolution policies for Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2009\/04\/17\/selfchosen-top-8-governments-urged-to-reject-anoth\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Food and Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-04-17T15:32:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-01-30T20:37:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andrew Kang Bartlett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andrew Kang Bartlett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2009\/04\/17\/selfchosen-top-8-governments-urged-to-reject-anoth\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/centernet.pcusa.org\/food-faith\/2009\/04\/17\/selfchosen-top-8-governments-urged-to-reject-anoth\/\",\"name\":\"Governments Urged to Reject Another \\\"Green Revolution\\\" - 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