PHM-Exch> Thousands of people gather at counter-mobilization to reiterate “We need food systems that empower people, not companies”

[Claudio Schuftan]

UN Food Systems Pre-Summit falls disappointingly short on climate, COVID
and food systems transformation, say counter-mobilization participants,
which totalled almost 9,000 people.

Rome, Italy. 2 August 2021. Between 25 and 28 July 2021, some 9,000 people
participated in a mostly virtual counter-mobilization to oppose the United
Nations Food Systems Pre-Summit. The event was hailed a success owing to
the great and varied attendance as well as its ability to successfully
catalyze and amplify a counter-narrative to the Pre-Summit. With critical
articles and pieces published in major media outlets such as BBC
<https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000y5fg>, Al Jazeera
<https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/7/25/here-is-why-we-are-boycotting-the-un-food-systems-summit>
and Italian state TV Rai
<http://confini.blog.rainews.it/2021/07/22/il-tradimento-del-vertice-onu-sui-sistemi-alimentari-intervista-a-nicoletta-dentico/>,
and several thousands social media publications including the hashtag
#FoodSystems4People, the counter-mobilization succeeded in breaking through
the mainstream discourse.

Entitled “People’s counter-mobilization to transform corporate food
systems,” the activities kicked off with an eight hours-long global virtual
rally <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVGkBV55XnQ>. The massively-attended
virtual event consisted in a string of declarations, artistic performances
and live mobilizations by hundreds of individuals and organizations from
all continents, representing smallholder farmers, pastoralists,
fisherfolks, indigenous peoples, agricultural and food workers, landless,
women, youth, consumers, urban food insecure, NGOs, journalists and
academics.

On 26 and 27 July, the counter-mobilization provided a space and time for
dialogue about the threats posed by increasingly corporate-controlled and
globalized food systems and the already existing viable solutions to
overcome them. An opening declaration
<https://www.csm4cfs.org/final-declaration-of-the-counter-mobilization-to-transform-corporate-food-systems/>
summarizing the demands of the process organizing the counter-mobilization
- the People’s Autonomous Response to the UNFSS - was officially released.
“The Food Systems Summit process was designed to serve a corporate agenda.
How do governments accept having their authority and sovereignty taken over
by the industry?,” questioned Paula Gioia, smallholder food producer and
member of La Via Campesina.

On 26 July, three different round tables to unmask the UNFSS and its
attempts to open the doors for the corporate capture of food governance and
science were organized. Zoltán Kalmán, Retired Ambassador and Former
Permanent Representative of Hungary to the UN Food and Agriculture Agencies
in Rome, echoed a statement shared by hundreds of academics in a recent
letter
<https://agroecologyresearchaction.org/open-letter-to-policy-makers-no-new-science-policy-interface-for-food-systems/>:
“the UN Food Systems Summit is a danger to the neutrality of science. We
don't need a new Science-Policy-Interface for food. Instead, we should
strengthen existing models such as the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE). In
the same line, the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food
Systems (IPES) officially announced
<http://www.ipes-food.org/_img/upload/files/UNFSS%20Withdrawal%20Statement.pdf>
its withdrawal from the UNFSS process.

On 27 July, the counter-mobilization continued building momentum with a
rich programme of 15 self-organized virtual dialogues on topics ranging
from reclaiming Africa’s seed sovereignty, to how food sovereignty is
building justice-based alternatives, and how multistakeholderism threatens
food systems, people & states. Corina Muñoz of the World March of Women
summarised the sentiment of the day when she stated that “Today they tell
us what to produce, how to produce and what to eat. We are still under
colonial logic. The poorest countries continue to be influenced by the
richest in this regard.” In addition, there were four sessions dedicated to
celebrating people’s vision for reclaiming power and transforming the
industrial food systems in Abya Yala (Latin America and the Caribbean),
Turtle Island (North America), Africa and Asia.



The counter-mobilization ended with statements from indigenous leaders and
representatives of social movements, as well as a mystica ceremony in
Zapoteca language. Saúl Vicente of the International Indian Treaty Council
and Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’s Mechanism closed the session
with a message of hope. "They wanted to bury us so that we would disappear,
but they didn't know we were seeds."

The People’s autonomous response to the UNFSS is now assessing the outcomes
of the Pre-summit and will monitor the process as it unfolds. However, it
is already unequivocally clear that the pre-Summit has reached an end
without any resolution of the fundamental issues which hundreds of
organizations
<https://www.csm4cfs.org/hundreds-of-grassroots-organizations-to-oppose-the-un-food-systems-summit/>
demanded addressing. A final statement including a critical analysis of the
Pre-Summit's outcomes will be released before the Summit.

-ENDS-

Media contact

Marion Girard, Media officer at the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’
Mechanism (CSM
<https://www.csm4cfs.org/policy-processes/challenging-the-food-systems-summit/>)
for relations with the UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS)
marion.girard.cisneros at csm4cfs.org

Resources

Counter-Mobilization microsite: foodsystems4people.org

Recorded session videos: YouTube channel
<https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz-5v1JsAAZFlAQg_MV57OA>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://phm.phmovement.org/pipermail/phm-exchange-phmovement.org/attachments/20210731/c1804b73/attachment-0001.html>