Via-info-en October 2017

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International Seed Treaty: Let’s Not Sweep Peasants’ Rights to Seeds Under the Carpet
by La Via Campesina 30 Oct '17

30 Oct '17

VIITH SESSION OF THE INTERNATIONAL SEED TREATY : LET'S NOT SWEEP PEASANTS' RIGHTS TO SEEDS UNDER THE CARPET _ 30 October 2017 | Press Release_ KIGALI, OCTOBER 30, 2017: The 7th meeting of the governing body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) begins today in Kigali (Rwanda). At a time when patents on genetic information have been alarmingly eased by new genetic technologies, the risk that this Treaty be entirely overturned is major. Delegations from La Via Campesina and the IPC (The International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty*) have traveled to Kigali to incite government representatives in taking the right decisions and actions if the current Treaty is to be saved from obliteration. Indifferent to the fact that peasants contribute enormously to reproducing and increasing seed diversity each year, these patents currently allow the privatization of all gene bank-saved seeds as well as those on the farm. This is contrary to the objectives of the Treaty, that aim to make seeds available to ensure healthy, adequate and local food production and to face global challenges prompted by climate change, the needed phasing out of toxic pesticides, social-economic crisis and wars. La Via Campesina urges the ITPGRFA governing body to prohibit the patenting of genetic information - and of any other measure limiting the access and use of all plant genetic resources of the Multilateral System - as well as to fully implement peasants rights to save, use, exchange and sell seeds, as specified in the preamble and Article 9 of the Treaty. ------------------------- La Via Campesina Delegation in Kigali - Rwanda To reach the delegation please contact : Marciano Silva (ES, PT) +55 49 99199 5595 or Stefano Mori: (EN, FR, ES) +39 347 596 6424 ------------------------- _* The International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty is an autonomous and self-organised global platform of small-scale food producers and rural workers organizations and grass root/community based social movements to advance the Food Sovereignty agenda at the global and regional level. The organizations participating at the international level to the IPC are: La Via Campesina (LVC), World Forum of Fishers People (WFFP), World Forum of Fish Harvesters & Fish Workers (WFF), World Alliance Mobile Indigenous People (WAMIP), Mouvement International de la Jeunesse Agricole et Rurale Catholique (MIJARC), {The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations - (IUF)}, URGENCI, International Indian Treaty Council (IITC), Habitat International Coalition (HIC), World March of Womens and International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements (FIMARC)._

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The solution to the climate crisis is in our peasant struggle for Food and Energy Sovereignty!
by La Via Campesina 27 Oct '17

27 Oct '17

THE SOLUTION TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS IN OUR PEASANT STRUGGLE FOR FOOD AND ENERGY SOVEREIGNTY! LA VIA CAMPESINA – CALL TO ACTION _click here for German version_ [1] The next United Nations conference on climate change will take place from the 6th to 17th of November in Bonn, Germany 2017 - with Mother Earth heating up dramatically and humanity plagued by unprecedented adverse weather and rising sea levels. The capitalist system, fuelled by the profit greed, is not capable of addressing the current climate crisis. Even the COP21 Paris Agreement and its inadequate proposals to keep temperature increases below 2 degrees celsius is in limbo, with the recent pull out by U.S. President Donald Trump. This year we witnessed the increased impacts of climate change both in scale and intensity: hurricanes (Harvey, Irma, Maria, etc.), floods (India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sierra Leone, etc.), storms, droughts, heat waves and more. Hundreds of thousands of people displaced, thousands killed, and total disappearance of some island territories. In many cases, peoples have lost all the resources needed for living. The most affected: peasants, poor people, rural workers, the indigenous, the fisherfolk. We know the cause of this climate crisis: the global industrial food system is responsible for over 50% of greenhouse gas emissions through intensive use of agrochemicals, toxins, fossil energy, freight land grabbing and forest degradation through plantations, mining, logging etc. Perpetrators of the crisis, using their "monetary muscle", now lobby and push for false solutions: "climate-smart" agriculture, GMOs, REDD and REDD+, "blue carbon", and all other green economy schemes that seek the financialization of nature and its services. Multinationals pollute the climate negotiations and make them the place of economic and financial power over peoples, to the detriment of our rights. As the COP23 draws nearer, we reaffirm the importance of struggling for public policies that promote and support agroecology, local community-controlled energy systems and collective action for a just transition away from fossil fuels and against the false energy solutions that encourage corporate capture of our natural resources. Our peasant agroecology feeds the soil with organic matter, conserves and recovers biodiversity, using the knowledge of our peoples and our Mother Earth to feed us. We reject any attempt by agribusiness to co-opt agroecology and commit ourselves to defending and promoting our peasant agroecology! For Vía Campesina, our lands, our knowledge, our seeds, our rights are not negotiable! We call for the strengthening of all mobilizations against this system that engenders the current and future climate crimes. We must fight against all free trade agreements and disastrous oil, gas and mining projects as well as all exclusionary mega projects (dams, highways, airports, plantations, etc). We must urgently transform the financial, social and ecological production systems, as well as the sharing of labor and wealth, the preservation of common goods such as water, land, flora and fauna. We call upon our allies, friends and social movements to mobilize together with the civil society outside the UN climate talks in Bonn, spreading our voice and our true solutions. LET US MOBILIZE AT COP23 FOR THE CONVERGENCE OF STRUGGLES! FOR PEASANT AGROECOLOGY AND FOOD SOVEREIGNTY! Links: ------ [1] http://www.eurovia.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DE-COP23-Call-to-Action-D…

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La Via Campesina | e-newsletter | September 2017
by La Via Campesina 19 Oct '17

19 Oct '17

La Via Campesina | e-newsletter | September 2017 Donate [1] This edition of the newsletter is the result of a collective effort of organisations, which are part of_ La Via Campesina_ movement worldwide. To subscribe click here [2] ON 'FOOD SOVEREIGNTY DAY' LA VIA CAMPESINA LAUNCHES PUBLICATION THAT CALLS FOR A MASSIVE CHANGE IN THE CURRENT AGRO-FOOD SYSTEMS On the International Day of Action for Peoples' Food Sovereignty and against Transnational corporations, La Via Campesina officially launches its new publication "Struggles of La Vía Campesina for Agrarian Reform and the Defense of life, Land and Territories" that argues for a massive change in the current agro-food system, if we have to overcome the food, climate, poverty, financial, economic and democratic crises facing the planet and its people. With the aim of strengthening the convergence of struggles, we will demonstrate in this publication that this change must be based on an integral and popular agrarian reform within the framework of Food Sovereignty. Download the Publication [3] FEATURED ARTICLES TRANSFORMING SOCIETY AS CAPITALISM CRUMBLES: Lessons from Brazil's Peasant Movement. Rafael Soriano, a member of MST's Communications Collective, discussed this political climate with Débora Nunes, member of the National Directory of Brazil's Landless Workers Movement (MST). Read More [4] MEXICO EARTHQUAKE: CALL FOR ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE AND SOLIDARITY! The North American Region of La Via Campesina is asking for urgent economic assistance to support the peasants and indigenous peoples of Mexico to rebuild their lives, their homes, their plots and their communities. Read More [5] INDIA: PRIVATE FIRMS UNDERMINE SELF-FINANCING INITIATIVES OF RURAL PEASANT WOMEN Private firms have been harassing peasant women in a variety of ways to recover their money. Tactics include turning up at odd hours in the night, verbally abusing women in front of others, pressurizing all the women from the SHG, locking up their houses, and so forth. . Read More [6] SOCIAL MOVEMENTS FIGHT FOR WAY OUT OF GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS Heather Gies, editor at upsidedownworld.org argues that social movements organizing over the past decade offers reason for hope about the future of the food. Read More [7] 29 NEW MEMBERS ACCEPTED INTO LA VIA CAMPESINA DURING THE 7TH CONFERENCE The new members were presented by their respective regions, of which South America and Central America had the most new organisations- a total of 17. La Via Campesina now has about 186 member organisations in over 70 countries around the world. Read More [8] BRING AGRARIAN REFORM UNDER THE PRESIDENT'S DIRECT COMMAND: SPI Serikat Petani Indonesia - the Indonesian Peasants' Union - demanded that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) must immediately strengthen the agrarian reform agency at the local-to-central level and brings the program under his direct command. Read More [9] CETA THE WRONG DEAL FOR PEOPLE SAYS NATIONAL FARMERS UNION CETA is not about trade! CETA is all about limiting the ability of governments to govern in the public interest. CETA will expand corporate interests as paramount at the expense of our democracies. Read More [10] GERMAN CORPORATIONS EXPLOITING LEGAL LOOPHOLES TO GRAB SMALL FARMS. The German LVC member AbL and the opposition green party in the German Parliament called the government to lease the land to peasants and landless to give them the chance to start farming. Read More [11] MAB PROTESTS AT THE VALE OFFICE IN RIO DE JANEIRO Approximately one thousand people denounce two years of impunity of the crime that occurred with the rupturing of the dam in Mariana, Minas Gerais (MG). Read More [12] A NEW STEP FORWARD IN THE PROCESS FOR A UN DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF PEASANTS! The resolution on peasants' rights was adopted by the UN on Friday 29th of September 2017 by 34 votes in favour, 11 abstentions and 2 against. Read More [13] FEATURED PUBLICATIONS [14] TITLE: Stop New GMOs! A beguiling refrain has been implying this for some time now, promising a series of "new breeding techniques" that would be clean, surgical, fully controlled and without any risk whatsoever. According to this refrain, these New Breeding Techniques, or NBTs, should above all not be classified as GMOs so as not to block their ongoing development. But what are these NBTs really? Download the PDF [15] [14] TITLE: Nyeleni Newsletter September edition of Nyéléni Newsletter exposes the growing global threat of privatization and commodification of water Edition: September, 2017 Download the PDF [16] FEATURED VIDEOS [17] Popular Agrarian Reform: In defence of Life and Land! Watch Video [18] [19] La Via Campesina & the context of the Civil Society Mechanism (CSM) in Committee on Food Security (CFS) Watch Video [20] YOU ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE AUTONOMY OF OUR MOVEMENT ------------------------- As a supporter who has contributed financial resources to La Via Campesina, and as an activist who joins us on the streets and in the fields, your support is always welcome and put to good use. You can renew your contribution to La Via Campesina by clicking [1]here. [1] [21] Twitter [21] [22] Facebook [22] [23] Vimeo [23] To unsubscribe from the distribution list click here [2] For questions or comments, email LVCWEB(a)VIACAMPESINA.ORG WEBSITE: www.viacampesina.org [24] TV: www.tv.viacampesina.org [25] To subscribe to this newsletter - Click Here [2] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/donations/ [2] https://mail.viacampesina.org/lists/listinfo/Via-info-en [3] https://viacampesina.org/en/press-release-food-sovereignty-day-la-via-campe… [4] https://viacampesina.org/en/transforming-society-as-capitalism-crumbles-mst… [5] https://viacampesina.org/en/mexico-earthquake-la-via-campesina-north-americ… [6] https://viacampesina.org/en/private-financial-firms-threaten-undermine-self… [7] https://viacampesina.org/en/starved-justice-sovereignty-social-movements-fi… [8] https://viacampesina.org/en/29-new-members-accepted-la-via-campesina-7th-co… [9] https://viacampesina.org/en/bring-agrarian-reform-program-under-the-preside… [10] https://viacampesina.org/en/ceta-the-wrong-deal-people-says-national-farmer… [11] https://viacampesina.org/en/german-corporations-exploiting-legal-loopholes-… [12] https://viacampesina.org/en/brazil-mab-protests-vale-office-rio-de-janeiro/ [13] https://viacampesina.org/en/new-step-forward-process-un-declaration-rights-… [14] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/videos/1504122602991639/ [15] https://viacampesina.org/en/new-plant-breeding-techniques-12-reasons-regula… [16] https://viacampesina.org/en/nyeleni-newsletter-oceans-water/ [17] https://vimeo.com/196906046 [18] https://tv.viacampesina.org/International-Conference-of-1065?lang=en [19] https://vimeo.com/238558151 [20] https://tv.viacampesina.org/Fifth-International-Women-s?lang=en [21] http://www.twitter.com/via_campesina [22] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/ [23] https://vimeo.com/viacampesina [24] http://www.viacampesina.org [25] http://www.tv.viacampesina.org

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New Publication: Struggles of La Via Campesina for Agrarian Reform and the Defense of Life, Land and Territories
by La Via Campesina 16 Oct '17

16 Oct '17

PRESS RELEASE: ON 'FOOD SOVEREIGNTY DAY' LA VIA CAMPESINA LAUNCHES PUBLICATION THAT CALLS FOR A MASSIVE CHANGE IN THE CURRENT AGRO-FOOD SYSTEMS _ [1]HARARE, 16TH OCTOBER 2017: _Today, on the _International Day of Action for Peoples' Food Sovereignty and against Transnational corporations__, _La Via Campesina officially launches its new publication "Struggles of La Via Campesina for Agrarian Reform and the Defense of Life, Land and Territories [1]" that argues for a massive change in the current agro-food system, if we have to overcome the food, climate, poverty, financial, economic and democratic crises facing the planet and its people. With the aim of strengthening the convergence of struggles, we will demonstrate in this publication that this change must be based on an integral and popular agrarian reform within the framework of Food Sovereignty. The concepts, strategies and struggles have undergone many changes within La Via Campesina, partly as a result of the current context, but also as a result of collective processes at the grassroots level in territories that are rich in historical, cultural, political and economic diversity. In this respect, it is evident that integral and popular agrarian reform is understood to be a process for the building of Food Sovereignty and dignity for the people. Working on the basis of this conceptual framework, in which agrarian reform is presented as a defense and a recovery of land for Food Sovereignty, and as a people's process, this publication will be structured as follows: Firstly, chapters 2 and 3 present La Via Campesina's analysis of the global context we are currently facing and the form in which capital is appropriating territories. What developments have led to this unprecedented level of land grabbing, land concentration and eviction of people from their territories? To which actors do we refer when we speak of "capital"? What is the political framework that favours these processes on a global level? What are the consequences for the food and agricultural system? And how is that reflected in our territories? La Via Campesina's concept of integral and popular agrarian reform, developed in this context, will be presented in Chapter 4. How has the concept been modified from a vision of land distribution to a territorial vision? What were the most important milestones? Beginning with the question "How, in today's world, can we achieve a change in the paradigm towards Food Sovereignty and agrarian reform?" we will present, in chapter 5, the strategies of La Via Campesina, which include direct actions and bottom up praxis, alternative communications and research, and political intervention on a national and international level. While the analysis focuses more on global processes, the interviews held with leaders of La Via Campesina's member organisations from different continents and regions show the multidimensional mechanisms which specifically affect territories. They also reflect the way in which the diversity of cosmovisions in territories which are so historically, culturally, politically and economically diverse (which can also be seen in their terminology) has enriched and extended La Via Campesina's construction of visions. Because the aim of the publication is to summarise these aspects as a whole from the perspective of La Via Campesina's organisations, it is not possible to enter into each issue in depth. Therefore, at the end of each chapter we provide suggestions for further reading, which will be a useful starting point for acquiring more in depth knowledge of the issues discussed here. DOWNLOAD THE FULL PUBLICATION HERE [1] FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL NETWORKS TO GET NEWS ABOUT VARIOUS ACTIONS AND MOBILISATIONS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO TAKE PLACE AROUND THE WORLD. Follow the Hashtags: * # FoodSovereignty * #PopularAgrarianReform * #WeFeedThePeople * #16October Twitter: @via_campesina [2] Facebook: ViaCampesinaOfficial [3] Links: ------ [1] https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2017/10/compressed_P… [2] https://twitter.com/via_campesina [3] https://www.facebook.com/viacampesinaOFFICIAL/

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Via-info-en October 2017