{"id":1585,"date":"2018-11-16T20:48:22","date_gmt":"2018-11-17T02:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/?p=1585"},"modified":"2018-11-16T20:48:22","modified_gmt":"2018-11-17T02:48:22","slug":"2018-bellingham-declaration-us-food-sovereignty-alliance-iv-national-gathering-oct-12th","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/?p=1585","title":{"rendered":"2018 Bellingham Declaration – US Food Sovereignty Alliance IV National Gathering Oct. 12th"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The US Food Sovereignty Alliance (USFSA) held its IV National Assembly from October 12th<\/sup> thru 14th<\/sup> in Bellingham, Washington with the participation of 117 members, allies, and individuals from 71 organizations and 7 countries.\u00a0 The theme \u201cDefending Mother Earth for an Agroecological Life:\u00a0 No Walls, No Capitalism\u201d was enacted through art, drama, music, dance, organizing, debate, analysis, healthy locally-sourced food, and spirited \u201cm\u00edstica\u201d <\/em>ceremonies.<\/p>\n

Anchored by the farmworker-led organization Community to Community Development (C2C), the assembly overflowed with a joyous, intelligent, and diverse rainbow of origins, identities, and organizers of all ages from various sectors of the food system, including farmworkers, food chain workers, fishers, family farmers, urban agriculturalists, food providers, and social justice advocates fighting for their livelihoods, freedom, and dignity through food sovereignty, and an end to patriarchal, capitalist, and colonial ways of thinking and acting.\u00a0 Building on regional assemblies in the Northeast, the South, the Midwest and the West, the IV National Assembly vibrated with an expanding and deepening energy!<\/p>\n

Challenged by the current political and ecological moment\u2014characterized by the rise of right-wing, racist populism allied with neoliberal, corporate economics, coupled with massive impoverishment and oppression of peoples, and the threat of climate catastrophe\u2014our motivation intensified. \u00a0Those assembled discussed and the Alliance\u2019s national coordination proclaims the following solidarity positions of the USFSA:<\/p>\n

* In solidarity with La Via Campesina, we call on the United States and other members states to support the Declaration of Peasants Rights<\/em><\/strong> being pushed forward at the U.N.\u00a0 The struggle for Food Sovereignty depends on the protection of the rights of peasants and small- and medium-sized family farmers.<\/p>\n

* We oppose the expansion of the H2A visa guest worker program<\/strong><\/em>, particularly when used as a means of displacing farmworkers organizing themselves into unions.\u00a0 H2A workers tied to a single employer have not been able to unionize themselves, and are often subject to wage theft, extortion by labor contractors and foremen, and other abuses.\u00a0 We denounce in the strongest terms efforts to expand and weaken existing safeguards and housing provisions in guest worker programs by establishing a proposed H2C visa, which would spread and intensify the defects of H2A to food processing industries. \u00a0We also support the boycott of Reynolds American Tobacco VUSE e-cigarettes until that corporation signs an agreement to guarantee the right to organize without retaliation to all farmworkers in the tobacco fields, whether H2A or undocumented.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/em>* We denounce the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)<\/em> <\/strong>in implementing the racist policies of mass detention and deportation, and stand in solidarity with immigrant and refugee peoples currently residing and working in the U.S.<\/p>\n

* We add our collective voice to the Call to Protect Food Systems from Genetic Extinction Technology<\/em><\/strong> and call for a global moratorium on any release of engineered gene drives, which could contaminate ecological systems, species, and food webs with genetic traits designed to create species extinction.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0We denounce proposals in the Farm Bill\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>that would increase work requirements for SNAP eligibility, end the Double Up Bucks farmers market program, defund critical conservation programs, and reduce support for beginning and socially challenged farmer programs.<\/p>\n

* We reject the King amendment in the House Farm Bill,<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong>which would give agribusinesses greater control and restrict state and local governments from regulating\u00a0agricultural products, and\u00a0could nullify the\u00a0Food Sovereignty Ordinances<\/a><\/u>\u00a0passed in Maine, as well as laws that\u00a0curb pesticide use, regulate farmworker safety, prevent cruel livestock practices, and label GMO foods.<\/p>\n

* We call for an expansion of agroecological practices and the protection of our agroecological biodiversity<\/strong><\/em> in food, fiber, forest and aquatic systems across the planet, as one of the essential solutions to the climate catastrophes humanity faces.\u00a0 We know that small farmers, family fishers and foresters all cool the planet.\u00a0 Agroecology cools the planet!<\/p>\n

* Lastly, the USFSA stands in solidarity with our global allies,<\/strong><\/em> particularly members of La Via Campesina, suffering the overthrow or threat of overthrow of popular, democratic governments.\u00a0 Whether in Honduras, Paraguay, Colombia, Brazil, Nicaragua, Venezuela or elsewhere, these \u201csoft coups\u201d are a threat to democratic processes and to food sovereignty everywhere.
\n____________<\/p>\n

The IV Assembly debated and affirmed the formation of the following national Collectives:\u00a0 Political Education, Agroecology: Land and Water, Narrative Strategy, International Relationships, and Youth.\u00a0\u00a0 These collectives together with the regional bodies will carry forward the work of USFSA, coordinated by representatives from grassroots organizations from the regions, with the help of grassroots support organizers.<\/p>\n

With our collective strength, we shout \u201cNo!\u201d to injustices in the food system everywhere and \u201cYes!\u201d to the people rising up to radically transform unjust systems and practices, for the betterment and survival of humanity and defense of Mother Earth.\u00a0 \u00a0And to the inspiring sister movements across the planet working for food sovereignty, we sing out a resounding \u00a1VIVA!\u00a0 WE STAND WITH YOU!\u00a0 WE ARE PART OF YOU!\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The US Food Sovereignty Alliance (USFSA) held its IV National Assembly from October 12th thru 14th in Bellingham, Washington with the participation of 117 members, allies, and individuals from 71 organizations and 7 countries.\u00a0 The theme \u201cDefending Mother Earth for … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1585"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1585\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1587,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1585\/revisions\/1587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familyfarmers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}