Food Sovereignty Prize Winners Discuss Building Global Movement

Those who were honored with 2010 Food Sovereignty Prizes at this year’s Community Food Security conference in New Orleans — John Kinsman and Ruth Simpson of Family Farm Defenders, Cathleen Kneen of Food Secure Canada, Dawn Morrison of The Working Group on Indigenous Food Sovereignty, Christiana Schiavoni of WhyHunger and Aba Ifeoma of Detroit Black Community Food Security Network — spoke on a panel discussion about building a global food sovereignty movement. (Djibo Bagna of ROPPA — The Network of West African Peasant and Agricultural Producers’ Organizations — was absent from this panel).

“Food Justice” Authors Hold Forum at Community Food Security Conference

Authors of the book “Food Justice,” Robert Gottlieb and Anupama Joshi, facilitated a discussion with food justice leaders at last week’s 2010 Community Food Security Conference in New Orleans — in an effort to situate and define food justice as a crucial part of the struggles to change the food system.

The UpTake will post videos throughout the week that we recorded at the 2010 Community Food Security Conference in New Orleans.

For related links, see this story on the BP oil spill, and industrial pollution’s effects on Gulf Coast food systems, and a discussion of food sovereignty as a civil right.

Discussing Food Sovereignty at 2010 Community Food Security Conference

At the 2010 Community Food Security Conference in New Orleans last week, members of the global farmers’ rights organization Via Campesina and participants in this summer’s U.S. Social Forum in Detroit gathered to discuss food sovereignty and how food access relates to social justice.

The UpTake will post videos throughout the week that we recorded at the 2010 Community Food Security Conference in New Orleans.

BP Oil Spill, Industrial Pollution’s Effects on Gulf Coast Food

Matt Rota, Director of Water Resources at the Gulf Restoration Network, and Harvey Reed, Executive Director of the Louisiana Association of Cooperatives, which works with farmers and fishermen throughout the Gulf Coast, spoke at the 2010 Community Food Security Conference in New Orleans last week about how environmental pollution — in particular the BP oil spill this spring — affect local food systems.

The UpTake will post videos throughout the week that we recorded last week at the 2010 Community Food Security Conference in New Orleans.

Climate Conscious Cyclists Stop in Minneapolis

Coast to coast and then to Cancun, Mexico. That’s the path for a group of climate conscience former Edina, Minnesota residents. They started in Portland Oregon and rendezvoused with a young Canadian in Glacier National Park. Their ultimate destination is the climate conference in Cancun, Mexico.

The name of the web site 350.org refers to the estimated maximum CO2 level in the atmosphere that can sustain life, 350 parts per million. We are now at 386 and climbing. The last time 359 was recorded was in 1989.

October 10, 2010, was a global work party to work on the climate crisis. There were 7,347 events in 188 countries.
The traveler’s plan is to cycle to Washington, DC, then take a train to Florida and a boat to Cancun.

Replay-Buckminster Fuller Institute:Architecting The Future

What does the future look like? How can we design it so it works for 100% of humanity without ecological offense? The Buckminster Fuller Institute is exploring those questions today in San Rafael, California during the Bioneers conference. Some of the best design minds from around the world will be there and you get to look and listen in live here. Starts 11am CT/ 9am PT.

Related Links:

Architecting the Future Live Blog

Architecting the Future Live blog in a pop up window

Buckminster Fuller Institute: Architecting the Future schedule

… Continue Reading

Minnesota Lawmakers, Governor Reach Agreement on Flood Legislation

Minnesota State Rep. Kory Kath, chief author of the flood recovery legislation in the state House, said agreement has been reached between Governor Tim Pawlenty and lawmakers on the final components of the flood recovery bill that will be considered in the upcoming special session. Kath said the agreement was reached with strong bipartisan cooperation and commitment by all parties.

“The members of the committee were very focused on both offering immediate relief to those communities that sustained damage through the recent floods, and to putting in place prevention efforts for the future,” said Kath. “I am especially pleased we included $10
million in Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM) funding, which brings with it a
60-75% federal match for flood mitigation.”

The final package includes funding for local and township roads, loans for individuals who were impacted, Minnesota Investment Fund grants for local businesses, and a layer of accountability to ensure the funds are responsibly spent and accounted for.

Minnesota state Senator Ann Lynch (DFL-Rochester) was the bill’s chief author in the senate. She said: “I am pleased to announce that an agreement has been reached on disaster relief legislation that will help our communities repair damage to homes, businesses, local roads and bridges throughout southeast Minnesota and the Wadena area. We have been working with the various state agencies and the Governor’s office to craft a package of funding from various sources to help fill the funding gaps once federal relief and insurance dollars are calculated. With a Minnesota winter fast approaching, the timing of this legislation is critical.”

Jimmy Carter, Habitat For Humanity, Build Homes In Twin Cities

Former President Jimmy Carter was in the Twin Cities yesterday and today for Habitat for Humanity’s 27th annual Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project. The project is actively building and restoring a total of 86 homes in cities nationwide, including Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Annapolis, Md., Minneapolis, St. Paul and Birmingham, Ala.

Carter appeared yesterday in north Minneapolis’ Hawthorne eco-village along with Sen. Al Franken, Rep. Keith Ellison and Mayor R.T. Rybak. Today, the former president went to work in St. Paul’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood. Former Vice President Walter Mondale, Rep. Betty McCollum and Mayor Chris Coleman also wore their grubby clothes to lend a hand today. In the Twin Cities, Habitat for Humanity is currently building five new homes, renovating nine, and conducting 14 home repairs for low-income families.

Carter met the new owners of these Habitat for Humanity homes, and presented each with an autographed Bible. We spoke to the former president about his work with Habitat for Humanity, and his reaction to President Obama reinstalling solar panels on the White House roof for the first time since Carter’s presidency.

Navigating “Troubled Waters”

Yesterday the University of Minnesota’s Bell Museum of Natural History showed two screenings of “Troubled Waters: A Mississippi River Story”, a documentary which relies on undisputed scientific facts to narrate how fertilizers used by industrial agriculture make their way into the water systems and the Mississippi River, and ultimately create a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico.

Despite contracting the film, the University had initially blocked the release of “Troubled Waters” and held it from being broadcast Oct. 5 on Twin Cities Public Television (TPT), claiming that its narrative was based on questionable science — even as news emerged that vice president for university relations Karen Himle’s husband runs the public relations firm Himle-Horner together with Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Tom Horner. The firm represents corporate agricultural clients in Minnesota. Karen Himle was who initially pulled the plug on the movie airing on TPT tomorrow.

Following the initial screening, The UpTake spoke to director Larkin McPhee about “Troubled Waters”, the role that sustainable farming can play in protecting our water systems, and the controversy over the University’s handling of the movie. We also spoke to several panelists who spoke following the screening, including Louisiana marine scientist Nancy Rabalais, sustainable farmer Jack Hedin and the university’s director of the institute on the environment Jonathan Foley.

Obama: GOP Wants To Kill Clean Energy Jobs

In this week’s address, President Obama announces that – due to clean energy incentives launched by his administration – a company called BrightSource plans to break ground this month on a new, revolutionary type of solar power plant. This will put about 1,000 people to work building the facility. And once completed, it will power up to 140,000 homes, making it the largest such plant in the world. But for all the potential of clean energy projects like this one, the GOP recently pledged to scrap all incentives for these projects, even ones currently in progress.

Related links:
President Obama’s weekly address-transcript … Continue Reading