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Food. Riots and Rights Food. Riots and Rights Luca Colombo and Antonio Onorati Reclaiming Diversi T Y & Ci T izens H ip Food. Riots and Rights Food. Riots and Rights Luca Colombo and Antonio Onorati Luca Colombo is the Secretary General of the Italian Foundation for Research in Organic and Biodynamic Agriculture. Previously, he led Greenpeace Italy’s campaign against genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and was head of research at the Foundation for Genetic Rights. He teaches on the Masters course in Human Development and Food Security at the University of Roma Tre. Between 2005 and 2008 he was a member of the Ethical Sponsorship Committee for the City Council of Rome, and in 2011 he formed part of the steering committee for the Nyéléni European Forum for Food Sovereignty. His other published works are Fame, produzione di cibo e sovranità alimentare, (Hunger, Food Production and Food Sovereignty; Jaca Books, 2002), and Grano o grane. La sfida Ogm in Italia (Wheat or Trouble. The GMO Challenge In Italy; Manni, 2006). Antonio Onorati has been President of the Centro Internazionale Crocevia (The International Centre Crocevia) since 1988. He was co-chair of the non-government and civil society forums for food sovereignty that took place in parallel to the FAO World Food Summits of 1996, and had responsibility in the forums of 2002 and 2009. He has also been International Focal Point of the International Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC), which facilitates the emergence of the movements representing small food producers. Awarded the prize of Custodian of Mediterranean Diversity by Biodiversity International, he is also the author of many widely-publicised articles and reports in Italy and abroad. He helps run an organic family farm held since the land reform of the 1950s. Published by: The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), Fondazione Italiana per la Ricerca in Agricoltura Biologica e Biodinamica, and Centro Internazionale Crocevia. Copyright ©: Luca Colombo and Antonio Onorati (2013). Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non- commercial purposes is authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. International Copyright © 2009, Editoriale Jaca Book, Milano. English language edition published by arrangement with Eulama Literary Agency, Roma. The original Italian title is Luca Colombo, Antonio Onorati, Diritti al cibo! Agricoltura sapiens e governance alimentare; Jaca Book; Milano 2009. Citation: Luca Colombo and Antonio Onorati, 2013. Food, Riots and Rights. IIED, London. Layout and design: Piers Aitman Photo credits: The pictures reproduced on the cover are by Antonio Onorati. The publication of this book was funded by UKaid from the UK Government, however the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the UK Government. The views expressed in this publication – the main text and appendix material - are those of the authors or the people from whom they sought opinion, and do not necessarily reflect the views of IIED. The main aim of the appendix in particular is to provide a space for the voices of a range of stakeholders, and does not imply that IIED agrees with or endorses what those stakeholders are saying. ISBN: 978-1-84369-952-1 IIED Product Code: 14624IIED Acknowledgements This book is deeply rooted in the struggle social movements have carried out in the last decades to achieve food sovereignty. We benefited from those reflections, experiences, practices and combats, we had the privilege to meet and share across the years and continents. Some of them are witnessed by friends and allies who agreed to contribute to the book and to whom we express our gratitude. They symbolise the reverence we owe to the wisdom related to food production and that is inherent to food producers. Special thanks go to Michel Pimbert who laid the road to the English version. Translation: Kate Wilson. Editing and text adaptation: Fiona Hinchcliffe. iv of 108 Table of Contents Part 1: Food: humanity’s life-support system in crisis ........................................................................................................................................1 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................1 Food on the menu .................................................................................................................................................................................................2 Liberalising food ....................................................................................................................................................................................................4 Cultivating inequality ............................................................................................................................................................................................7 Land as a global asset .........................................................................................................................................................................................10 Feeding animals with food and land .................................................................................................................................................................11 Agrofuels: flooding the food production engine? ............................................................................................................................................15 Market speculation in food as a commodity .....................................................................................................................................................20 Industrial food .....................................................................................................................................................................................................21 The reign of the supermarkets ...........................................................................................................................................................................28 Western food habits: a poor act to follow .........................................................................................................................................................32 Shock agronomy: a tired old production paradigm ..........................................................................................................................................33 GMOs: genetically monopolising organisms ......................................................................................................................................................39 The actors of food governance and their script ................................................................................................................................................41 Part 2: A fruitful future for food ........................................................................................................................................................................48 Making the right to food sovereign ...................................................................................................................................................................50 Rethinking knowledge and research .................................................................................................................................................................50 Making more of multi-functionality ..................................................................................................................................................................53 Valuing the small farm ........................................................................................................................................................................................54 Breaking out of the productivist obsession .......................................................................................................................................................56 Enshrining the right to food in global policy ....................................................................................................................................................56 Reforming public policy ......................................................................................................................................................................................58 Giving back control... ..........................................................................................................................................................................................59 Changing the climate, changing agricultural policy .........................................................................................................................................65 v of 108 Part 3: New shoots: signs of hope to carry us forward ....................................................................................................................................66 The IPC: a civil society platform for food sovereignty .......................................................................................................................................66 Reforming the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) .................................................................................................................................70
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