Source: Food Sovereignty is Independence!
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Modern day oppressions come in various forms. Abuse, corruption, poverty, gender inequalities, inequities in various areas, discrimination, and many more injustices. Very prevalent today are environmental, climate and food injustices.
Today we are being oppressed by the current food systems who left people with barely few options to no options at all for nutritious foods. We have distorted food systems that rob us of our fundamental freedom and right to life. It is a food system that puts the demands of the corporations at the center of the systems and policies rather than the people.
Food sovereignty belongs to the people. Food sovereignty is food independence!
Food independence is ….
a basic human right. It is the right of the people to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods. values and supports the contributions, and respects the rights, of women and men, small scale family farmers, fisherfolks, indigenous peoples who cultivate, grow, harvest and process food; and rejects those policies, actions and programs that undervalue them, threaten their livelihoods and eliminate them. localizing food systems. It protects food providers from the dumping of food and food aid in local markets; protects consumers from poor quality and unhealthy food, food with genetically modified organisms; and it resists governance structures, agreements and practices that depend on and promote unsustainable and inequitable international trade and give power to remote and unaccountable corporations. is seeking control over and access to territory,land, water , seeds for local food providers. These resources ought to be used and shared in socially and environmentally sustainable ways which conserve diversity. building on the skills and local knowledge of food providers and their local organizations that conserve, develop and manage localized food production and harvesting systems, developing appropriate research systems to support this and passing on this wisdom to future generations. using the contributions of nature in diverse, low external input agroecological production and harvesting methods that maximize the contribution of ecosystems and improve resilience and adaptation, especially in the face of climate change. Food sovereignty rejects methods that harm beneficial ecosystem functions, that depend on energy intensive monocultures and livestock factories, destructive fishing practices and other industrialized production methods, which damage the environment and contribute to global warming.***
Let us continue to be instruments to gain true freedom for our people. What is our role as public servants? Let us support policies that could improve the current enslaving systems. Let us empower people; continue the pursuit of education. Let us teach our people to follow law and order and we ourselves should be living examples on how to implement and follow law and order in this country. Let us stand against injustices – social injustice, as well as food system injustice and environmental injustice. Let us protect the environment and support sustainable agriculture. Let us move toward achieiving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Let us continue to fight for freedom for our children and our children’s children. Independence from all these modern oppressions is what we strive for and work on everyday!
We are called to be catalysts of change and let change come from each one of us. We should be people who will stand firm as the needle to the pole. To stand firm for what is true and right, even if we are the only one standing.
But the end of it all --- True freedom comes from knowing and acknowledging that we have a great God who sees us and is truly in control and that we need to be obedient to His will.
Again Happy Philippine Independence Day!
God bless the Philippines! God bless Sibagat and the province of Agusan del Sur.”
~~~ Maria Liza Evangelista
A Public Servant
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