How to eat your way to an equitable, cool and ecologically appropriate society
Healthy soil, healthy ecosystems, healthy people with healthy economies and societies. Convened by Frances Murrell from MADGE
Presenters
Bob Phelps runs Gene Ethics campaigns for GM-free farms and foods. Genetic Manipulation fails to deliver on promises to feed the world, solve climate change and make healthier foods. It siphons profits and control to Monsanto, away from the local, biodiverse, sustainable family farms that can nurture the land and water and feed us all. GM crops, animals and microbes would lock us into industrial agribusiness that will crash when oil ends, the global climate changes and food crises deepen. GM-free is the way to be.
Visit: http://www.geneethics.org
MADGE www.madge.org.au has been active on food issues especially GM and also shows the positive alternatives that exist.
Workshop overview
Threats to our food security:
- loss of genetic diversity: GM crops are genetic monocultures
- loss of farmer knowledge and skills: breeding off the farm and into the lab
- climate change: GM crops are not well adapted to local environments
- peak oil: agribusiness will collapse when oil-based pesticides, fertilisers and fuels expire
- monopoly control of the food supply: patented seed must be bought each season
- public R&D budgets are being wasted on “magic bullet” ideas – GM and nanotechnology
Opportunities for the food system:
- transition and resourcing for family farmers to adopt sustainable farming systems for soil, water and vegetation i.e. natural sequence farming, working with the soil ie soil food web, organics, bio-dynamics, grass farming, permaculture, holistic farm management etc.
- revitalising and re-establishing local food systems
- food swaps, guerrilla gardening, CSA, urban gardening, aquaculture, local economies and the importance of social networks they create
- working within how ecology works ie swapping and sharing. Spin offs are greater understanding of how we are all linked and supported by the biosphere
- cool the climate – ie how soil carbon sequestration reduces the green house effect
- people can get started straight away. Linking up with others creates great synergies
- to form the basis of healthy soil, healthy ecosystems, healthy people with healthy economies and societies.
More reading
Soil not oil: Vandana Shiva, Spinifex Press, Melbourne 2009
Fast Food Nation: Eric Schlosser 2001
Shock Doctrine: Naomi Klein, 2008
In Defence of Food: Michael Pollan
