Page 44 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 18

Food Health

are dealing with around the world.
The issue of food is very important,
People must be concerned about
their food, I wish musicians would
be able to do more about transmit-
ting messages about it. Unfortunate-
ly, a lot of today’s music has no real
message. It is just like they say, that
the music of today is like the crack
of the 80s, it is just doing what it is
going to do and it is later that you
will see its effect. We should have
more musicians coming out with
issues in their music, and I want to
congratulate some of the musicians
in Ghana who had the presence of
that we used to live. But because mind to make songs about them like
Afrikan societies are very much we have discarded that, because
agrarian. We do not have to be we have relegated them to having Bobo Shanti, it is very important to
embarrassed about that there is no form of value, we do not look support them.
nothing wrong with it. Sometimes at them anymore. But you should We tried to seriously introduce the
when we discuss agrarian societies, ask yourselves: how did our ances- issue of food so that it could be
people want to make it seem like tors keep things so pristine for us
agrarian societies are very backward, to meet? The rivers and lakes. If discussed as an important issue
but at the end of the day, human the likes of our generation were between two flag-bearers of two
beings get back to wanting to live to live on this planet for as long as leading political parties, and always
there is a comfortable way that they
simple, get back to wanting to be we have, we would have nothing to would dodge it. There is a comfort-
close to nature, get back to wanting give back to future generations. So,
to eat from the ground. That is that we are very much involved in the able way that they would sneak away
old school form of life, you know, advocacy for these issues to be at from it, pretending that they are
that we have gotten so far and we the forefront. In Afrika the media is always with the people, but when it
comes to the core issue to discuss
realized that was what was valuable. always talking about issues that do these issues, they want to find a way
We need to respect a little bit more not have much real positive impact
about how traditional Afrikan soci- on moving us forward progressively, to sneak out and not discuss it. But
ety existed, because it existed in such so, unfortunately too, a lot of issues when the people, and the musicians,
harmony with nature. You look at around food sovereignty do not get and people like you start fanning the
flames and more people understand
us today, we are struggling to keep discussed much in the media. that food is a very basic issue… and
the environment in such a manner
that it would be able to support us. In fact, when Food Sovereignty you know with Afrikans you cannot
And yet this is something that came started advocacy there was a lot of mess with our food. You try and
naturally to our ancestors. They did ridicule, we were ridiculed so much. take something from an Afrikan’s
plate and it is a serious issue, so if
not have to be puzzled about how “Who do they think they are?” But Afrikans knew what was happening
to treat the earth, how to treat the at the end of the day, people now
grass, about how to treat the river. recognize that the issue we started everybody would be with Food Sov-
This is certainly a more advanced discussing in 2013 was a very serious ereignty everybody would be trying
way of living, and you cannot con- issue. That the trampling on human to advocate for the best thing to be
done with our food.
vince me otherwise, because we see rights is very real so, even in the
what is happening to the rivers now courts, lawyers who did not think
yet we have all these international we had much chance of cases when You are right, it is such a basic
organizations and all these treaties we first started, who did not under- need that it makes you wonder
and all that… stand the issues, now realized that why people would not think of
it as a hot issue, because it is
this an issue that we are dealing with so intimate; food and water and
Just go back to the traditional ways on the ground that other countries
whatever else you drink they go

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