Page 61 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 23
P. 61
Food health
action is important, we cannot measures like herd reductions. policies that support peasant-led
reduce the issue to individuals or Support farmers to transition agroecological production and
place the responsibility on them. off chemical fertilisers and ban marketing systems.
Scaling back imports in countries confined animal operations, which
where industrial meat, dairy and generate tremendous amounts Finally, we need to stop the
unnecessary foods are consumed of nitrous oxide and methane, land and water grabs that are
in excess, plus making production respectively. being silently waged across the
systems more ecological, makes world to expand the production
eminent sense. And we have Rethink and reboot food of agriculture monocultures for
to find ways to remove the distribution system. export.
corporations that are causing all Cities need to reorganise food
this damage in the first place. retail so that stores and markets We also need to support the
are equally distributed and are broad social movements that are
This requires some hard policy providing healthy foods instead of mobilising, from Argentina to
shifts and organised pressure from ultra-processed items. We should Arizona and from Cameroon to
social movements. Fortunately, also look at zoning or other public France, to keep land and water
awareness that we need serious policies to limit the presence of under social control as common
changes through collective action corporations and protect local goods belonging to peoples in
has grown as a result of people’s vendors and cooperatives. We their territories, not commodities
direct experience of climate need to better socialise food to be exploited for the benefit of
breakdown. distribution. People are already a few.
trying to achieve this by setting
A range of practical steps forward up food social security systems, In a nutshell, we need to build
have already been developed by fighting for local permits and more public systems, more
activists and researchers, and need national social protections for collective action and new
to be urgently ramped up: street vendors, and trying to economies to achieve the justice
strengthen public markets through people are yearning for. But we
Eliminate food waste, a major price controls, subsidies, and need to move fast. Corporations
source of emissions. public infrastructures. So much and other climate criminals are
Scale back excess consumption more can be done on this front. not going to get out of the way
in minority countries, both of Remove regulations and laws unless we make it happen.
industrial meat and dairy as well that undermine local food
as unnecessary foods (off-season producers and replace them with
fruits and vegetables, luxury
items like berries and sweets, etc).
Taxes, tariffs and other fiscal tools
can play a role, as can assertive
measures by food distributors.
Trade agreements that drive
oversupply patterns, like the EU-
Mercosur deal, also need to be
stopped or rescinded.
Cut the production of industrial
meat and dairy in Europe, North
America, Brazil, Australia and
New Zealand through aggressive
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