Reflections from the Food Sovereignty Assembly and Famine Walk

The 2016 Famine Walk began at Delphi Lodge, led by walk leaders Cathryn O'Reilly and Clare O'Grady Walshe (the other walk leader not present here is Rafeef Ziadah) among others. Photo by Derek Speirs
The 2016 Famine Walk began at Delphi Lodge, led by walk leaders Cathryn O’Reilly and Clare O’Grady Walshe (the other walk leader not present here is Rafeef Ziadah) among others. Photo by Derek Speirs

Around thirty people gathered for Afri’s 3rd annual food sovereignty assembly, which took place in the town hall in Westport on the 20th May this year to examine food sovereignty issues and to explore what practical steps are necessary to implement the ideas of the Food sovereignty Proclamation which was agreed and posted in 2015.  Among the questions discussed at this year’s event were: how can we accelerate the transition to a low carbon, fair and resilient society?; how can we produce both food and energy in ways that reduce greenhouse gases and their negative impact on the planet? Among the many suggestions was to continue to have April 24th – the actual date of the 1916 Rising – as a food sovereignty day in future years as it was this year.

Rafeef Ziadah speaking during the Afri Famine Walk in Mayo. Photo by Derek Speirs
Rafeef Ziadah speaking during the Afri Famine Walk in Mayo. Photo by Derek Speirs

Continue reading “Reflections from the Food Sovereignty Assembly and Famine Walk”

Famine Walk 2016


Mairtín OConnor family

A series of memorable events will take place in Mayo on May 20th and 21st as part of a Famine Walk week-end, organised by Afri.

On Friday, May 20th the 3rd annual ‘Food Sovereignty Assembly’, bringing together people involved in many aspects of growing, distributing and cooking food, will take place in the Town Hall in Westport from 2pm to 6pm.

On Saturday May 21st the Doolough Famine Walk will take on added significance, one hundred years on from the 1916 Rising. Remembering and commemorating acts of resistance in Ireland and abroad have been key themes of the Walk since its inception. Continue reading “Famine Walk 2016”

Food Sovereignty Assembly 2015: A New Vision for Food and Agriculture

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Mill Times Hotel, Westport, Co. Mayo

15th May 2015, 11am – 6pm

Crisis comes from the Greek – krisis – which means “decision”. Our world is currently experiencing a nexus of crises – climatic, economic, financial, social and political, which are forcing us as citizens and human beings to decide in what kind of world we want to live.

All over Ireland, people are also thinking about how the last twenty years have transformed us, and of what the next twenty may bring. On the ground people are already putting into practice alternatives which offer a really sustainable future for our people and our planet.

Above all, this is true in our food and agriculture systems. We are finding better ways of producing food for people, of nurturing our land and our animals. Of putting life back into communities by rebuilding food systems which have been lost between the many links of the industrial and corporate food chain. Of providing livelihoods, of working with and not against nature. We are doing this in the knowledge that across the world, people are coming together to do the very same thing, and that we are not alone.

We know that the future of our society on this planet will be defined by the choices made by its people. It is up to us to define the kind of future we want for our land and our food.

This 15th of May, we worked on envisioning a new direction for food and agriculture in Ireland, and beyond, including:

How our food is produced – how we farm, who farms, how we eat, what we farm, what we eat, who eats it

How our food is distributed – where we get our food, who controls our food supply, who buys it, who sells it, who processes it

How we manage our commons – who owns our land, our water, our seeds, our resources, who manages them, who benefits

How we shape our public policies – how are they formed, where are they formed, how do they impact us, who benefits, who doesn’t

 

Organised by Afri and Food Sovereignty Ireland

Supported by Trócaire