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Our Food System & Empire

Our Food System & Empire. Plan for Tonight. Our food system: at home & abroad The concept of “Empire” Consider parallels between them Evaluate the strengths and limitations of the “Empire Lens” Tips for finding alternatives Evaluation. Our relationship to food says a lot about us.

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Our Food System & Empire

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  1. Our Food System & Empire

  2. Plan for Tonight • Our food system: at home & abroad • The concept of “Empire” • Consider parallels between them • Evaluate the strengths and limitations of the “Empire Lens” • Tips for finding alternatives • Evaluation

  3. Our relationship to food says a lot about us • Canadians spend < $100 billion at grocery stores & restaurants / year. • On average, we spend a total of 46 minutes each day cooking & eating. • 800,000 Canadians use food banks each month. 1/3 are employed. • ½ of food banks in rural areas. • Canadians eat fast food 3 - 4 times a week (twice while driving).

  4. Everything is on the rise...but • Prices • Production • Revenue • Exports • Output / acre • Output / farmer

  5. Net Farm Income: 1926-2005

  6. the Agri-Food Chain in Canada UPSTREAM • 9 companies control the chemical & seed sectors. • 3 companies control the farm machinery sector. • 87% of nitrogen fertilizer in Canada is produced by 3 companies.

  7. the Agri-Food Chain in Canada Downstream • 89% of cattle slaughter & processing is in the hands of 3 corporations. • Four companies mill most of the flour in Canada. • Six companies control food retail in Canada. Does this reflect your experience?

  8. ...And a quick look at the Global South Ranching in Brazil • 70% of formerly forested land in the Amazon is used for cattle grazing. • It is also used to grow soy. • Brazil #2 exporter of soy • Cargill controls most soya production & is the main supplier to fast food chains. • 2000-2005: an area just smaller than Lake Winnipegdisappeared / year. • Almost 1/5 is gone.

  9. Testimony from our partners in Haiti Farming in Haiti • Jewel of the Caribbean in 1492. Today only 2% covered by forests • Farmers have < 1 hectare of land. • Colonization  deforestation for export (sugar, cotton, coffee, wood) • Free trade  dumping: rice production fell by 25%.

  10. Results • Every week 1.3 million people around the world leave their farms to find work. • The majority of the one billion people on the planet who are chronically hungry are farmers.

  11. Discussion Question I • How would you describe this interconnected food system?

  12. What comes to mind when you think of Empire? Empire

  13. What do you think is Empire?

  14. The Unfinished Wheel CORE PERIPHERY

  15. A Definition of Empire? “Empire is the convergence of economic, political, cultural, geographic and military imperial interests, systems and networks that seek to dominate political power and economic wealth. It typically forces and facilitates the flow of wealth and power from vulnerable persons, communities and countries to the more powerful.”

  16. Discussion Question II: Making the Connection • Do you see similarities between our food system & these definitions of Empire?

  17. “Empire Lens”as a Tool • To help increase our ability to do complex analysis of systems. • Can be applied to different domains: food, consumerism, militarism. • The focus is the impact of systems on people.

  18. We can see more...

  19. ...when we change lenses

  20. Discussion Questions III • What things can the empire lens help us see better? • What things are we likely to overlook now? • What are some of the strengths of the Empire lens? • What are some of its limitations?

  21. Signs of Hope “To locate ourselves in spaces of hope is to begin working beyond Empire. It is to create life-giving alternatives for everyone.… But for this faith to become reality we cannot wait for time to pass and for the governing powers to fall by themselves. It is necessary to begin to demonstrate in our perceptions, relationships, and communities that another world is possible; that other ways of living bring dignity and plenitude…through the extension of alternate symbols and lifeways, of which we are heirs.” Nestor Miguez, Living Faithfully in the Midst of Empire, General Council 2006

  22. “Economy of Solidarity”: Coops Fair-trade arrangements Micro-credit & Pass-along schemes. Creating conditions for community collaboration. Education for environmental protection & political action. Stories of Hopein Haiti

  23. Looking for Alternatives Here • Focusing on one aspect of Empire can make the task more manageable. • Remembering we are many. • Telling our own stories. • What alternatives exist near you now? • What alternatives can we help create?

  24. Usefulness of the content Clarity Medium Inclusiveness Other Thank you &Evaluation

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