On 21 January 2023, around ten thousand farmers, activists, consumers, and citizens from all walks of life gathered in Berlin, Germany, for the Wir haben es satt! (We are fed up) demonstration. In this 7th edition of the rally, demonstrators reiterated an urgent call to government and authorities around the world for the radical transformation of food systems towards agroecology and food sovereignty for all.
Members of the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism joined the demonstration in defence of the right to food, particularly that of the communities most exposed to hunger and malnutrition. Representing the CSIPM was Sefu Sani, member of the Coordination Committee, co-coordinator of the Youth working group and part of the World March of Women. She delivered the following call to action and declaration of principles.
Call to action and declaration of principles by the Kenyan youth and the global women’s march on the occasion of the civil society demonstration in defense of the right to food.
Sefu Sani.
Song (1)
Food is not a political weapon
Food is not for profitability and business
Food is not a privilege for a few who can afford it
Food is a human right
If there is agreement on defending the planet, on sustainability, on conserving diversity, on human rights and the rights of nature, why don’t those who have the power to do so act?
Why don´t the voices of those affected most matter
why do we sit in boardrooms to discuss food-tech
why aren’t we at the farms
why are the investors and food aiders leading the policy processes
We represent the voices of the farmers
We represent the voices of the oppressed
We represent the voices of the marginalized
We represent the voices of the youth who are not represented in agriculture and food systems and decision making
We represent the voices of the women who partake in food production but are faced by inequalities of gender, patriarchy, and more
we represent the voices from the ground
From the neediest sectors and from the hungriest countries, we cry out: Not a minute more!
– For the right to adequate food and nutrition for all.
– For human rights as a guide in the fight against hunger and social exclusion.
– For women’s rights and on behalf of the world march of women and as part of the Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples’ Mechanism, we demand that geopolitics does not block the coordinated response to the global food crisis.
-For the right to produce what we eat and eat what we produced.
-For the right to food for rural peoples, peasants, indigenous peoples and to those living in occupied territories.
-For inclusivity of youth and women especially the urban insecure, rural folk and marginalized.
-For advocacy of the voices from the ground and public policy led by peasants and farmers and public investment of 10% national budgets to agriculture.
-For the eradication of chemical fertilizers, GMOs and industrial agriculture.
-For agroecology, family, farms, climate and ecological justice.
We are sick of crisis profiteering. We call for good food and farming.
Photos: Stefanie Loos/Brot für die Welt
Resources
- Download CSIPM’s report Voices from the ground 2: Transformative solutions to the global systemic food crises