Happy new year, and some thoughts
Hello everyone, dear amigos!
We wish you a very beautiful 2017 year, full of adventures, meetings, happiness and wonder!
We have spent our new year's eve in the Netherlands, at Astrid's, where we have lived a different new year's eve than what we were used to. We played board games, we sang and danced around the fire, we pulled the cards for the new year (tarot), and there were fireworks non-stop! We also had the chance to eat sheep meat from Astrid's, served for great occasions. It was a splendid celebration time.
Now, an event that we went to, in Brussels:
THE ''AGROECOLOGY IN ACTION'' FORUM:
Agroecology, what is it, in one sentence?
The agroecology is an open concept that wishes to end the hunger in the world by offering sustainable, biological and local feeding systems.
The forum lasted two days(9th and 10th of December). It gathered the ones that had interest or engagement in agroecology, and who wanted to share their knowledges and discuss about it. This forum had a Belgium range. We were able to attempt several conferences on agroecology in many fields such as agriculture, farming and breeding, economy, education, access to food... We listened as well to talks from organisations and initiatives which are based on agroecology.
Conference from Olivier de Schutter:
Tours et Taxis. Where the forum took place:
We have been interested by a term much used and developped: food sovereignty.
What is it? The food sovereignty gives healthy food and land to all. It allows every people and States to have the best politics on agriculture that fits the most the populations. It's an alternative to the current system on overconsumption and monoculture.
After a few testimonies, conferences and reflexions, we understood that eating healthy should be a right for all.
The prices to eat healthy today seem expensive but are in fact the fair prices to respect each persons participating in the creation of the product. These prices are competing with the very low prices of the mass distribution which doesn't care about the environnement.
The issue is to find a solution to poverty, to educate the populations and to come back to small, local cycles.
Solution to poverty: We have to find sustainable solutions to poverty which don't count on social organisations ( because they don't consider non-poverty). These organisations are emergency solutions, but not long-term ones. The goal would be not to need them anymore. Today, changing one's way to consume means taking risks, and to take risks when one dosen't have much is not worth considering. Thus there is this need to educate populations and find sustainable solutions to poverty.
Educating the populations: To understand that eating healthy is a right, and is available to the fair prices. To accept to change the consuming ways, to re-learn to taste and to take time to cook.
To come back to short, local cycles: For a local activity more logical for the life of our Earth. The short cycles also allow a stronger social link and a transparency between consumer and producer.
These three topics above seem link together to us, in the way to find a good balance on food equity.
These ideas are thoughts we believed important to share with you. We are conscious of the huge mountain to overcome to reach that ideal state, but isn't it nice and important to start thinking in a positive way?
Maybe just realizing that these issues exist are yet a first step to the ''acting together''!
The agroecology is a sustainable system which can feed the all planet and Olivier de Schutter (here at the forum), shows it very well.
Don't hesitate to share with us your feelings and knowledges on this topic! We have our ears wide open.
Happy Aymeric:
Here are a few very nice initiatives that we discovered, for the curious ones:
-Terre en Vue buys lands to give it to farmers who grow things in a reasonable way: http://www.terre-en-vue.be/
-BEES coops is a paticipative market where consumers are involved in the system (few hours given to BEES coops allow to have low prices for everyone). They offer products of a local range and respectfull of the environment: http://bees-coop.be/
-The Via Campesina is an international peasant organisation who promotes and acts for the food sovereignty: https://viacampesina.org/en/
Have a good evening, a good day, a happy new year !
A&A
PS: today we are at D-42 of our trip.