Parity is the foundation of an equitable farm and food policy.
Parity means equality and justice -- for everyone.
It’s not just about fair prices for farmers. Having policies based on the principles of parity help determine how our precious natural resources are used.
Blog Posts
We must also end neoliberal free trade and restore universal food sovereignty so countries can democratically design new agroecological farming systems to protect their natural resources, produce healthy culturally appropriate food supplies, restore economic opportunity, and create food security reserves. Progressive movements like La Via Campesina must regain the lead in abolishing free trade enforced by faceless bureaucrats at the WTO, or reactionary movements will co-opt this issue with inauthentic right-wing opportunistic politicians like is happening here in the United States.
We can count on the giant movement of La Via Campesina to demand an end to free trade which allows corporations to freely exploit our fellow citizens and the planet. We need to support La Via Campesina to create an even more giant movement keeping in mind the big picture and working for new standards of democratic governance. Today’s utopia might just be joining hands around the world in this vital struggle. Is there any other choice?
Anyone involved in the good food, family farm, or environmental movements knows well the dreadful outcomes of our agriculture system. Unfortunately, many organizations document these outcomes without recognizing the basic economics or the history of our agricultural system, thereby perpetuating policy proposals based on mistaken analysis. These are often deeply funded and capably staffed organizing efforts that have influenced food and agriculture policy debate for decades and continue to do so today.
We will not be lured into organizing efforts that only talk about the symptoms of a sick agriculture without building the understanding for real reform. Parity must again become the foundation of opportunity for new farmers of all colors, genders, and backgrounds to become stewards of the land, and for all food producers and laborers—and their communities—to thrive.
When we look at our food and agriculture system, any farmer will tell you that many technologies have proved beneficial, relieving them of some of the most physically demanding work, improving safety on the farm, and providing new insights for farm management. As agricultural technology is advancing, with sensors, artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, genetic sequencing, machine learning, and communications networks to collect, process, aggregate, and analyze data, any new benefits to the farmer – and their ability to make ethical land use decisions – is quickly disappearing. Big Data, the massive accumulation of digital information on land, seeds, plant genetics, livestock, workers, production systems, and consumer behavior is an emerging source of power and profit for both tech companies and agribusiness.
Connections
Churdan, IA: Iowa farmer Patti Naylor of Churdan participated in events at the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in Rome, Italy. The 51st Plenary of the CFS took place on October 23 – 27, 2023 at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Her presentations focused on agriculture technology and price volatility in relation to food security.
India, a British colony until 1948, has a complex society, and like so many other regions of the world, is something we don’t hear much about in the USA. Estimates of over 500 million farmers across 2,000 ethnic groups, and up to 200 languages boggle the mind. Most of the farmers in India farm less than 10 acres, producing food for local populations. Others raise grains and pulses that are traded nationally and internationally.
Despite the obvious differences in farm size and cropping practices, the issues are the same, and these two movements share the understanding that farmers all over the world, especially now with recent free trade agreements, are victims of cheap food policy, otherwise known as free market economics.
The new laws dictated by the Modi government are identical to the early 1950 laws here in the US that broke the New Deal’s guarantee to family farmers of parity prices. The parity legislation aimed to heal the destruction of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl by stabilizing rural communities and allowing US farmers to produce healthy food sustainably which is what any democratic government would want for its citizens and future generations. The Indian farmers are absolutely correct in their analysis of the consequences of this new legislation They know that lower prices mean lower incomes that will drive farmers off the land, while bigger farms struggle to survive the incessant pressure of even lower prices, thus compromising their traditional methods that are more sustainable and less fossil fuel-intensive than any “modern” methods promoted by transnational agribusiness. . This new legislation is a demand from the Modi government on behalf of transnational corporation’s profit motive to “Get big or get out.”
I had the honor of participating in this international project as an advisor with Pesticide Action Network. The story of how genetically engineered crops have harmed cultures, traditional foods, and the environment is clearly articulated in this brilliant, animated short film.
The coronavirus pandemic that we face today will impact our lives in many ways, both in the near term and for years to come. A bright spot may be a change in how we look at the world and how agriculture fits into that world.
There’s no question – advances in science and technology have improved the lives of most people. However, as we have seen with the recent concerns regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI), having a blind faith in technology without questioning and analyzing its benefits and risks can take us down a precarious path. This is a growing concern in agriculture, especially with government and private sector emphasis on the need for technology-reliant climate change solutions with what are termed precision agriculture and climate-smart agriculture, practices that have been called false solutions by environmental and Indigenous-led organizations. As a result, the use of drones, robotics, autonomous tractors, sensors, and AI-guided agronomic advice increases, locking us all into an agriculture system that exploits people and nature. Farmers, peasants, consumers, and farm justice advocates from around the world have recognized the risks of genetically modified seeds for decades, including the ecological and social costs to this technology and its threat to food sovereignty. Now, the threat is increasing dramatically through the political and economic power of corporations that are collecting huge amounts of data on land, seeds, water, livestock, production systems, and consumer behavior.