Zero hope for zero hunger: Break the chains of imperialism and forward the future free of hunger, dispossession, and destruction!

Unparalleled urgency marks our annual commemoration of World Hunger Day amid imperialist machinations to advance a sinister agenda to monopolize further and exploit global food systems under the pretext of saving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and urgent climate actions.

It is undeniable that we are nowhere near zero hunger as envisioned under the SDGs, with the United Nations (UN) itself disclosing in its July 2023 report that the) number of people facing hunger and food insecurity has been rising since 2015: “In 2022, about 9.2% of the world population was facing chronic hunger, equivalent to about 735 million people – 122 million more than in 2019. An estimated 29.6% of the global population – 2.4 billion people – were moderately or severely food insecure, meaning they did not have access to adequate food. This figure reflects an alarming 391 million more people than in 2019.” By the 2030 SDG deadline, around 600 million, not zero, are expected to be still hungry, according to a separate report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), also published last July.

Meanwhile, real climate action is severely lacking. Again, quoting the UN’s SDG report: “With a climate cataclysm looming, the pace and scale of current climate action plans are wholly insufficient to effectively tackle climate change. Increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events are already impacting every region on Earth. Rising temperatures will escalate these hazards further, posing grave risks.”

Instead of addressing the structural issues underlying these crises and the failure to face them head-on, the UN has allowed monopoly corporations from imperialist countries to exploit the food, hunger, and climate crises to pursue a despicable plan to gain more control over and take advantage of the world’s food systems. Food systems transformation has become a buzzword since the UN and its corporate backers launched the Food Systems Summit in 2021 and follow-up meetings such as the so-called Stocktaking Moment last July. It has been among the top talking points in major global policy discussions, such as the recent SDG Summit last September and the upcoming 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) In November/December. It is the same corporate agenda behind other global platforms that aim to chart the future of food, like the ongoing (October 16-18) 6th International Rice Congress (IRC) under the theme “Accelerating Transformation of Rice-Based Food Systems.”

Global food systems indeed need a radical transformation that will substantially contribute to tackling global hunger and the climate catastrophe. But as the world grapples with these increasingly dire global crises, imperialist powers are tightening their grip over our food, using the pretense of food systems transformation, climate action, and sustainable development to further their own interests and consolidate their stranglehold on our planet

For instance, during the UN Food Systems stocktaking meeting, the COP28 Presidency and the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub unveiled a strategic partnership. This partnership purportedly seeks to amplify the role of food systems in driving progress towards the SDGs and the climate targets under the Paris Agreement. It supposedly aims to harmonize efforts in food systems transformation and climate action within the broader context of global sustainable development efforts. The UN Food Systems-COP28 collaboration covers key global policymaking platforms, including the 2023 SDG Summit, the 2024 UN Summit of the Future, UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moments (2023 and 2025), and the COPs from 2023 to 2025.

Monopoly corporations significantly influence the UN Food Systems and COP discussions and steer their policy direction. Their presence and leadership roles are unquestionable. It is thus impossible to expect meaningful changes in food systems and climate action that would genuinely support the sustainable development and future we all want, including the well-being of rural communities.

To illustrate, over 15 top chief executive officers (CEOs) of big transnational corporations (TNCs) are deeply involved in the UN Food Systems-COP28 partnership and cover every step of the agriculture supply chain, from production to consumption and finance. As a part of this collaboration, they have also launched a flagship initiative to encourage the widespread use of “regenerative” agriculture in major food landscapes. However, their brand of regenerative or “climate-smart agriculture” is a cover for TNCs to tighten their control over seeds, agrochemical inputs, and other “innovations” that make use of digital technologies to further profit from food systems and lucrative carbon markets. Monoculture corporate plantations are expanding under various corporate greenwashing and false climate solution schemes that benefit big businesses, harm the environment, and displace and intensify the exploitation of poor farmers, agricultural workers, and other small food producers.

Corporate fingermarks are also all over the IRC, with agrochemical and seed TNCs Corteva Agriscience and Bayer among its major sponsors, and the Bill Gates-funded Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) as lead organizers. Not surprisingly, the agenda of the 6th IRC in Manila centers around techno-fixes (e.g. genetic engineering, synthetic biology, digitalization) that threaten to further erode agro-biodiversity and food sovereignty, while strengthening corporate control and keeping intact neoliberal policies that have caused the impoverishment and indebtedness of most rice farmers.

While governments and institutions often claim to support the most vulnerable peasants in the Global South amidst the ongoing climate crisis, many of the proposed climate solutions are, in fact, leading to the displacement of these communities and the disruption of their way of life, while funneling public resources and shaping policies to fit into the corporate food agenda.

Globally, at least 1.2 billion hectares of land are designated for so-called ‘nature-based solutions’ by governments with the aim of mitigating and adapting to climate change by 2050. Notably, many of these plans target lands owned by peasants and indigenous peoples in the Global South. The promotion of renewable energy and conservation frequently comes at the cost of these communities, worsening the existing food crisis. The expansion of biofuel plantations and afforestation initiatives encroach on indigenous lands and turn peasants into low-paid agricultural laborers. Furthermore, corporate-led conservation efforts and eco-tourism projects, labeled as “green” and “blue,” are pushing indigenous communities away from their ancestral territories. Meanwhile, the desire for greater corporate profits continues to drive massive reclamation projects that displace coastal communities and small fishers, aggravating the environmental, climate, and hunger crises. Imperialist institutions, financiers, and corporations work in cahoots with national governments and local comprador and landlord elites to carry out such plunder of the peoples’ lands and natural resources.

We expect all these efforts to culminate at the 2024 Summit of the Future, where the monopoly corporations intend to fully consolidate their imperialist agenda in determining the future of the world’s food systems, along with global development and climate goals.

Over the past few years, there has been a concerning surge in rural bombings and violence against peasants, aimed at suppressing resistance to land grabs and forced evictions. These attacks are often tied to land disputes and target peasant uprisings, leading to massive destruction of community lands and resources, fatalities, injuries, and forced displacements. Last year alone, 177 people – including peasant and indigenous peoples and activists – were murdered for asserting the right to land and defending the environment from corporate plunder and destruction. Authoritarian and fascist regimes in the Global South, often with imperialist backing, persist in harassing, imprisoning, and defaming peasant activists and their supporters, while also militarizing farming communities and exploiting counter-terrorism laws and policies to facilitate land grabs.

We must not allow imperialist powers and interests to manipulate the food, climate, and development agenda at the expense of the peoples’ rights and interests. If we want genuine sustainable development, are serious about achieving zero hunger, and are committed to taking real climate action to save our planet, we must expose and oppose these profit-motivated schemes.