{"id":4115,"date":"2021-09-25T13:45:41","date_gmt":"2021-09-25T05:45:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panap.net\/?p=4115"},"modified":"2021-09-25T13:45:41","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T05:45:41","slug":"big-corporations-steer-un-food-systems-summit-global-south-pushes-back","status":"publish","type":"panap_updates","link":"https:\/\/panap.net\/beta\/updates\/big-corporations-steer-un-food-systems-summit-global-south-pushes-back\/","title":{"rendered":"Big corporations steer UN Food Systems Summit; Global South pushes back"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Global People\u2019s Summit (GPS) on Food Systems slammed the recently concluded UN Food Systems Summit (UN FSS) for paving the way for greater control of big corporations over global food systems and misleading the people through corporate-led false solutions to hunger and climate change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just as we expected. While branding itself as the \u2018People\u2019s Summit\u2019 and even the \u2018Solutions Summit,\u2019 the UN FSS did not listen to the voices of marginalized rural peoples, nor forward real solutions to the food, biodiversity and climate crises. Instead, it let powerful nations and big corporations play an even bigger role in determining food and agricultural policies. The UN has finally made it clear what \u2018multilateralism\u2019 is all about\u2014paying lip service to the people while skewing priorities for the interests of imperialists and monopoly capitalists,\u201d said Sylvia Mallari, global co-chairperson of the People\u2019s Coalition on Food Sovereignty.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In a strong statement against the \u201cglobal corporate food empire,\u201d the Global People\u2019s Summit on Food Systems adopted a<\/span> People\u2019s Declaration<\/span><\/a> entitled, <\/span>\u201cEnd corporate monopoly control! Fight for People’s Rights to Just, Equitable, Healthy, and Sustainable Food Systems!\u201d<\/span><\/i> Read by Malcolm Guy, chairperson of the International League of People\u2019s Struggles (ILPS) during the GPS closing plenary, representatives of more than a hundred people\u2019s movements and civil society organizations approved the declaration.<\/span> They vowed to work collectively to carry out national, regional, sectoral, and thematic<\/span> People’s Action Plans<\/span><\/a> that were produced from the workshops, public forums, and consultations organized under the Global People’s Summit.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThese Action Plans represent our concrete and particular demands and campaigns along the four pillars of food systems transformation – (1) Food sovereignty and democracy at the core of food and agricultural policies; (2) Agroecology and sustainability in production, distribution, and consumption; (3) People’s right to land, production, and resources; and (4) People’s right to adequate, safe, nutritious, and culturally-appropriate food,\u201d the declaration read.<\/span><\/p>\n

Held simultaneously with the UN FSS, the GPS is a Global-South led counter-summit. Since early this year, the GPS has held various activities\u2014including people\u2019s summits and dialogues\u2014participated in by thousands of landless farmers, agricultural workers, indigenous peoples, fisherfolk, rural women, youth, rural people living in occupied areas, and sanctioned peoples in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and West Asia-North Africa.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Women farmers from the Philippines call for radical transformation of food systems. (Photo: AMIHAN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unlike the GPS, which reflected the demands and aspirations of small food producers, the UN FSS proved its anti-people and pro-corporate character through the outcomes of the summit and statements made by world leaders, international institutions and business players at its helm. These include the following:<\/span><\/p>\n