One of the most satisfying aspects of my work is sitting down with farm families and trying to solve a problem creatively. During my last visit to Peru, we were having a discussion with CODEMU (the Women’s Development Council) on how to insure effective participation of the women in the Oro Verde coop’s decision making. Everybody who sells Fair Trade coffee puts gender equity, etc. in their literature, but there are lots of nitty gritty reasons why women don’t fully participate, even though Fair Trade rules require it. One reason is that most of the women have kids, and as every working mom (and dad!) who is reading this knows, it is impossible to participate in a meeting when you’ve got an infant in need of a change or a two and three year old falling down, spilling a drink or crying at the injustice of the sharing impaired. (I remember once when I was a lawyer/stay at home dad I had a three way international call going on while I tried to change Sarah’s diaper- okay, just the tip of the iceberg!).

We came up with the idea of creating a day care program during assemblies, committee meetings and other gatherings of the coop. Now this may seem pretty straightforward up here, but it is not common at all in rural coffee village settings. According to Melba, the head of CODEMU, the social expectation there is that a woman will take care of the kids while doing everything else at the same time, even if it means not being able to stay in a meeting or stay focused. As a result, women are rarely effective participants in these meetings, which determine the nuts and bolts policies and practices that control their economic lives.

We co-created and funded a program to bring in day care providers, toys and a safe space for young children at the Oro Verde headquarters in Lamas. After six months, we found that it was helpful but not great – the women were having trouble finding skilled caretakers who were available for short gigs. As we analyzed the problem, it became clear that the issue was that the coop was only looking for degree-holding social workers or psychologists for daycare, as there is a knee-jerk reaction in many Latin American communities for degrees, hierarchy and licenses.  I suggested getting a list of responsible sixteen and seventeen year olds who could provide short- term oversight and care and who would love to make the money (read: slightly older babysitters!). Although this was a new concept in this rural area, Melba and the women of CODEMU thought it might work. The big annual meeting is coming up in April, so we will see how it works.

Small steps, shared ideas, a little help from your friends. That is how we build community around the coffee world.

For World Food Day 2009 (which is tomorrow, October 16th!), Link TV is helping to promote a campaign called Stand Up, Take Action, a movement now four years in the running. As part of the framework for the UN Millennium Development Goals adopted by global leaders in the year 2000, worldwide hunger and poverty must be eradicated by the year 2015. A lofty endeavor, you say? Maybe. But millions of global citizens are demanding that this promise be kept, or at the very least, kept a priority. Each year, through events organized by Stand Up, Take Action, attention is called to this ongoing issue, and the movement is growing. Last year, it broke its own Guinness World Record for the largest mobilization around a single cause in recorded history. Click here for events taking place this weekend in your area.

Watch this video and join the countdown to World Food Day!



Link TV has a lot of great food and hunger related programming, that can be found on our ISSUE: Food page, like a new Michael Pollan special called “Deep Agriculture”, and more. Also, learn about the coffee industry and Fair Trade practices that are effecting small farmers in poor countries around the world from Dean Cycon, Founder and CEO of Dean’s Beans.

The term "Green Revolution" is associated nowadays with the increased level of environmental consciousness: businesses changing their operations to incorporate more environmental practices, and the advent of environmental consumerism. Actually the "Green Revolution" was a 1960's term that referred to new varieties of rice and wheat for developing countries that were more drought and pest resistant, more responsive to advanced fertilization methods, and ultimately produced higher yielding crops. A comprehensive report [PDF] on the Green Revolution by the International Food Policy Research Institute describes the background and history of this movement.
 
This "Revolution" was a great way to increase yields of wheat and rice production, alleviate hunger and provide an income to poverty-stricken farming communities in developing countries. But now, 4 decades later, other problems are arising. The land is no longer arable due to the excessive use of fertilizers and pesticides, polluted waterways, salt build-up and eventual loss of biodiversity on farms. The people forced to leave their land are known as environmental migrants or climate refugees. More details on the environmental impacts of the Green Revolution can be found on Wikipedia.

Developing countries, such as Bangladesh and Ethiopia, that could be considered to be among the least responsible for major climate change, are the ones that are being the hardest hit. A video report created by the U.N. Development Program explains the relationship between human development and climate change.

Rice farmers in Bangladesh have lost their crops due to excessive flooding, while farmers in Ethiopia are praying for rain, all resulting in more poverty, starvation and refugees as land becomes less and less arable.
 
However, Indian farmers have taken matters into their own hands by shunning modern agricultural technologies and going back to their traditional ways of farming. According to this article on NPR’s website, an Indian farmer named Sharma enjoyed 20 years of an increase in crop yields and subsequent income as a result of the Green Revolution. Then his soil began to deteriorate and he needed to buy more and more fertilizers to grow the same amount of crops. He soon realized that the only way to sustain his crops was to go organic. In another article, the Guardian states that "Sustainable agriculture involves hard work and does not guarantee huge profits, but it will not harm the farmers' health, brings personal satisfaction, and involves fewer financial risks."
 
The U.S., as one of the world’s largest consumers, can take a stand in reducing its own unsustainable agricultural practices and become a model for other nations, by increasing the demand for organic farming and native plant propagation. The Slow Food Organization is a great international proponent of eating locally grown and prepared foods. Furthermore, if we as citizens of this country demand more government subsidies for organic farmers, then perhaps sustainable farming will gain significant momentum. Here is an article that points to how little the government supports organic farming. The International Society for Cow Protection talks about how the future lies in organic farming, and industrial farming practices are becoming less and less attractive, especially for small farmers. This video indicates how the future might look if we adopt organic farming practices fully. It seems bright indeed!

And learn more about the current state of the food crisis on our dedicated Issue page.