AGRA Watch is thrilled to present our short film series, Rich Appetites, at Town Hall Seattle on Saturday March 25, 7-9pm PDT. Registration appreciated but not required. Rich Appetites is a short film series that explores how billionaire philanthropists are pushing US-style industrial agriculture around the globe—including in Africa. This model of agriculture is the […]
Category Archives: Agra Watch Blog Posts
How We Got a Story Critical of Gates on the Front Page of The Seattle Times
Special Appeal from CAGJ Director Heather Day On one of the hottest days of the summer, I was joined by three fantastic CAGJ members for a fun action. With 200 flyers, tape and a staple gun in my bag, I set out with Ashley Fent (AGRA Watch Research Coordinator), Molly McMahan (Rise-Up Summer School Collective […]
Help CAGJ Continue Our Collective Organizing: Special Appeal by Katherine Hillesland
Hello all! My name is Katherine, and I’m a CAGJ member and volunteer. After interning with CAGJ for the past several years, I had the opportunity this past summer to co-coordinate CAGJ’s 16th SLEE Gala. I am writing to ask you to consider an end-of-year donation to help CAGJ continue our impactful food sovereignty work. […]
CAGJ Offers Transformative Food Sovereignty Education: Special Appeal by Shephali Patel
Hello Community! Re-designing a food system that rests on the principles and values of food sovereignty for all requires all of us. My name is Shephali Patel and I had the honor to support others in this movement through my role on the Organizing Collective for the 2022 edition of CAGJ’s Rise Up! Summer School. […]
WATCH FULL FILM SERIES! Rich Appetites: How Big Philanthropy is Shaping the Future of Food in Africa
At a time when global hunger is on the rise and the pandemic has dramatically impacted global food systems, corporations are gaining even more control over agriculture than ever. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the largest private charitable foundation in the world, is leading the way in pushing global agricultural development priorities toward […]
An End-of-Year Letter to our Members & Supporters + 2022 Accomplishments
CAGJ’s end of year letter to our Members & Supporters 2022 Accomplishments: #RootingOurselvesInHope Greetings friends, What gives you hope despite increasingly desperate times? Every day I sit down at my desk, and dedicate myself to the tasks at hand, knowing that my efforts are adding to the efforts of millions of people worldwide, including peasant […]
Open Letter to Bill Gates from AGRA Watch & 50 Co-Signers
An Open Letter to Bill Gates on Food, Farming, and Africa AGRA Watch drafted this letter in response to two recent articles we found very troubling. We are joined by 50 organizations focused on food sovereignty and justice worldwide, who want Bill Gates to know there is no shortage of practical solutions and innovations by […]
Where does the Gates Foundation’s agriculture spending really go?
As part of our research for our Rich Appetites film series, AGRA Watch has conducted an analysis of Gates Foundation agricultural development grants specifically targeting Africa–now published as a report: African Agricultural Development … for the US? An Analysis of the Distribution of Gates Foundation Grants. Looking at grants through July 2021, we have found […]
FUJ Tour Report-back: Fighting for Farmworkers in the US and Beyond
This fall CAGJ worked with farmworker union Familias Unidas por la Justicia and other community organizations based out of Seattle to organize the FUJ Farmworker Solidarity Tour. Over two days in October, we convened a rally, march, dinner, teach-in and AGRA-Watch action in Seattle that highlighted how issues faced by farmworkers are connected to the […]
What’s wrong with the Africa Food Prize?
This week the titans of agribusiness will shine a spotlight on their favorite tech-based approaches to food production by awarding the World Food Prize in Iowa, as they do every year, in the home of Norman Borlaug, credited as the “father of the green revolution.” When Yara International, the Norwegian fertilizer company, decided that it […]
