Teach-Out Report: Clean Greens Farm By Alanna Boynton, Food Justice Project Co-Chair. CAGJ’s Teach-Out with Clean Greens Farm took place August 24, 2019.

The sun blazed overhead as I followed the rural roads winding along the Snoqualmie River in Duvall, WA. I soon spotted my destination: Clean Greens Farm, where I’d be spending the day working and learning alongside the farmers and other volunteers as part of a Teach-Out organized by CAGJ. I was especially excited for this event, since my family signed up to be members of Clean Greens’ CSA this summer… Clean Greens began when one of the founders, Reverend Jeffrey, was faced with health issues and decided to drastically change his diet. Now, the farm grows a huge amount of food on just a few acres of land, which is sold at its market stands in the Central District and at Harborview Medical Center. The vegetables are priced affordably in order to further their mission of making healthy food accessible to everyone, especially those living in food deserts where fresh produce isn’t readily available. Read the rest of the report.

You can help further Clean Greens Farm’s mission by making a donation, visiting one of their market stands, joining their CSA program, or signing up to volunteer. Your support goes a long way in continuing the fight for food justice in our region.

La Via Campesina issues call to mobilize against WTO and Free Trade Agreements 

Two decades after coming into being, the World Trade Organization (WTO) – one of the flag bearers of globalization and neo-liberalism – is facing an existential crisis that is precipitated by the same group of people who created it. This is also happening at a time when peasants and indigenous people are several degrees worse off than they were two decades ago; with their land, rivers, oceans and forests having undergone massive erosion and forced evictions are inflicted upon them by profit hungry corporations. Local peasant markets and food systems in several countries have been decimated by an order of international trade that only looks at commodification of everything, including the food that people eat… Starting 10 September, we are exhorting the 182 peasant organizations of La Via Campesina in 81 countries, all our allied social movements, academic institutions, political schools of training and NGOs to organize direct actions, public events, study sessions and demonstrations to expose the dangers of these free trade agreements in your own region and countries and also to present an alternative that is rooted in local cultures, context and biodiversity. Let the rallying call for our global actions once again be "WTO, FTAs Out of Agriculture and Food!", "Peasant Trade Systems Over Free Trade", "Food Sovereignty, not Free Trade!" Read the rest of the statement.

AFSA Appreciates Ugandan President for Rejecting GMO Law

On August 31, Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa sent an “Open Letter of Appreciation to the President of the Republic of Uganda” 

Your Excellency, On behalf of the millions of African smallholder farmers, fisher folk, pastoralists, hunter-gatherers and consumers, we the undersigned take this opportunity to express our appreciation for your continued and strong stand on the Genetic Engineering Regulatory Act (GERA). We recognize and assure you that the concerns you raise that “the issue of GMOs and genetic modification of our seeds and livestock touches not only on Science but Agriculture, Ecology, Food & National Security and, indeed, the sovereignty of our nation” are valid. You have added your voice to a rising tide of concern about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in other countries within and beyond Africa. The government of Zimbabwe recently declared its continued stand against introducing GMOs in their country with a major concern on their impact on the environment. The government of the Republic of Kenya has also continued to maintain its ban on any importation of GMOs, and Burkina Faso is yet to recover from the GM Cotton fiasco that has caused insurmountable losses to farmers….AFSA doesn’t take the struggle against GE lightly; your stand has renewed our strength and commitment to protect, conserve and safeguard Africa’s agricultural sector from selfish economic interests. Read the rest of the letter.