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 CAGJ Monthly E-Newsletter | March 2, 2017

March E-News:
Join us SAT March 11:
Wild Salmon Cook-Out to Stop GE Fish
 
CAGJ HAPPENINGS
3/21 Food Justice Project Meeting
4/22: Help CAGJ help Got Green!
7/22: 11th Annual SLEE Dinner!
Intern with CAGJ!
 
TAKE ACTION
Challenge the #GlobalSeedGrab
 
CAGJ NEWS & ANALYSIS
CAGJ attending NFFC Meeting
Announcing US-South Africa Agroecology Exchange
Monsanto-Bayer Merger
 
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
Local events

 

Get Involved! Upcoming CAGJ Meetings:

Food Justice Project:
3rd Tues/month, 6:30 - 8:30, at CAGJ's office - for more info email us.
 
AGRA Watch:

time varies, for more info email us


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Blogs
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AGRA Watch's Blog

 

SAT March 11, 10:30am-1:30pm
Wild Salmon Cook-Out:
Stand with Northwest Tribes to Stop GE Fish

Join us for a salmon cook-out to stop genetically engineered fish! CAGJ is collaborating with the Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project and the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance to host a community gathering to learn more about how GE salmon threatens a cultural and ecological keystone species in our region. We will especially highlight Northwest tribal relationships to salmon, and how biotech companies are threatening treaty rights. In 2014, the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians passed a resolution opposing the introduction of GE salmon, and the Quinault Tribe is one of 12 plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the FDA for approving AquaBounty's GE salmon.

Check out the great Program! Louie Ungaro, Muckleshoot Fish Cook; Justice Bill, Muckleshoot: Honor Song and Welcome Song; Roger Fernandes, Lower Elwha Klallam, Story-teller, Artist, Native historian: Salish Salmon Story-telling; Valerie Segrest, Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project: Speaker; Pete Knutson, Loki Fish Co: Speaker; Steve Mashuda, Earthjustice: Speaker; Canoe Families: Closing Performance

Learn more: Read about CAGJ’s Campaign; Check out our Resources on GE Salmon and NW Native Resistance. We appreciate the generous support for this campaign from the Muckleshoot Tribe Charity Fund Grant Program.

PLEASE RSVP: Email [email protected]. Location: wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House, Located on the UW Campus, 4249 Whitman Court, Seattle, WA 98195 – Map and Directions. This event is FREE and open to the public. The venue is wheelchair accessible. Help us publicize! Share the Facebook Event.


CAGJ HAPPENINGS

TUES MARCH 21, 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Monthly Food Justice Project Meeting
New volunteer orientation at 6pm! Please RSVP.
FJP Meetings are a great way to get involved in CAGJ! We will be planning for our 2017 Solidarity Campaigns and our film on GE salmon - your ideas and energy are welcome! Meetings are held 3rd Tuesday/month at CAGJ’s Office in the ID, 606 Maynard Ave. S. Rm 102, Seattle. All are welcome! For more info, email Food Justice Project Co-Chair, Christina.
 
SAT APRIL 22, 10am-3pm: Celebrate Earth Day!
Help CAGJ support Got Green-a-Thon
 
Every year CAGJ supports Got Green by fundraising and door-knocking during their awesome Green-a-Thon, and this year is no different! Help CAGJ’s team, the Green Global Justice Godesses, reach our $1000 goal, to demonstrate our solidarity with one of the most effective organizations in town. Donate now, and let us know if you can join us for door-knocking the day of – no experience needed.
 
SAVE THE DATE: SAT July 22, 5 - 9PM
Announcing CAGJ's 11th Annual SLEE Dinner!
Organizing for CAGJ’s annual extravaganza has begun! We are thrilled to announce that Ari de Leña will give the Keynote! Ari operates Kamayan Farm, a vegetable, medicinal herb, and flower farm in in Snoqualmie Valley where she strives to do work that connects food, medicine, and culture. “Kamayan is a Tagalog word for eating with your hands, traditionally in a communal meal with many different dishes served on banana leaves. It is a reminder of the intimate connection between ourselves and our food, the joy of a large meal cooked with love and shared with family, and food as cultural resilience.” Read more on the Farm’s Facebook page. We are now seeking Table Captains and Sponsors – please contact Heather if you would like to support this year’s dinner – Thank you!
 
Interested in organizing? Come Intern with CAGJ!
As we gear up for the annual SLEE dinner, we are seeking spring and summer interns to help with coordination, outreach, publicity and other aspects of organizing the event. Internships require a weekly commitment of 3-5 hours, will start immediately, and can count toward academic credit for students. We seek persons who are excited about CAGJ’s mission and want to contribute to the vision of strengthening local economies and food sovereignty! Internships are unpaid. Please read about SLEE and other internships, and get info on how to apply here!
 

 TAKE ACTION
Challenge the #GlobalSeedGrab
We cannot let the World Bank and the Gates Foundation dictate agricultural policies of sovereign nations at the expense of farmers. Tell World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and Western donors: DROP THE ENABLING THE BUSINESS OF AGRICULTURE INDEX NOW!

The Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) is a project funded by the World Bank and five donors, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, that hijacks farmers’ rights to seeds and legitimatizes a vision of agro-industrial production, commercialization, and privatization (read our analysis on the particular threats the EBA poses to African agriculture here). After letters signed by over 150 groups (including CAGJ) were sent in January demanding an end to the EBA project, the World Bank incorporated some of the language in its seed section. However, the Bank’s small fix aimed at silencing criticism does not guarantee changes in these indicators or the promotion of pro-private sector seed policies and large-scale industrial agriculture. Support farmer-managed seed systems and agroecological farming: email the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and EBA donors directly to request the withdrawal of this harmful project. Share on facebook! Challenge the #GlobalSeedGrab


CAGJ NEWS & ANALYSIS

CAGJ to attend National Family Farm Coalition Membership Meeting
As members of National Family Farm Coalition, CAGJ will be attending the bi-annual Board and Membership meeting this coming Sunday – Tuesday in Washington D.C. NFFC works to ensure fair prices for family farmers, local jobs for resilient communities, and fresh foods for all. With the recent passing of NFFC ED Kathy Ozer, whose leadership in the movement was long-standing and deep, we are going to support the strategic planning in this difficult transitional process. CAGJ’s membership in NFFC affirms our commitment to changing US farm and food policy to reverse the economic devastation currently faced by our nation’s family farmers and rural communities.
 
Announcing 2017 US-South African Agroecology Learning Exchange
CAGJ/AGRA Watch is participating in the organizing and planning team for the second US-South Africa Agroecology Learning Exchange, to take place this fall. The Exchanges are one of the commitments made at our 2014 Africa-US Food Sovereignty Summit. The purpose of the Exchange is to build transnational ties amongst agroecology practitioners and grassroots organizations in the US and South Africa in order to strengthen the global food sovereignty movement. The Exchange prioritizes the participation of African American farmers and farmworkers in acknowledgement of the interconnected history of oppression and injustice – especially in relation to land – faced by African Americans and Black South Africans. During the trip to South Africa, participants will learn South African agricultural practices, exchange agroecology practices, engage in political education, and refine strategies to stop the growth of international agribusiness and land dispossession. In the context of increased corporatization of agriculture and the threat of the 6 largest transnational agribusiness corporations merging, it is especially important to share experiences, tools, and strategies for resistance. Stay tuned for more announcements!
 
What the Monsanto-Bayer Merger Means for South Africa
This past December 2016, Monsanto shareholders agreed to the sale of their company to German Agro-chemical and seed company Bayer, for $66 million US Dollars. It will be the largest ever foreign corporate takeover in US history. The newly merged company will now control 29 percent of the world’s seed markets, and 24 percent of the world’s pesticide market. AGRA Watch partner The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) with the support of the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung Foundation, has published a paper called, ‘The BAYER-MONSANTO merger: Implications for South Africa’s agricultural future and its smallholder farmers”, outlining the proposed merger. ACB is headquartered in South Africa, where Bayer and Monsanto are major actors in the seed and agrochemical industries. This deal will require approval from about 30 regulatory agencies around the world, including the South Africa’s Competition Commission. ACB explains how the Monsanto-Bayer merger is happening against the backdrop of other mega-mergers also consolidating the agrochemical and seed markets, including genetically modified seed markets. Six agro chemical giants will soon become three, as US chemical giants Dow and DuPont merge in a deal estimated to be worth US$130 billion, and China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina) and Swiss-based Syngenta merge in a deal worth around US$43 billion. According to the report, if all the mergers are approved, three corporations will control 60% of the global commercial seed market and 64% of the agrochemical market. The corporations will also be able to claim “too big to fail” status, setting the stage for future bailouts using public resources, and further reducing accountability and opportunities for democratic control of the food system. Read more on the AGRA Watch Blog.
 

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

THURS MARCH 2, 2017; 6:00-8:30 PM
Immigration 101 With Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
Join the Seattle Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs and Northwest Immigrant Rights Project for a free training for allies and service providers who are interested in learning how to support immigrants in our community. Northwest Immigrant Rights Project will discuss immigration issues, focusing on recent developments, like the recently signed executive orders, including the Muslim travel ban. Tickets are free. The event is located at the Seattle Public Library, Central at 1000 4th Ave. 
 
SAT MARCH 4, 6:00 PM
#BlackLivesMatter - March For Freedom 
People of color and Black people have been oppressed and suppressed by white privilege and white supremacy. We have nothing to lose but our chains of oppression from last 300 years+ even as we have a white nationalist president sitting in the White House. So it time to march for Freedom and say our brother and sisters of color can no longer be oppressed and suppressed and as we lose our chains in unity. We say “We are free FOREVER”. The event is free and everyone is encouraged to attend. For media only, contact 206-334-6007. More info on Facebook.
 
WEDS MARCH 8, 6:00-8:30
International Working Womxn's Day Southend Vigil & Night Walk
March 8th is International Working Womxn's Day. PARISOL, FOCS, Got Green, and the Womxn of Color and Families Marching Contingent are hosting a Vigil and Night walk for My-Linh Nguyen, a 45 year old Vietnamese mother and nail salon worker who was killed by an attacker, near her home on the Warsaw street December 15, 2016. We will have a vigil and night walk, taking back our streets, confronting violence against womxn, remembering womxn who have been killed or disappeared, and highlighting womxn resisting and lifting up the community. There will be a potluck afterwards with hot cocoa and space to build together. More info on Facebook.
 
WED MARCH 8; 6:00-9:00 PM
International Women’s Day March to Defend Reproductive Rights
Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch is a known opponent of reproductive rights. VP Mike Pence just attended an anti-abortion rally in DC. Attorney General pick Jeff Sessions is a lifelong advocate of defunding Planned Parenthood and a ban on abortion after 20 weeks. The Trump administration wants to destroy unions and allow employers to discriminate in the name of “religious freedom”. This would be devastating for women and minority workers, who hold the majority of low-pay, low-benefit jobs. We need to take action NOW to defend our reproductive, economic, and basic human rights! Tickets are free. The event is located at Cal Anderson Park at 1635 11th Ave. More info on Facebook.
 
SAT MARCH 11; 5:00-7:30
Co-ops as Communities of Resistance
There’s an overwhelming amount of work to be done resisting the hate machine that is our current government. Co-ops, as self-organized autonomous groups, are already supporting this work and the people doing it. This event is an opportunity to get to know our fellow co-opers across the city. Building on this broad community it’s an opportunity to cross-pollinate ideas about what our communities are doing, want to be doing, and intentionally aren’t doing. Tickets are free. The event is located at the FIASCO co-op house at 2306 N 65th St.
 
SAT MARCH 18; 9:00 AM-3:00 PM
Tilth Alliance Edible Plant Sale
Come out to this festive spring gardener gathering and find a huge selection of edible plant starts perfect for spring planting! Choose from a wide selection of organically, sustainably, and locally grown veggies, herbs, edible flowers, fruit shrubs, fruit trees, seeds, supplies and knowledge galore —  perfect for planting in March. Tickets are free, but plants must be purchased. The event is located at Orca K-8 School at 5215 46th Ave S. 
 
TUES MARCH 29; 7:00-8:30 PM
Climate Science on Tap: Salmon in a Time of Global Warming
The Panel presentation on salmon in a time of global warming will provide a fascinating discussion from fish and climate scientists on how the health of Pacific Northwest fish may be effected by warming water and changes in seasonal stream flow. Tickets are free. The event is located at Peddler Brewing Company at 1514 NW Leary Ave.
 

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Community Alliance for Global Justice
1322 S Bayview St, Ste 300
Seattle, WA 98144