We are shocked and heartbroken. We have stacked some of the most important elected leadership positions in this country with officials who speak against not for the most marginalized people in our communities. Officials who deny climate change as both a scientific and social reality and who support Big Ag and its corporate agenda. These are not officials who believe in democracy for all, or a healthy and sustainable food system.
We are concerned not only about the policies that will be maintained or enacted, but also in the rhetoric that may be sanctioned.
We are in solidarity with:
- Those at Standing Rock and indigenous communities fighting for their land and their rights worldwide.
- Small-scale farmers, who protect our sustainable food sources, biodiversity, and soil, who often find the whims and weight of markets, trade policy, climate change, and land ownership stacked against them.
- Immigrants crossing borders looking for decent work, often after their land or jobs were stripped from them because of bad trade or agriculture policies.
- Farmworkers and other food workers who perform dangerous jobs, facing discrimination while working for low pay.
- The Black Lives Matter movement who fight against racism, much of which is institutionalized in every aspect of our society.
We will do all we can to amplify this message and to advocate for both policies and dialogue that include the voices of farmers, workers, immigrants, and indigenous people.
Let us be bold together in the face of oppression.
Posted on November 9th 2016