In this moment when it is vital to assert that Black lives matter, the U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance honors Black and Afro-Indigenous farmers, fisherfolk, and stewards of ancestral lands and water. We especially commemorate them as a vital part of our food and agriculture system – growers and workers who are creating food sovereignty, meaning a world with healthy, ecologically produced food, and democratic control over food systems.
In 2015, the U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance’s two prize winners are:
Federation of Southern Cooperatives
The Federation of Southern Cooperatives strengthens a vital piece of food sovereignty: helping keep lands in the hands of family farmers, in this case primarily African-American ones.. (read more)
&
The Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH)
The Black Fraternal Organization of Honduras (OFRANEH) was created in 1979 to protect the economic, social, and cultural rights of 46 Garifuna communities along the Atlantic coast of Honduras. At once Afro-descendent and indigenous, the Garifuna people are connected to both the land and the sea, and sustain themselves through farming and fishing…(read more)
The Food Sovereignty Prize spotlights grassroots activists working for a more democratic food system. The honorees are being recognized for promoting food sovereignty by:
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raising public awareness, organizing on-the-ground action, and/or developing and implementing programs and policies,
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recognizing the importance of collective action in bringing about social change,
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building global linkages into their work, and
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prioritizing the leadership of women, indigenous peoples, people of color, migrant workers and other food providers marginalized by the global food system.
The Food Sovereignty Prize was first awarded in 2009 as an alternative to the World Food Prize founded by “the father of the Green Revolution,” the late Norman Borlaug. While the World Food Prize emphasizes increased production through technology, the Food Sovereignty Prize champions solutions coming from those most impacted by the injustices of the global food system. In honoring those who are taking back their food systems, the Food Sovereignty Prize affirms that nothing short of the true democratization of our food system will enable us to end hunger once and for all.
The Food Sovereignty Prize is awarded by the US Food Sovereignty Alliance.
