Global Justice Oxford

Campaigning for justice for the world's poor in Oxfordshire

food sovereignty

Oxford Real Farming Conference 2015

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For the first time the whole conference will be held under one roof (at Oxford Town Hall), with key debates on the dairy industry, flooding, soil fertility and TTIP. Speakers at this year’s conference include Robert Craig (Farmers’ Weekly Dairy Farmer of the Year and Nuffield Scholar), Dr. Elaine Ingham, (internationally acclaimed authority on the life of the soil), Neil Darwent (BBC Farmer of the Year), Prof. Mark Eisler (Chair of Global Animal Health, Bristol University), Carrie Balkcom (Exec Sec of the American Grassfed Association) and Daniela Howell (CEO of the Savory Institute) among many others.

This year’s practical stream, Farming Outside the Box, has been organized by John Turner (farmer and co-founder of the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association) and Dr. John Meadley (agricultural scientist and chair of the Pasture-Fed Livestock Association). The focus of these sessions is on farmers taking greater control over their suppliers and markets, making better use of their farm’s natural resources and addressing the resistance to chemicals that nature is developing.

See programme and book tickets

This event is not organised by WDM. We’re mentioning on our website because it promises to have something for everyone interested in farming, growing and food. Organisations such as the Land Workers Alliance and the Soil Association will have a presence at this event.

Carving up Africa at Oxford Folk Festival

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Cake in the shape of Africa being cut upAfrica was up for grabs in Oxford WDM’s latest stunt. Our activists arrived at Oxford Folk Festival with an elaborate cake in the shape of the continent and invited passers-by to compete for a slice.

It was part of the usual Folk Festival fun and games, but with a serious message: Africa is being carved up by large corporations with the connivance of the UK government.  Initiatives such as the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition sound good on the surface, but the real aim behind them is to make Africa’s resources more accessible for corporate profit. The claim is that the New Alliance will reduce hunger in Africa, but corporations such as Diageo, Monsanto and Unilever are using it to make a grab for Africa’s land, labour and natural resources.

We don’t think it’s acceptable that our own government supports this corporate takeover of African food. So we were asking passers-by to sign postcards to the Secretary of State for International Development, calling on her to withdraw UK support from the New Alliance. If you missed us on Saturday, you can write to her via our website.

High-resolution photos of the day are available on request.

Africa is so tasty!

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Yum, Africa is so tasty! Executives from corporations such as Diageo and Monsanto and celebrated the corporate carve-up of Africa with a cake…or did they? OK, we admit it, those people in suits were actually WDM activists. We were trying to highlight the way that the UK government’s Department for International Development is using aid money to help multinational corporations get a piece of Africa. The two-minute video went viral and it’s worth watching if you haven’t already seen it!

Video: Corporations celebrate new scramble for Africa

More info on our Africa campaign at www.wdm.org.uk/food

Collective solutions to the food crisis

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Town Hall room with people sitting in chairs and more people arriving.

How do we escape the grip of the supermarkets on our food-buying habits? How can communities gain control of the food they eat? Most of our January meeting was dedicated to a screening of the film Best Before: the London Food Revolution. The film touched on topics such as the global impact of our consumption habits, the power of supermarkets and the advantages of small-scale, organic farming.

The film depicted three projects in London which aim to point the way towards a healthier, more sustainable, and socially just food system.

After the film, we watched part of an interview with a speaker from the NGO Focus on the Global South, and then we discussed some of the questions  raised by the film in small groups.

The screening was part of WDM’s broader campaigning work on the issue of food sovereignty – the concept of communities taking greater control over the food they grow and consume.

Whose food? Our food!

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What’s the connection between food banks and horsemeat lasagne? Two of the biggest UK news stories of 2013 were about people not having control of their food supply. Factors such as poverty, rising food prices and complex supply chains are reducing people’s control over what they eat.

It’s time to take that control back. Whose food? Our food! is an inspiring look at alternatives to the “shut up and eat what you’re given” model. This WDM film explores both the reasons behind the current dire situation and ways in which people are reclaiming power over their food supply.

Date: Tuesday 14th January

Venue: The Long Room, Oxford Town Hall (wheelchair-accessible)

Time: 8pm

Free entry