International Farmworkers, Small Farmer Leaders Visit Gainesville

by Fred Royce

La Via Campesina leaders from Mexico, Canada and the U.S. will be meeting with interested Gainesville community members at the Civic Media Center on the evening of Jan. 29, and at the University of Florida Library East on Jan. 30. Both events are free and open to the public.

“La Via Campesina is the international movement which brings together millions of peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, women farmers, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world. It defends small-scale sustainable agriculture as a way to promote social justice and dignity. It strongly opposes corporate driven agriculture and transnational companies that are destroying people and nature,” according to its website.

“La Via Campesina comprises about 150 local and national organizations in 70 countries from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Altogether, it represents about 200 million farmers. It is an autonomous, pluralist and multicultural movement, independent from any political, economic or other type of affiliation.”

It is widely regarded as the world’s leading international rural social movement. The North America regional leaders are visiting Gainesville to share ideas and develop linkages around the issues of food sovereignty, agrarian reform and agroecology, and how these issues relate to the broader themes of climate change and social justice. We look forward to your participation in open and wide-ranging discussions!

La Via Campesina Public Meetings

Jan. 29, 7-9 pm
An Evening with La Via Campesina
Civic Media Center, 433 S. Main St. , Gainesville

Jan. 30
Food Sovereignty: A Dialogue on an Alternative Future Room 1, Library East, UF
• 9-10:30a.m.: Food Sovereignty: Struggle and concept
• 11:00–12:30: Food Sovereignty and the labor Nexus
• 1:45-3:30: Food Sovereignty, climate change and sustainable development

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