Acknowledging the Importance of Farmers:
Farmers aren’t just farmers, they’re businesswomen and men, stewards of the land, and
educators, sharing knowledge in their communities. Slow Food International works with
farmers all over the world, helping recognize
their importance to preserve biodiversity and
culture.
Engaging Youth: Making farming both intellectually and economically stimulating will
help make the food system an attractive career
option for youth. Across sub-Saharan Africa,
cell phones and the internet are connecting
farmers to information about weather and
markets; in the U.S., Food Corps is teaching
students how to grow and cook food, preparing them for a lifetime of healthy eating.
Image by Kim Smith
Preventing Waste: Roughly one-third of all
food is wasted—in fields, during transport, in
storage, and in homes. But there are easy, inexpensive ways to prevent waste. Initiatives like
Love Food, Hate Waste offer consumers tips
about portion control and recipes for leftovers,
while farmers in Bolivia are using solar-powered driers to preserve foods.
Recognizing the Role of Governments:
Nations must implement policies that give
everyone access to safe, affordable, healthy
food. In Ghana and Brazil government action,
including national school feeding programs
and increased support for sustainable agricultural production, greatly reduced the number
of hungry people.
Changing the Metrics: Governments, NGOs,
Protecting Workers: Farm and food workers
and funders have focused on increasing proacross the world are fighting for better pay and duction and improving yields, rather than
working conditions. In Zimbabwe, the General improving nutrition and protecting the enviAgricultural and Plantation Workers Union of ronment. Changing the metrics, and focusing
Zimbabwe (GAPWUZ), protects laborers from more on quality, will improve public, environabuse. In the U.S., the Coalition of Immokamental health, and livelihoods.
lee successfully persuaded Trader Joe’s and
Chipotle to pay the premium of a penny-perDanielle Nierenberg & Ellen Gustafson are the
pound to Florida tomato pickers.
co-founders of Food Tank: The Food Think Tank
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