Publicizing the downsides of industrial farming
On March 8th, 2006, women from Via Campesina Brazil were already holding sit-ins at Arcacruz to demonstrate against industrial eucalyptus farming. The women are taking the same action again this year, and are using this occasion to denounce other large businesses as well. Through the sit-ins, they wanted to alert the population to the environmental risks of growing sugar cane, including the pollution that comes from burning the residue and the respiratory diseases people experience as a result. This does not even include the social inequalities created by these businesses’ increased land ownership.
In addition, the production of ethanol being sold at low prices to the United States hardly benefits small-scale agriculture. It is produced at the detriment of Brazilian society, and it is contrary to the needs of the majority of the population. Agricultural reform is necessary to prevent the entire country from being turned into one large producer of ethanol. This reform will take place through the adoption of another agricultural model that would benefit alimentary agriculture, which is the only method of guaranteeing food sovereignty. The women of Via Campesina also denounce the monoculture practiced by big businesses, which impoverishes the soil and renders it impossible to grow anything else. The women are the big losers, since they are more numerous in the agricultural sector and more involved in food production. Overall, large agricultural enterprises own more than 200,000 hectares in Rio Grande do Sul. This land could welcome 8,000 families with “jobs and dignity returning to the countryside,” according to Via Campesina Brazil. The international farmers’ organization also speaks out against the exploitation of farm laborers in sugar cane production: “Since 2004, 15 people have died on the plantations from exhaustion.”
Ready for anything to obtain food sovereignty
On March 8th, the principal theme of the day was, “the defense of life against agro-business.” The women of Via Campesina Brazil drew up an outline that they call, “vision for small-scale agriculture,” in order to obtain the food sovereignty for which they have been fighting. Elements included are: respect for the environment, control of the means of production by the workers, and raising awareness of the importance of women and the work they do. The women of Via Campesina want a strong, diversified agriculture, one that respects the local ecosystem, and that guarantees the Brazilian people a quality food supply. They also would like to make sustainable agriculture go hand in hand with environmental protection. On April 17th, during the International Day of Farmers’ Struggle [4], they united under another slogan: “Refuse Neo-Liberal Policy! Create Food Sovereignty!”
Also read: Résonances Latin America N°13 - April 2007
