Third Meeting of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Food Sovereignty

The need to establish this Independent Forum was agreed at the Indigenous Peoples’ Global Consultation for the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) on May 29-30, 2021. Its focus is information sharing and discussion of strategies to strengthen the self-determined participation of Indigenous Peoples in UN bodies impacting Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems and Right to Food.

The 2nd meeting of the Forum was held on August 28th and included a report back from Indigenous participants of the UN Food Systems Pre-Summit in Rome and views and preparations for the UN Food Systems Summit that will be held on September 23rd in New York. Proposed topics for the 3rd meeting include:

Outcomes of the UN Food Systems Summit regarding Indigenous Peoples
Update from the World Conservation Congress (IUCN) and the CBD regarding the “30×30” policy for “protected areas”
UN FAO policy and code of conduct on pesticides; UN chemical treaties updates
And other matters of concern

This meeting is open to all Indigenous Peoples, with a special invitation to Indigenous food producers and knowledge holders, youth, and elders.

Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_H_Ny3Ws0QHupvpdkClVJxw

Interpretation will be provided in English, Spanish, Russian, French, and Portuguese. For more information contact: chris@treatycouncil.org, Saulvv@treatycouncil.org, or oskal@reindeercentre.org.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com.

International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste

Reducing food losses and waste is essential in a world where the number of people affected by hunger has been slowly on the rise since 2014, and tons and tons of edible food are lost and/or wasted every day. Globally, around 14 percent of food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 17 percent of total global food production is wasted (11 percent in households, 5 percent in the food service and 2 percent in retail).

The International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste is an opportunity to call to action both the public (national or local authorities) and the private sector (businesses and individuals), to prioritise actions and move ahead with innovation to reduce food loss and waste towards restoring and building back better and resilient-ready, food systems.

Check how you can help us through FAO, the leading agency for this International Day, and discover what you can do. Take action, start something. Stop food loss and waste. For the people. For the planet. And on Sept. 29th, join the global virtual event, where FAO and UNEP experts will share their perspectives on the issues and actions required to stem the problem of food loss and waste. Register here!

To share your event, download the logo and other social media materials in different languages, check the guide that will help you to spread the message, or just get more information, at FAO’s official page for the Observance. To learn more about how and why the UN commemorates the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, please visit un.org/en/observances/end-food-waste-day.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit congocsd.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN.

Panel discussion on Kiss the Ground documentary & regenerative agriculture

Greetings, Colleagues!
You are warmly invited to join in on a panel discussion on regenerative agriculture this coming Monday, September 13, 7 PM EDT. We have three stellar panelists lined up to discuss the documentary “Kiss the Ground.”
This event is free and open to anyone who’s interested in learning more about regenerative agriculture and how it can stabilize our local foodsheds.

Watch the documentary Kiss the Ground in advance (for free!) if you haven’t already! We will not be showing the film during our panel session, so be sure to check out the instructions below to view it ahead of time. Our panelists are Vel Scott, Stephen Cochenour, and Cody Rakes, and they’ll share some unique perspectives from urban to rural, classroom to community and beyond!

From Loretto Community’s Farm & Land Committee and Loretto Earth Network (LEN):
You may have heard of regenerative agriculture as a practical way to address climate change, but do you know what it is? Join us for a two-part educational series to learn more. All are welcome!
1. Watch the documentary Kiss the Ground at your own convenience before September 13. (See below for instructions on how to access it.)
2. On Monday, 13 September, 2021, at 7:00 pm EDT: Join us for an online panel discussion of the film via Zoom:

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89759791735?pwd=OS94L2RUR3R3bWxhdGJmR05HbVdpdz09

Meeting ID: 897 5979 1735
Passcode: 371451

Instructions on how to access the documentary Kiss the Ground:
If you have time, we encourage you to watch the full length feature version which is 1 hour 25 minutes. Here is the link:

Kiss the Ground full length

Password: viva

Some may be interested but find yourselves short on time. In that case, you have the option of watching this 45 minute educational version:

Kiss the Ground 45 min. educational

Password: schools

The panel discussion will be kick started by your questions and comments. After watching the film, please send any questions or responses to Jessie Rathburn, Loretto Earth Education and Advocacy Coordinator, at jrathburn@lorettocommunity.org.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org.

FORUM2021 Sacred Food ~ Blessed Earth

In solidarity with other NGO’s offering a strong critique of the fall UN Food Summit, FORUM2021 explores the potential of local regenerative agriculture, highlights the growing organic farming movement and offers an interfaith moral call to redressing the harm caused by agribusiness, the industrialization of the world’s food production system.

FORUM2021 explores the ancient, respectful and regenerative ways of farming practices and our spiritual relationship to food by focusing on the Earth as an interconnected web of life. A moral and spiritual voice is essential in the transition away from the industrialized, fossil fuel and chemical intensive, global agriculture system which is degrading our Earth, contributing to the climate crisis and to the extinction of species, as well as creating severe health issues for all living beings. FORUM2021 is a call to all spiritual and religious leaders and activists for a return to local, biodiverse organic food systems which regenerate soil, water and biodiversity while providing healthy sustenance for all. Learn more & register here!

Opening Prayer & Welcome

Chief Arvol Looking Horse, 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe Bundle for the Great Sioux Nation

Welcome from the Temple of Understanding

Chris Wang, Temple of Understanding Board Member

Chief Oren Lyons Keynote Address

Chief Oren Lyons, Faithkeeper of the Turtle Clan, Member Chief of the Onondaga Council of Chiefs and the Grand Council of the Iroquois Confederacy, the Haudenosaunee Peoples

Dr. Vandana Shiva Keynote Address: Reclaiming Ancient Wisdom to Protect Our Future

Dr. Vandana Shiva, Founder, Navdanya Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (India) and President of Navdanya International, world-renowned environmental thinker, activist, feminist, philosopher of science, writer and science policy advocate

International Activists on Regenerative Farming Panel

Darcy Neill, (Moderator), Temple of Understanding Board Member
Kathryn Manga, Project Coordinator, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Peasant Movement of the Philippines, Philippines
Adelita San Vicente Tello, Director of Primary Sector & Renewable Natural Resources, Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources, Mexico
Daniel Wanjama, Coordinator, Seed Saver Network, Kenya

Scientists on the Impact of Industrialized Agriculture Dialogue

Tyrone Hayes, Professor of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Faith-Based Farming in the United States Panel

Rev. Susan Hendershot, (Moderator), Interfaith Power & Light, USA
Edgar Hayes & Anne Rader, Freedom Farm Community NY
Clayton Harvey, Ndée Bikíyaa (Peoples’ Farm), AZ
Shani Mink, Jewish Farmer Network, NC
Leah Penniman, Soul Fire Farm, NY

Sacred Food from an Interfaith Perspective

Rev. Jim Antal, denominational leader, climate activist, author and public theologian, special advisor on Climate Justice to the General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ
Mary Evelyn Tucker, Senior Lecturer & Research Scholar, Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and Divinity School, Department of Religious Studies

Global Interfaith Prayer Service + Prayers and Offerings

Rev. Dr. Michael Bos
Imam Saffet Catovic
Samir Chatterjee & Steve Gorn
Rabbi Ephraim Isaac
Chief Arvol Looking Horse
Grandmother Mona Polacca
Rev. John Vaughn and more to be announced!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

[UN observance] World Pulses Day

Each year on February 10, the United Nations commemorates World Pulses Day. “Pulses, also known as legumes, are the edible seeds of leguminous plants cultivated for food. Dried beans, lentils and peas are the most commonly known and consumed types of pulses.

The nitrogen-fixing properties of pulses improve soil fertility, which increases and extends the productivity of the farmland. By using pulses for intercropping and cover crops, farmers can also promote farm biodiversity and soil biodiversity, while keeping harmful pests and diseases at bay.

Furthermore, pulses can contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing dependence on the synthetic fertilizers used to introduce nitrogen artificially into the soil. Greenhouse gases are released during the manufacturing and application of these fertilizers, and their overuse can be detrimental to the environment. Recognizing their value, on 20 December 2013, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution (A/RES/68/231) proclaiming 2016 as the International Year of Pulses (IYP). The celebration of the year, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), increased the public awareness of the nutritional and environmental benefits of pulses as part of sustainable food production.” – un.org

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com.

seeds