Support the Food March on Saturday, Oct 15th.

 


The Landworkers Alliance is calling for a march on Parliament as part of European-wide days of action. From the website:

Why are we mobilising?

Our governments aren’t doing enough to implement the kind of transition we urgently need in our food and farming systems. We need change, and we need it now. That’s why we’re bringing consumers, farmers, growers, youth, activists, change-makers and food system workers together to march in London and demand that policymakers take action.

Demands include:

  1. A legally enshrined right to food: so that everyone can access healthy, affordable and culturally-appropriate food
  2. Ambitious agricultural support policies: which support farms of all sizes in their transition to more sustainable farming practices
  3. Better livelihoods for farmers: through better regulated and fairer supply chains and markets
  4. Stand up for standards: international trade agreements that prioritise the welfare of farmers, animals, eaters and the environment in the UK and abroad
  5. Nature-friendly policies: for a major reduction of chemical pesticides and fertiliser use and to promote biodiversity, protect the environment and mitigate global warming
  6. Regulation of GMOs: to protect consumers, producers and the environment
  7. Fair income and decent working conditions: for all farmers, food producers and food system workers
  8. More support for young people entering farming: to rejuvenate the sector and revitalise rural areas
  9. More opportunities to grow and eat good food: through the provision of community spaces and education, especially in urban areas and marginalised communities
  10. Less but better meat and dairy: higher-quality livestock products which prioritise animal welfare, public health and the climate
  11. Boost domestic UK fruit and veg production: to meet everyone’s need for a healthy balanced diet and reduce reliance on imports
  12. Listen to the people: more participation of farmers, consumers and activists in political decision making.

These demands are ones we would largely support. However, we believe that a just food system will need much bigger changes- an end to capitalism, the system that determines what is produced, who profits, and who can afford it  Even with these demands are met, the majority of land will still be in the hands of the big farmers, often corporations and so-called green landowners such as the billionaire James Dyson. He made his money from inventions such as the bagless vacuum cleaner and is now investing in farming. (See: https://dysonfarming.com/). 

As anarchist communists we would like to see food production completely under the control of land workers and food provided freely to all. It is not so utopian- the Spanish Revolution showed what is possible. 

From our Land and Liberty pamphlet: 

The 1936-39 revolution in Spain provides one of the best examples of what can be achieved by workers when they take over the land. The revolution on the land was more extensive and more radical than that in the urban areas. Not only were Spain’s landowners rich and powerful but they were also notoriously conservative and authoritarian. They had opposed reform in every way, and had over the decades had financed violent suppression of both the CNT and the UGT. Collectivisation of the land was extensive covering almost two thirds of all the land in the Republican zone. In all, between five and seven million peasants were involved, the major areas being Aragon where there were 450 collectives, the Levant (the area around Valencia) with 900 collectives and Castile (the area surrounding Madrid) with 300 collectives. In the villages workshops were set up where the local trades-people could produce tools, furniture, etc. Bakers, butchers, barbers and so on also decided to collectivise. (Source: Kevin Doyle www.struggle.ws/talks/spain_feb99.html)

The essential features of collectivisation were:

·       Large landowners expropriated.

·       Voluntary participation in the collective.

·        land managed as a collective rather than dividing land up into many plots.

·       Run on libertarian communist principles, from each according to their ability and to each according to their needs.

·       Individuals and families still independent in the collective with own personal possessions.

For more info see: 

  • Land and Liberty pamphlet: https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/product/land-and-liberty/

  • Article on Green Landowners in latest Stormy Petrel: https://www.anarchistcommunism.org/product/stormy-petrel-4/

For free PDFs of the above contact londonacg@gmail.com

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