Shaping our collective futures: activism, analysis, solidarity

ABSTRACT

This paper offers a scholar/activist's reflections on some key conceptual and political articulations shaping current food systems analysis to illustrate that crucial knowledge about food systems and social transformation is generated in a variety of sites and ways. Drawing on personal experiences as one of the initial leaders in the global movement, La Via Campesina, the author explores the emergence of food sovereignty, the struggles of agrarian feminists for gender parity, the recognition of women's work, and agro-ecology as sites for the generation of knowledge needed for justice, food systems transformation and the restoration of rural environments.

KEYWORDS:

• Scholar/activism
• La Via Campesina
• food sovereignty
• agrarian feminisim

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 PhD in Philosophy, University of Calgary, 1983 Thesis: ‘Rights and Interests’ – a philosophical justification for ‘positive’ human rights being an indispensable part of morality protecting those interests which are vital to the integrity and well-being of persons.

2 See ‘Nettie Wiebe: A Passionate Voice for Farmers’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r00v-F2xFJY.

3 Personal notes.

4 See ‘Peasant and Popular Feminism’ (La Via Campesina 2021) for a history and overview of the development and demands of peasant feminism in LVC. https://viacampesina.org/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/11/Peasant-and-Popular-Feminism-Publication-LVC-2021-EN.pdf.

5 For updates on civil society ongoing advocacy for gender diversity inclusion in the negotiations visit the Civil Society and Indigenous People’s Mechanism webpage. https://www.csm4cfs.org/.

6 See Edelman and Boras Political dynamics of Transnational Agrarian Movements (2016) for more discussion on the complex relationships and roles of various of movement allies, NGOs and funders.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nettie Wiebe

Nettie Wiebe, St. Andrew’s College, University of Saskatchewan, farms in the prairie region of Canada, growing organic grains and pulse crops and raising cattle. She served in elected leadership positions of the National Farmers Union (NFU) for 10 years, and was the President when the NFU became a founding member of the global Via Campesina movement. She is a member of IPES-Food (the International Panel of Experts in Sustainable Food Systems).