Oxfam Action Corps Minnesota

2015-06-25T12:53:00.003-05:00

It’s time for a change! We will no longer be posting on this city blog, but make sure to check out our National Blog where you can find anecdotes from your Oxfam Action Corps Organizers and dedicated volunteers. The National Blog will feature events from across the country, important action items and news from Oxfam America. We hope you will move with us!

Reminder: It's Time to Become an Action Corps City Organizer!

2015-01-23T11:18:00.001-06:00

Hello Everyone!

Let's talk about Action Corps: it is awesome. Period. No two ways about it. And luckily, it is once again that great time to join this amazing group of individuals as an Organizer!

Check out our page for more information about our locations in 16 different cities, the job description, and the application! And look below at what other Organizers have said about their experiences...

"This is leadership in practice. You can't just read a book on leadership. You have to put it into practice." --Jill Mizell, Researcher, New York

"Oxfam Action Corps has given me a ton of confidence... Gaining knowledge and being able to speak to people about the issues." --Amy L., Business Operations Analyst, Des Moines

"This has become one of the best parts of my life... I can't express enough how satisfying it is to be organizing with people who are just as committed and dependable and passionate. It is so great to have the support from the Oxfam America staff, and I've been really impressed by their accessibility, competency and friendliness." --Isaac E., Educator, New York City

Ready to join them? Apply to be an organizer or if you aren't ready yet, consider volunteering with any Action Corps in efforts to help Oxfam fight hunger and social injustices! Remember, Oxfam is here to Right the Wrong so come join us!

Keeping the Lifeline Open: The Importance of Somali Remittances

2014-05-19T22:08:00.000-05:00

Oxfam MN Action Corps was honored to be a part of the roundtable discussion for the importance of Somali remittances held May 12^th at the Safari Restaurant in Minneapolis. The event was hosted by African Development Solutions (Adeso) and featured speakers Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN-5), Compliance Officer at Kaah Express Aden S Hassan, Kristin Toretta from the U.S. Department of Treasury, and Oscar-nominated actor Barkhad Abdi. It was an informative and engaging event that had the more than 150 community members in attendance pledging support to fight back the reductions in remittance services from banks, and to strengthen United States-Somalia relationships that will contribute to Somalia’s development and stability. This is demonstrated in Representative Ellison’s bill H.R 1694 Money Remittances Improvement Act of 2013 which has been introduced the House of Representatives. There is promising support for this bill that will help many Somali families in Somalia and right here in Minnesota.

We know this for we talked and listened to many Somali-Americans that are directly benefitted by the remittances, and consequently directly affected by policies that many banks have taken to not provide this lifeline for the fear repercussions of anti-terrorist laws.

This is an issue Oxfam America and Adeso have been working on for quite some time and it was great to see how it has brought people together to make us all aware of the hardships Somali-Americans are facing with this challenge.

For more information see Oxfam America.

Oxfam MN Action Corps at Flogging Molly, First Ave. Minneapolis, March 9th 2014

2014-04-16T21:50:00.001-05:00

The Oxfam MN Action Corps tabled at the Flogging Molly concert held at First Avenue Sunday, March 9^th. It was a sold out event that showcased the Irish punk rockers spirit and commitment to the mission of Oxfam.

We were joined at the table before their set by the bassist Nathen Maxwell, who championed Oxfam’s work and supported our presence.

We asked guests at the show to sign the petition supporting women farmers, and to consider their role in the global community and what they can do to end poverty, hunger, and injustice around the world. Oxfam is always well received by First Avenue audiences and it’s great to know that there are a variety of musicians that support Oxfam.

We had shin splints from jumping up and down for nearly two hours.

We are members of their extended family as we are now part of the legion of loyal Flogging Molly fans!

Oxfam Jam for International Women's Day

2014-02-16T20:13:00.002-06:00

Celebrate International Women's Day with Oxfam Action Corps - MN on March 16th
at the Amsterdam downtown Saint Paul! Please join us for an evening of entertainment
and engagement with local musicians, speakers, activists, spoken word artists and comedians celebrating IWD.

Our goal is to raise awareness of women's efforts locally AND globally,

funds for Oxfam America’s ongoing disaster relief efforts AND
our dedication to ending hunger, poverty and injustice!

LaDonna Redmond and her organization Campaign for Food Justice Now understands that food justice goes beyond nutrition, exploring the intersection of the food movement with social justice themes race, class, gender, and the use of food as a weapon. CFJN is fighting for reform of the agriculture system through community-based solutions, engaged advocacy, and social change. It confronts underlying themes of social justice within the food movement through community-based solutions, promoting social change, and engaged advocacy.

Liz McMann is the Consumer Affairs Manager at Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op. She holds a master’s degree in holistic health studies from St. Catherine University and is a Master Food Preserver through UW-Extension. Her blog, foodsnobberyhobbery, shares her experiences with gardening, cooking and baking from scratch for vegetarian, gluten free and vegan diets, eating local and organic, and food budgeting.

Cadence & the Wolf is a rock band featuring four piece vocals with rock n roll guitar riffs from Minneapolis. They’ve been together since meeting at the Girls Rock n Roll Retreat in 2007. They blend a unique sound with ideals of unity and female empowerment.

Beau Koo Jacks are keeping Mardi Gras going strong in St Paul! Founded in 2002 by Tom Zosel, John Eric Thiede and Paul Lagos, the BKJs are a tribute to the great New Orleans rhythm and blues sounds of the 50′s and 60′s.
Oceanna Snyder is a singer/songwriter from St. Paul, MN finishing her studies in music composition at McNally Smith College of Music this spring.

The Splendid End consists of music written by London-born Guy Low specifically for locally-seasoned singer Amy Buchanan’s powerful, sumptuous voice. Together with guitarist Darren Harff, drummer Sam Ridenour, and keyboard Ricky Carlson, The Splendid End’s smoky, lascivious vibe and provocative lyrics combine for an aurally magical experience.

              Local legend Willie Murphy has been writing, performing, recording and producing Blues/R&B music for over 30 years. His 1969 collaboration with folk/blues legend “Spider” John Koerner, “Running, Jumping, Standing Still” is still acclaimed as an all-time folk/blues classic. Throughout the 70s and into the 80s, Willie and the Bees defined live R&B/soul music. Willie and the Angel Headed Hipsters are as funky as ever. You will want to DANCE the night away!!!

               Roger Peterson is a stand up guy and comedian from Brewster, MN who has lived/performed in Los Angeles, CA, Albuquerque, NM and currently produces comedy showcases in Coon Rapids, MN! He will be introducing the local humor of Rana May, Mandy Weeks, and Jenn Shaal.

You know Oxfam, you love Oxfam, now lead Oxfam in your hometown

2014-01-29T08:37:00.006-06:00

Leadership opportunity: Organize in your community to end global hunger – join the Oxfam Action Corps!

Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization, invites you to play a leading role in the Oxfam Action Corps, an exciting grassroots effort to stand up to poverty, hunger, and injustice around the world – starting right in your community. The Oxfam Action Corps is a group of trained grassroots advocates in fifteen US cities who organize with other local volunteers in support of our GROW campaign for policies that will save lives, defend the rights of women and farmers, and protect communities worldwide from rising food prices and climate change. It includes a free national advocacy and leadership training for select participants. You will gain leadership skills, have fun, and change the world!

Sign-up by February 14 to apply for Oxfam’s free four-day leadership training in Washington D.C. April 5-8, 2014.

"This is leadership in practice. You can't just read a book on leadership. You have to put it into practice." - Jill Mizell, Researcher, New York

“Oxfam Action Corps has given me a ton of confidence… Gaining knowledge and being able to speak to people about the issues.” - Amy L., Business Operations Analyst, Des Moines

"This has become one of the best parts of my life… I can't express enough how satisfying it is to be organizing with people who are just as committed and dependable and passionate. It is so great to have the support from the Oxfam America staff, and I've been really impressed by their accessibility, competency and friendliness." – Isaac E., Educator, New York City

View and share the short video below, highlighting the great work done by the Action Corps.

Our Voices Have Been Heard: Coca-Cola Agrees to Zero Tolerance Policy for Land Grabs

2014-01-29T08:37:00.002-06:00

Here is a great post from the Action Corps in the San Francisco Bay area, highlighting our work and success with the campaign!

Original post can be found at: http://sfbay-oxfamactioncorps.blogspot.com/

Our Voices Have Been Heard:

Coca-Cola Agrees to Zero Tolerance Policy for Land Grabs

Ladies and Gentlemen, our hard work is paying off! All of our hours spent volunteering, campaigning, speaking out, and signing petitions is showing fruition. Over 225,000 people called for action to prevent land grabs and Coca-Cola has heard us. The food and beverage giant Coca-Cola has agreed to respect and protect the land rights of indigenous communities from which it sources its sugar. Specifically, Coca-Cola has agreed to:

A zero tolerance policy on land grabs
A “know and show” policy relating to being held accountable and aware of land rights and conflicts within its supply chain
To support responsible agriculture investment and to advocate for governments and others to tackle land grabbing;

Sugar production requires a vast amount of land and is currently at an all time high triggering land conflicts and abuse. Coca-Cola is the largest sugar producer in the world making this news all the more amazing. Coca-Cola is the first beverage and food company to take such a stand, but should not be the last. For more information on this breaking news visit politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org

Our mission and work does not end here. PepsiCo and Associated British Foods are some of the largest sugar producers in the world and as such we are urging them to follow in Coca-Cola’s footsteps and make a change in relation to the allowance of land grabs within their supply chains. In order to do this we need your help.

What Can You Do to Stop This?

Start by signing Oxfam's current petition to urge Pepsi-co and Associated British Foods to follow Coca-Cola’s example and hold themselves accountable for the land and human rights atrocities occurring in their supply chains. These huge companies have the market power to pressure their suppliers into committing to zero tolerance land grab policies and you have the power to pressure these food and beverage giants into stepping up and standing against land grabs. Make sure your voice is heard.

Then share the following messages:

Via Twitter

Tell @PepsiCo & #ABF to take action against land grabs! #BehindTheBrands

Via Facebook

Post the following message to PepsiCo's Facebook page

Stop land grabs! Tell PepsiCo and ABF—some of the biggest buyers of sugar in the world—to make sure their sugar doesn’t lead to land grabs that force poor farmers and their families off their land. #BehindTheBrands!

Typhoon Haiyan: Relief and Rehabilitation

2014-01-29T08:36:00.001-06:00

This week, we are sharing a post from Oxfam Action Corps NYC volunteer Nikko Viquiera. Read on for his personal take on the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan and the steps towards recovery.

Originally posted at http://www.oxfamactioncorpsnyc.org/2013/12/typhoon-haiyan-relief-and-rehabilitation.html

When news of a super typhoon about to hit central Philippines started coming out last month, many Filipinos, including me, shrugged it off and went on with our regular schedule, knowing that country gets an average of 22 typhoons annually. A day after the typhoon came; news outlets reported less than a hundred dead people. People thought it could have been worse and were glad that it wasn’t as big of a tragedy as other major typhoons have been in the past.

Days later, nothing could have prepared us for the breadth and depth of the devastation caused by typhoon Haiyan. To date, over 5,000 people and counting are dead and 10 million other Filipinos have been affected in one way or another.

As a former Program Officer for Jesuit Volunteers Philippines (JVP), I used to visit volunteers in Samar, one of the hardest hit regions by the typhoon. JVP sends volunteers to marginalized communities around the country to serve as educators, youth formators and community organizers. One such community is Lawaan in Eastern Samar. It was a small, quiet town by the sea, where many fish and farmed for a living. I would visit the parish school where volunteers where assigned as educators for high school students. The community would always be very welcoming, serving me the best food and accommodation they had to offer when they did not have much.

One afternoon, I remember some of the students in the Parish school invited me to ring the 6:00 pm bell. We climbed the bell tower beside the Church, just as the sun was beginning to set. As I rang the bells that echoed through the town, the sun began to set on the people going home after a day’s work, on the children playing in the streets and the coconut trees that stood as tall as the bell tower.

Today, most of the town has been destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan. The once mighty coconut trees have fallen, along with many houses, the school and the church. A more recent picture shows that only the bell tower remains standing amidst a sea of debris and destruction.

And so it is for many other towns ravaged by the typhoon in Eastern Samar, Palawan and Cebu. Dead bodies are everywhere, waiting for surviving relatives to recognize and claim them. Just this week, 120 bodies were discovered under the San Juanico Bridge, the longest one in the country. Reports describe residents walking around aimlessly like zombies. They are dazed and confused, with no work to do and no house to go home to. As such, many have flown to cities such as Manila in search of jobs, anything to get away from the rubble of their previous lives, only to find themselves homeless and jobless in a city that can be as unkind and apathetic as a typhoon.

Yet in the darkness of the devastation shines the generosity of people. More developed countries such as the US, Japan, Australia and the United Kingdom have pledged millions of dollars in relief. Relief agencies such as Oxfam, Red Cross and Catholic Relief Services were quick to respond and have been present in the region since Day 1.Oxfam Pilipinas, in particular, through the generous donations of people all over the world, has been working to provide clean water and sanitation to victims of the typhoon. Individuals and small groups have organized themselves and made efforts to raise funds for the victims of the typhoon. In Manila, people have offered to take turns feeding and keeping those, who left their homes in search of livelihood, stranded in the airports company.

But as news of the typhoon and its deadly effects begin to fade in the news, the more difficult task of rebuilding and rehabilitation is just starting. How does one rebuild thousands of houses, roads and structures from the ground up, all at the same time? How do we bring back livelihood to towns where even trees no longer stand? How do we begin to bring back hope to those who are still counting their dead and their losses? How do we begin anew?

A month has passed since the typhoon killed thousands of people and left survivors hungry, homeless and jobless. And yet many groups and individuals continue to work in the Haiyan areas, this time with a focus on rehabilitation. Oxfam, for example, has distributed rice seeds to rural areas to help farmers earn income again.

Many have pointed to the resilience of the Filipino people to withstand any tragedy as the main key to rehabilitation. But as Christmas nears, and the tenuous task of rehabilitation unfolds before us, we realize that resilience is not enough. We also need critical minds, calm spirits and skilled, tireless hands that move together like waves in strength and unison.

Oxjam

2013-12-06T14:05:00.001-06:00

Jam with Oxfam in February 2014!

Come join us at the Oxjam Music Festival, an unforgettable evening featuring both the music of local artists and information about Oxfam’s work to hold food and beverage companies accountable to farmers in developing countries.

Oxfam is tackling the issue of land grabs – the taking of land from farmers and indigenous peoples by big companies. This land is then often taken out of agricultural production, in countries where people struggle with obtaining enough food to eat. To learn more about the impact of land grabs on farmers, please read our World Food Day 2013 blog, further below.

We need your help to make Oxjam Minneapolis a success! We are looking for volunteers to help with planning and spreading the word on social media. Please join us for our next monthly meeting at 7pm on Dec. 12, at the Common Roots Café (back meeting room) in Minneapolis. Let us know what your skills are and how you would like to assist! You can reach us at (612) 293-9831 or minnesota@oxfamactioncorps.org . Together, we can positively impact farmers in developing countries!

World Food Day - Land Grabs

2013-10-07T11:55:00.001-05:00

WORLD FOOD DAY 2013: LAND RIGHTS, LAND GRABS, AND BEHIND THE BRANDS

Brett Smith, Oxfam Action Corps - MN, Volunteer

What is World Food Day?

World Food Day celebrates the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). On October 16, 1945, the nations of the world determined that “the goal of freedom from want of food, suitable and adequate for the health and strength of all people can be achieved.” We still seek that goal and, although some progress has been made, far too many people in the world remain hungry and many (up to 80 percent) of the chronically hungry are farmers.

This year, Oxfam is using the occasion of World Food Day to begin a new campaign to fight hunger and injustice through an attack on “land grabs.”

What are “Land Grabs”?

Hunger remains a problem, in part, because small farmers around the world, who grow food to feed themselves and their communities, are being pushed off the land by large agribusiness projects focused on selling to the global market. Often these projects take over land without including proper protections for the farmers already farming this land. The key principle of “free informed prior consent (FPIC)” is not observed and property rights, particularly for communities, indigenous peoples, and women are often not recognized or enforced. When people already occupying and using the land are removed without their consent, that is a “land grab.”

While the history of land grabs goes well back into colonial times, the recent surge and instability in food prices, especially the spike in prices in 2008, has accelerated demand for land as richer countries seek food security and investors seek profits. This price increase, along with population growth, rising middle class food demands, and climate instability has put increasing pressure on small farmers around the world. In the past decade an area of land eight times the size of the UK has been sold off globally as land sales have rapidly accelerated. This land could feed a billion people. Many of the foreign purchases, perhaps 60 percent, are occurring in countries with significant hunger problems. Too often the land is taken out of production for local needs and used for growing international commodities or simply held unused as an investment asset.

Land grabs should not be confused with positive investments in small scale local food production. Well targeted investment, regardless of the source, can produce, for example, greater productivity, entrance into new markets, access to knowledge and market information, and lower borrowing costs. Investments in support services, such as finance, trading, technical support, transport and storage, infrastructure can be critical in helping local producers increase their productivity and incomes. This kind of investment, in contrast to land grabs, should be encouraged.

For a close look at the complex issues surrounding land grabs and agricultural development, watch the movie “Land Rush” either at the upcoming World Food Day Event (Oct. 16, 2013) or on YouTube. This excellent film examines in depth a case study of a land acquisition project in Mali and is well worth watching.

How Do Land Grabs Fit Into Oxfam’s “Behind the Brands” Campaign?

As we know from the past successes of Oxfam’s “Behind the Brands” campaign, we have significant power if we join together in the marketplace as consumers. So this month Oxfam is kicking off a new campaign to combat land grabs through the power of consumer voices and actions.

A significant portion these land grabs stems from the global demand for three basic commodities: palm oil, soy for both food and fuel, and sugar. While soy has the largest land footprint, and palm oil accounts for the largest number of land deals, sugar is the focus of this Oxfam campaign because it has the second largest footprint in land acquisition and because over 60 per cent of the sugar grown is directly used in food and beverages. This makes it a good target for consumer based pressure. Three companies account for a significant portion of this sugar production: Coca-Cola is the world’s largest sugar purchaser, while PepsiCo and Associated British Foods (ABF), home of Ovaltine and Twinings among other brands, follow close behind, with ABF being especially significant in Africa. This campaign will focus especially on these three companies.

Respect for the land rights of small farmers and indigenous peoples was one of the important criteria which Oxfam used to assess corporate impacts in its “Behind the Brands” campaign. All three of the targeted companies scored very badly on this criterion. Their policies are very weak on land protection and their supply chains are essentially hidden from view so it is impossible to know whether the sugar purchases they make have come from land grab type acquisitions.

What is Oxfam Asking?

The ask can be summed up as KNOW, SHOW, AND ACT. Companies must KNOW how the sugar they produce or source through suppliers impacts communities’ and small farmers access to land and land rights; they must SHOW in a transparent way where the sugar they grow or purchase comes from and who grows it; and they must ACT by committing to zero tolerance for land grabs.

What You Can Do

1. Attend the Oxfam World Food Day Celebration to learn more about the issue by watching and discussing the film “Land Rush” with other Oxfam folks.

https://worldfoodday-oxfamactioncorpsmn.eventbrite.com/

2. Sign the Oxfam petition regarding land grabs either at the World Food Day event or online at behindthebrands.org.

3. Share your actions on social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

4. Learn more by going to oxfamamerica.org

Transportation on Tap: Food and Transit

2013-08-09T10:54:00.001-05:00

Last night the Oxfam Action Corps - MN partnered with Transit for Livable Communities (TLC) for their monthly "Transportation on Tap" event at The Republic.

Our very own Matt Malecha was asked to speak on the nexus of food and transportation: how does our transportation system affect our food supplies, and how does the conventional big-ag food system affect our transportation system?

Both locally and around the world, the poor are hit the hardest by transportation and food costs.

We have hope that by partnering with organizing such as TLC, we can raise awareness on how the poorest of the poor are affected by our food and transportation systems.

Eat for Equity and Oxfam Action Corps MN

2013-07-31T15:12:00.002-05:00

On July 20th, Eat for Equity had their first festival, on a beautiful farm in Wisconsin in support of all the great work they do. If you're not familiar with E4E, it's an organization worth knowing about. This is a group that every month hosts a meal, prepared together by volunteers, that is a time not only to socialize but to support an organization doing worthy work. Each month there is a designated group that receives the money raised by the meal. E4E is growing and expanding to more cities, and the festival was a way to celebrate and support that growth. Great bands, good conversation, delicious food, the chance to enjoy the beauty of nature-what more does one need? E4E has been a great supporter of Oxfam and we were so happy to have the chance to show how much that support is appreciated by giving some back. We even had the chance to put the Oxfam stamp on the trailer that is being set up to take E4E on the road so the message of the importance of coming together over a fresh meal made from fresh ingredients can spread.

We Spoke, They Listened! Exciting Progress from Three of the Worlds Largest Chocolate Companies!

2013-04-07T23:45:00.000-05:00

Mars, Nestle, and Hershey's Moving Towards Sustainable, Ethical Chocolate!

Oxfam Action Corps of MN has spent the last three months gathering petitions and raising awareness for more sustainable and ethical cocoa production. Four Companies have been of target interest and three have already responded! Nestle, Mars and Mondelez have been brought to light by Oxfam America's Behind the Brands Campaign and Hershey's has been of interest through our work with Global Exchange.

Mars and Nestle have responded to Oxfam with commitment to be more involved with how women are treated in their cocoa supply chains, to commit to a plan of action, to work to sign on to the UN Women’s Empowerment Principles, and to work with industry organizations to address gender issues. (Learn more about their commitments here.) We are very excited with the positive impact this will have on so many lives of women and communities around the world! Thank you so much for contributing to this important movement!

However, we must continue to apply pressure to Mondelez who have yet to respond. Help us maintain the momentum by calling on Mondelez International (maker of products like Oreos), to follow suit. Please Add your voice today.

Hershey Commits to Use Some Fair Trade Chocolate in Products!

Hershey has recently announced its commitment to use some fair trade chocolate in some of its products. Specifically, according to Global Exchange, Hershey “announced its next step toward 100% certified sustainable cocoa by committing to source cocoa through three of the world’s most recognized cocoa certifying organizations, including Fair Trade USA.” Fair Trade USA is a third-party organization that certifies that the farmers in developing countries who are harvesting food, are paid a fair wage for their labor.

Thank you for the work that you have done to pressure Hershey to take this major step! Thank you for attending “The Dark Side of Chocolate” documentary viewing in February, and spreading the word about the existence of child labor in Africa, within the chocolate industry. Thank you for signing petitions to Hershey, in which you recommended that it eliminate child labor in its chocolate supply chain and develop fair trade chocolate bars.

It is because of your actions and the actions of like-minded activists that Hershey has committed to use some fair trade chocolate in some of its products! Your work is truly an example of the power that each of us has to be a changemaker and create a better world for our neighbors in developing countries.

You can access Global Exchange’s full article about Hershey at http://www.globalexchange.org/blogs/fairtrade/2013/03/22/victory-hersheys-choose-fair-trade/ . We are supportive of Global Exchange’s efforts to monitor Hershey’s next steps.

Support Women, Support the World

2013-03-25T14:53:00.000-05:00

International Women's Day (8th March) has been celebrating the achievements of women for over 100 years. This year, Oxfam strengthened its efforts to amplify the voices of women small scale farmers and producers, so that their rights to equality and self-empowerment are realized.

Here is Minnesota Oxfam Action Corps celebrated this important day with two great events. We started the party on March 6 with Project Food Security and Interdisciplinary Perspectives in International Development, two student groups from the University of Minnesota, by hosting an exciting panel discussion. We had 3 tremendous women speak who shared their stories and experiences.Together the speakers wove ideas that gave a broad overview of the current status of women farmers, highlighted personal experiences related to the struggles of women farmers in Africa, and empowered everyone in the audience to take action in their own lives.

Thank you so much to our panelists:

Nancy Johnson, applied economist

Harriet Oyera, community activist on issues of food and environmental justice
Emily Torgrimson with Eat for Equity

March 8 brought the official date of International Women's Day,and Oxfam Action Corps Minnesota joined other action corps in a day of chocolate! What better way to honor women than to raise awareness about women cocoa farmers.

Volunteers from the Action Corps spent the day near the University of Minnesota, talking to people about the new Behind the Brands Campaign and the need to call on chocolate companies to treat women cocoa farmers with fairness and justice. It was fun to hand out candy bars-after all, who doesn't like chocolate. The great music we had also made for a fun atmosphere. There was a real message to the day though, and that is that as consumers we need to use our voice. A huge thanks to all the volunteers who came out and supported our action!

More than 60,000 people have signed the petition calling on Mars, Incorporated, Mondelēz International, and Nestlé to respect women cocoa farmers!

Have you joined the movement yet?

Take action

Corporate Food Campaign Launched!

2013-02-26T17:07:00.001-06:00

Major food and beverage companies, and those they buy from, employ millions of people in poor countries to grow and produce their products. Because of their global reach and influence, these companies could play a big role in reducing poverty, hunger, and inequality. But right now, they’re not doing enough. Oxfam spent 18 months looking closely at how the 10 biggest food companies—Coca Cola, Danone, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Mars, Mondelez, Nestlé, Pepsico, Associated British Foods (ABF), and Unilever—report that they do business. Then, we created an easy-to-use scorecard—a “behind the brands” look—comparing and contrasting companies’ policies and commitments. We discovered that all 10 need to do a whole lot more to support farmers, communities, and our planet. Even big companies care what customers think. And that’s where you come in. You don’t need to stop buying your favorite products to make a difference. Instead, make your voice heard. Check out the scorecard. Get the facts. Then use your power as a consumer to tell companies exactly what needs to change.

Here in Minnesota the Oxfam Action Corps visited General Mills to ask them to “Help End Poverty!”

The world’s largest food companies have a lot of power – but you have more. If their consumers speak up, they have to listen. Tell them to do their part to fix the broken food system!

Act Local, Think Global!

2013-01-29T13:23:00.001-06:00

Support Women Farmers
Fight Global Hunger

Build a Better Food System

Join the Oxfam Action Corps!

www.oxfamactioncorps.org

Advocate in your community on behalf of millions worldwide

Free spaces are available at training April 13-16, 2013 – Apply now!

ð Are you concerned that the people who grow the world’s food—many of whom are women—cannot afford to feed their own families? And that one in eight people goes to bed hungry every night even though the world produces enough food for everybody?

ð Do you want to take action in your city to achieve policies to sustainably feed a growing population and empower poor people to earn a living, feed their families, and thrive?

ð Are you willing to reach out to others in your community to hold governments and businesses accountable for the impact of their policies and practices on the environment and global food security?

Oxfam America, an international relief and development organization, invites you to join the Oxfam Action Corps, an exciting effort to cultivate grassroots leaders and political change.

Oxfam Action Corps volunteers work closely with Oxfam staff to engage their community and elected officials. We will provide training and support throughout a one-year time commitment. You'll meet amazing activists, build community, and drive political solutions.

We are recruiting for the Oxfam Action Corps in these cities:

Albuquerque, NM	Columbus, OH	Minn./St Paul, MN
Austin, TX	Des Moines, IA	New York City, NY
Boston, MA	Indianapolis, IN	Philadelphia, PA
Burlington, VT	Kansas City, MO	San Francisco, CA
Chicago, IL	Madison, WI	Seattle, WA

Here is what previous Oxfam Action Corps volunteers said:

“Oxfam Action Corps has given me a ton of confidence… gaining knowledge and being able to speak to people about the issues.” Amy , Business Operations Analyst, Des Moines

“I liked it, loved it, actually. I now have a better appreciation for activism and I do believe that it can really make a difference!” Debby, Graduate Student, VT

"This has become one of the best parts of my life… I can't express enough how satisfying it is to be organizing with people who are just as committed and dependable and passionate." – Isaac., Educator, New York City

Sign-up by February 14 at:

www.oxfamactioncorps.org

Oxfam's Food Company Campaign

2013-01-02T14:18:00.001-06:00

Lifting the Label on the Worlds Largest Food Producers

Whether in a small or large degree, food companies touch almost every aspect of the value chain -farmers, laborers, traders, and consumers - cooks, eaters, promoters, chefs, and retailers. And while everyone has to eat, and most people in our society love certain brands, we often know little about what goes on behind the label. At Oxfam MN's last monthly meeting, we were lucky enough to have Jim French, Oxfam America's Regional Advocacy Lead and and Kansas farmer, join us for a preview of one of Oxfam's newest campaigns.

Oxfam's Food Company Campaign will work to "lift the label" to see how food companies rate when it comes to fair labor standards, sustainability practices, empowerment of women, and land and water grabs. Oxfam has spent the last two years diligently investigating the ten largest food companies in the world.

The question the campaign seeks to answer -

Does company X help ensure everyone has enough to eat now and in the future?

The overall goal of the campaign-

To ensure food and beverage companies’ policies and practices are helping everyone reach a future of food security.

List of Companies

Company	Annual total revenues	Forbes 2000 ranking (food and beverage brands) (April 2012)
1. Nestle	90.3 billion USD	1
2. PepsiCo	66.5 billion USD	2
3. Unilever	60.2 billion USD	4
4. Kraft (Mondelez)	55.4 billion USD	5 (combined firm)
5. Coca-Cola	44.3 billion USD	3
6. Mars	30.0 billion USD	Not ranked
7. Danone	25.0 billion USD	6
8. Associated British Foods	17.2 billion USD	8
9. General Mills	15.0 billion USD	7
10. Kellogg’s	13.2 billion USD	9

Together in the meeting, we discussed the 5 main points of interest that have been inspected in each of the ten companies. These 5 points all broadly make up our food system. We seek to secure and/or improve the impact large scale food producers have on these areas.

1. Women

How does company X help ensure women, who produce much of the world’s food, are empowered to grow or buy enough food to eat?

GOAL: To ensure that food and beverage companies empower women as farmers, workers, and members of local communities to claim their rights and grow or to buy enough food to eat;

2. Land and Water

How does company X contribute to accelerating or resolving the global scramble for land and water?

GOAL: To ensure that food and beverage companies adopt responsible investment and sourcing policies and practices in relation to land and water to prevent land and water grabs.

3. Farmers and Workers

How does company X contribute to supporting or undermining the livelihoods of the Z million people who help get our food from the ground to our stores?

GOAL: To ensure that food and beverage companies invest in the productivity, resilience and sustainability of small food producers and enforce responsible labor and sourcing policies, which support a living income and safe working conditions for the employees and farmers impacted by their supply chains.

4. The Planet

How does company X contribute to sopping up or preserving our scarce planetary resources in the face of climate change?

GOAL: To ensure that food and beverage companies use resources sustainably and responsibly and address the environmental impacts of their business models particularly as they relate to climate change, water availability and the implications for small farmers.

5. Transparency

How successfully does company X disclose or obscure its policies, sourcing practices and lobbying activities to ensure they are responsible, fair and beneficial to global food security?

GOAL: To ensure that food and beverage companies are transparent and responsible in their business practices, policies and corporate influence so that they can be accountable for their impacts particularly as they relate to global food security.

The campaign is set to launch in March with a focus on the first area of interest: Women. The company "scorecards" will be made public and Oxfam Action Corps MN hopes to raise as much local momentum as possible. The released information will be controversial, but we are not working towards a global boycott, rather an exposing of truth, and a mass call for change. The date of release will be set in conjunction with International Women's Day. Oxfam organizers all over the world will share a unified action and message, calling for action for fairness for women and small farmers in food production. Due to the controversy surrounding this campaign the details for the launching event are still highly confidential. In the mean time, let us know your thoughts on these five issues, and how you think they can most effectively be brought to light?

Liz Harper

Don't be Lame, Save Foreign Aid!

2012-12-20T16:18:00.002-06:00

Curious what people mean when they talk about the "Lame Duck" session in Congress?

According to Wikipedia, in the literal sense "lame duck" refers to a duck which is unable to keep up with its flock, making it a target for predators. How this term crossed over into politics is a mystery to us but a lame duck session of Congress occurs whenever Congress meets after an election but before the next term begins with newly elected officials. Lame duck officials (those not coming back to Congress) tend to have less political power, as other elected officials and are less inclined to cooperate with them. Lame ducks are also in a position of not having to face consequences for their own actions in subsequent elections so this gives them the freedom to sometimes make unpopular decisions.

Now that Congress has returned for a lame duck session and are focusing attention on the budget, Oxfam has a clear agenda this session: no more cuts to foreign aid. Voters lobbied on Capitol Hill, wrote letters to Congress, and signed petitions to illustrate why foreign aid is important to thousands of people around the country.

On December 12 and 13, Minnesota Oxfam Action Corps representatives visited the offices of four Minnesota legislators: Representatives Keith Ellison and Betty McCollum and Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken. Jim French, Oxfam Great Plains Regional Advocacy Lead, and Kim Kokett attended all four meetings, with Brett Smith and Matt Malecha joining them for two meetings each.

In each meeting, the Oxfam message centered on support for adequate funding for the Fiscal Year 2013 International Affairs budget. It was pointed out that the Senate and House have radically different budget levels with the Senate budget at a level about $4 billion higher than the House. Our message was to support the Senate budget bill and reject the inadequate House approach, which was based on a budget proposal put forward by Republican Representative Paul Ryan.

The House proposal is particularly harmful to international assistance because it focuses on cutting some of the programs that are most effective in building capacity and resilience among aid recipients, thereby harming the potential for genuine self-sufficiency in the future. Some of the programs impacted would include “Feed the Future,” a USAID initiative that fights hunger by supporting small scale farmers; the Global Climate Change Initiative, which enables vulnerable communities to build resilience to the impacts of climate change such as drought and flood; and the Millenium Challenge Corporation, which rewards countries that promote democracy, human rights, economic freedom, and the rule of law.

A second message was the request that international aid funding be treated fairly in any solution to the “fiscal cliff” issue or in any sequestration of funds that would follow the cliff if a solution is not found. The Oxfam representatives made the point that the International Affairs budget is actually a tiny part of overall federal spending, amounting to less than one per cent. We acknowledged that we have a responsibility to educate the public regarding this reality as many (most) people estimate a much larger budget impact for international
aid.

A third important point was to alert these Congressional offices to an event to be planned for International Women’s day, in early March. All expressed an interest in participating in some way in that event.

The four Congressional members whose offices we visited are all strong allies in the fight to solve global poverty and injustice. The staffers that we met with were invariably supportive of our concerns and interested in building and/or maintaining strong connections. They were all interested in being informed of any events that we were planning and in hearing ways that their offices could support our efforts. The only consistent concern expressed was the difficult fiscal situation that Congress faces and the necessity to come to solutions that may not be what everyone, including the representatives themselves, would choose.

Here are the names and contact information for the staffers that we met with. If you have concerns or questions related to Oxfam issues and Congressional action, we encourage you to contact them:

At Representative Ellison’s office we met with Bass Zanjani, Deputy District Director, phone 612-522-1212. He indicated, however, that the person most directly involved in our issues and activities would be Aya Johnson, Community Representative, phone 612-522-1212, email AYA.JOHNSON@MAIL.HOUSE.GOV. She was not available to meet that day.

At Senator Franken’s Office, we met with Rachel Friedlander-Holm, Deputy State Scheduler and International Issues staffer in the Minnesota Office. Her phone is 651-221-1016 and her email is Rachel_Friedlander-Holm@FRANKEN.SENATE.GOV.

At Representative McCollum’s Office we met with Chao Lee, Senior District Office Representative, phone 651-224-9191.

At Senator Klobuchar’s Office we met with Greg Bohr, Outreach Director, phone 612-727-5220.

Written by: Brett Smith and Liz Harper

Packing Meals with “Feed My Starving Children”

2012-12-11T00:50:00.000-06:00

On Saturday morning, December 8, 2012, eight volunteers from Oxfam Action Corps Minnesota helped pack food for hungry children at the Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) facility in Eagan, MN. Joining a number of other groups and totaling 54 volunteers, we helped pack over 13,000 meals for kids in Haiti or Nicaragua. According to FMST, this is enough food to feed 38 children for a year.

FMSC is a Christian non-profit organization that provides food to children in nearly 70 countries around the world. The organization believes in the right of every child to be fed a nutritious meal; that our lives are enriched when we give of our time and resources to help those in need; and that cooperation with other faith based and humanitarian organizations maximizes the ability to get food to hungry children. They also believe in using lots of volunteer help to pack the food and in making the whole experience a good time.

The FMSC approach is to create simple and nutritious food packets which can be easily packed and shipped anywhere in the world. Our experience in this food packing was enlightening, efficient, and fun. Each food packet (called a Manna Pack) contains a carefully measured portion of rice, soybeans, dried vegetables, and a vitamin mix. These ingredients are then placed in a sealed plastic bag and shipped. Our Oxfam team worked together in assembly line fashion to measure the ingredients, fill the plastic bag, weigh it, and then seal it for placing in the food boxes. Working together our Oxfam team alone managed to create almost 2,000 meals in a bit under two hours.

We also had fun! We all agreed that we looked really good in full hair nets. We enjoyed yelling at the “rice guy” when he put a gram or two too much or too little in the packet. We bragged to each other about how we had the cleanest packing table in the place. We grooved on the loudspeaker music background – my personal favorite being “I Get Around” by the Beach Boys. We talked about Oxfam’s plans, the political situation, and our own plans among other things.

All in all this was a great experience. We are grateful to FMSC for providing such a fun and productive volunteer experience and for the great work that they do around the world in getting food to the hungry, and to our Oxfam organizers for making our work possible. We would encourage others, either as individuals or groups, to link up with FMSC or other organizations involved in providing food to the hungry. It makes for a great team building experience and adds an important direct service aspect to Oxfam’s work. This was a great way to spend a couple of hours on a Saturday morning.

Brett S (smithb55419@yahoo.com), @smithb55419

Doha, COP 18, and The Other Fiscal Cliff

2012-12-03T17:26:00.001-06:00

There is alot happening right now in Doha, Qatar that will affect how the global community will deal with efforts to slow climate change and assist vulnerable communities in dealing with the impacts already being felt. Oxfam is in Doha. This post provides a brief background on the COP 18 process, the major efforts of Oxfam at the conference, and offers some suggestions as to where we go from here.

Background

Ever since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, when 194 countries (including the U.S.) signed on to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), the parties to that Convention have been meeting annually to work on implementing the treaty and achieving the goal of significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The UNFCC did not contain binding targets for greenhouse gas releases, but in 1997 the Kyoto Protocol did set such binding targets and was signed by a significant number of countries, but not the U.S. Although President Clinton signed the Protocol, Congress refused to ratify it. Since then, no president has attempted to gain ratification.

This year’s Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting in Doha is the 18^th such meeting. Most analysts agree that there are four key issues with which the parties must deal:

(1) The creation of a new legally binding set of goals and targets to be adopted by 2015 and Implemented in 2020. This goal is sometimes called the Durban Platform because it was adopted by the parties at COP 17 in Durban, South Africa.

(2) The implementation of a Green Climate Fund (GCF) in which the developed countries such as the U.S. have committed to create a fund totalling $100 billion per year by 2020.. The purpose of this fund is to help poor countries reduce their emissions and to adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change already occurring. The developed countries made this commitment in 2009 at the Copenhagen COP.

(3) An accounting of the “Fast Start Finance” commitment made by the developed countries to make a “down payment” on the GCF of $30 billion by the end of 2012. This commitment was also made at COP 15 at Copenhagen in 2009.

(4) The establishment of an extension of the Kyoto Protocol as a bridge to the 2015 start of the Durban Platform binding targerts. The commitments under the Kyoto Protocol end in 2013.

Oxfam’s Focus

At the beginning of the Doha conference, Oxfam International released a media advisory entitled “The Climate ‘Fiscal Cliff’: An Evaluation of Fast Start Finance and Lessons for the Future.” The report points out a number of significant problems that developed during the “Fast Start” finance period, including, among others:

- While the Copenhagen commitment was for “new money” specifically aimed at climate change, it appears that as much as two thirds of the funds committed had already been authorized or committed to other programs. This risks the depletion of funding for traditional assistance in areas such as health or education.

- While the commitment was for a “balanced allocation between mitigation and adaptation,” the actual funding appears to heavily favor mitigation, with only 20 per cent going to adaptation. While funding to reduce releases is vital for the long run, such funding does little to help poor and vulnerable communities that are already experiencing significant climate impact such as droughts or floods.

Oxfam’s report also highlights the fact that while the “Fast Start” funding is scheduled to end in 2012, no new money has been pledged for the Green Climate Fund, which contained the commitment to build to $100 billion per year by 2020. Thus the term “climate fiscal cliff” refers to the possibility that funding will dry up beginning in 2013 at a time when the impacts of climate change around the world, especially on poorer communities, are intensifying. As the report puts it, “At the very moment that finance must be scaled up to meet the $100 billion per year Copenhagen promise, rich countries look set to scale down.”

What Comes Next?

COP 18 is scheduled to conclude on Friday, December 7. Typically, all major decisions to be made by the parties are jammed into the final hours of the Conference. The key issues to watch out for are related to the extension of the Kyoto Protocol, the report of progress made to developing the targets to be adopted in 2015 under the Durban Platform, and funding commitments from rich countries such as the US to the Green Climate Fund.

What we can all do is to educate ourselves on the critical significance of these international actions to combat climate change and to provide aid to vulnerable communities in desperate need of resources to adapt to changes already occurring. Unfortunately, the mainstream media is not paying much attention to what is happening in Doha. If you are interested in doing more, you can read the full Oxfam Report on funding at Oxfam.org and follow Oxfam on Twitter, particularly @OxfamCorpsMN. Tweets and links there will provide plenty of details and updates to what is happening at Doha. When the Conference closes on December 7, there is likely to be a splash of media attention focused on what was and was not accomplished by the Conference. This will be a great time to send in letters to the editor supporting the positions that Oxfam has taken and alerting people to the key outcomes.

Brett S (smithb55419@yahoo.com), @smithb55419

What's a Hunger Banquet?

2012-12-03T15:05:00.003-06:00

Thanksgiving Hunger Banquet at Macalester

Did you get enough to eat at your last meal?

Chances are, you did.

That makes you one of the fortunate ones who has access to enough food, one of the most important things in life.When you attend an Oxfam American Hunger Banquet, you get to experience what it's like to struggle to have enough to eat. The Oxfam Student group at Macalester, along with the Oxfam Action Corps Twin Cities held a Hunger Banquet on November 15 at Macalester. Each of the 35 people attending received a profile for the evening, which determined what they would eat for dinner that evening.There is much that is out of our control when it comes to our life circumstances, and at the banquet it's no different. It's completely random which of the 3 groups-upper, middle, or lower-you'll be put in but it determines if you'll go hungry or not.

Professor Bill Moseley spoke to those attending about the hunger crisis, in order to provide a background about why 1 out of 7 on our planet go hungry. During the program, participants learned about global hunger and how quickly circumstances beyond your control, can leave one struggling for food. In the end, there is much we can do to create a just food system and the banquet ended with action steps that we can all take right now. We can write letters to our local paper, contact our political representatives and become active members of organizations, like Oxfam MN and Oxfam Macalester, working on the issues of justice and hunger.

Thanks to the great leaders at Macalester and all those who attended the banquet!

-Kim K.

What's Next?

2012-09-05T15:18:00.001-05:00

Extreme Weather, Extreme Prices

Today Oxfam released it's, "Extreme Weather, Extreme Prices" report. The report explains how increased hunger is likely to be one of climate change’s most savage impacts on humanity. Greenhouse gas emissions are driving temperature increases, shifting rainfall patterns, and making extreme weather events more likely – like the 2012 drought in the US Midwest – with devastating consequences for agricultural production. Against a backdrop of rising populations and changing diets which will see global food production struggle to keep pace with increasing demand, the food security outlook in a future of unchecked climate change is bleak.

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

Recent photo of rows of corn stalks in a field south of Blair, Nebraska. The drought-damaged field was cut down for silage.

"Without action at the global level to address climate change, we will see farmers across Africa – and in many other parts of the world, including in America –forced to leave their land. The result will be mass migration, growing food shortages, loss of social cohesion and even political instability." -Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary General

So what can we do? Oxfam Action Corps is gearing up for a fall packed with events and ideas.

September

Monthly Meeting September 13th

Join us for our monthly meeting on September 13th at 7pm. Meet and discuss with other local volunteers interested in sustainable agriculture, environmental issues and food justice. We will be discussing upcoming events and volunteer opportunities.

Back room at Common Roots Cafe

2558 Lyndale Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55405

Roundtable Discussion
We are currently planning a roundtable meeting to discuss how the environmental community and East African community can work together to address the issue of climate change and develop stronger connections. We are working with ARAHA (American Relief Agency for the Horn of Africa), Somali Family Services, Sierra Club, MN350, Fresh Energy, and more. If you are interested, or know anyone who may be interested in getting involved, please summit this short doodle of your availability and check back for a confimed date and location.http://www.doodle.com/pn5fb3wwvehqthqd

Black Environmental Thought Conference II:

Translocal & Transnational Dialogues &Collaborations

September 21-23, 2012

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

http://blackenvironthought.wix.com/bet2 The second national Black Environmental thought and practice conference invites scholars, activists, farmers, artists, gardeners, environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts across the African diaspora to engage in translocal and transnational dialogues about environmental justice. The conference aims to provide a space where participants can bridge theory and practice while creating ethically responsible collaborative partnerships. We will be tabling at varies times throughout each day of the event, please check back for the exact times. We will need volunteers to help so please contact us if you are interested in getting involved on any of the days.

October

Music for the Movement: A Benefit for the West African Food Crisis October 10th

The most direct example of the impacts of climate change can be seen with the current food crisis in the Sahel Region of West Africa- more info on the crisis.

Together with Oxfam Action Corps and local twin cities artists we have put together an amazing concert to raise funds and awareness. Check it out and invite your friends and family! Event Page

Please contact us if you are interested in volunteering.

World Food Day Event October 15th

World Food Day is a worldwide event designed to increase awareness, understanding and informed, year-around action to alleviate hunger. We will be hosting a pot-luck dinner on October 15 that fosters a conversation about where our food comes from, who cultivates it, and how we can take personal actions that will make the food system more just and sustainable. We will have presentations, spoken word artists and a live chef demonstration of a GROW Method meal. Check back soon for more details!

International Roundtable- Feeding the World: Globalization, Food, and Agriculture in the 21st Century October 11-12, 2012

This year’s International Roundtable will take place on Thursday and Friday, October 11 and 12, 2012, and seeks to cultivate a civil and respectful exchange between those with contrasting views on how best to feed the world sustainably. More Info

We will be tabling on Thursday evening and would love to have you join us! The event is open to public so stop by and invite your friends!

November

Thanksgiving Hunger Banquet

We are currently organizing a Hunger Banquet for the week before or of, Thanksgiving. The goal of this event is to help change the way people think about poverty and hunger. If you have any suggestions on a low cost or free space please contact us.

Please contact us with any suggestions for future events:

Oxfam Action Corps - Minnesota
(612) 293-9831
minnesota@oxfamactioncorps.org
http://www.facebook.com/OxfamActionCorpsMN

More Body Bags or an Arms Treaty?

2012-07-11T15:11:00.000-05:00

International Arms Trade Treaty

I had mentioned at the end of my last blog that I would use this next post to discuss tips and tricks on how you can incorporate the GROW campaign into your own daily life. However, with so much happening surrounding the push for an International Arms Trade Treaty, I decided to post an update on the issue. The United Nations has been active in a month-long effort to create a treaty crafting international regulations for importing and exporting conventional weapons. Currently,the sale of bananas and smart phones is more regulated than the sale of semi-automatic weapons and tanks. The security and rights of milllions of people around the world are threatened daily by these poor regulations. Last week Oxfam together with Control Arms and Amnesty International, we handed over 600,000 signatures to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon last week calling for a strong Arms Trade Treaty. Click here to watch the video of the event.

Support a Bullet Proof Arms Trade Treaty

Oxfam is calling on the international community to put an end to decades of irresponsible arms deals which devastate people’s lives. Oxfam wants to see that the new treaty place strict, unambiguous and legal obligations on states to control the global trade in arms.

To be effective, the new Arms Trade Treaty must include a legally-binding agreement that will prevent arms transfers that could be used to commit human right abuses, war crimes, or hinder economic development.

Here in the United States, critics of the treaty fear it will impose on our constitutional right to bear arms. However a press release issued by the U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs says that "The outcome will not seek to prohibit citizens of any country from possessing firearms or to interfere with the legal trade in small arms and light weapons".

U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said the United States would support talks towards ratifying the treaty, ensuring that it will only deal with international trade and trafficking. Supporting a treaty that "blocks arms transfers to nations that violate human rights, includes rules for all conventional weapons like parts, tanks, and bullets, and is enforceable, transparent and effective."

The treaty is still in its drafting stage, but here is a more specific break down of what Oxfam's key recommendations are for the treaty-

· To have real impact, a prospective Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) must include legally binding criteria that prevent arms transfers to abusers of human rights or into situations where there is a substantial risk that they will undermine development or exacerbate armed violence;
· The ATT can build on existing regional and sub-regional initiatives:as of 2012, 100 countries are already party to various regional agreements that include legally binding criteria to control the trade of arms and ammunition. (See full report link below)

Campaign successes so far

At the UN General Assembly in December 2006, a huge majority of 153 governments voted in favor of developing an Arms Trade Treaty. The following year, after pressure from Control Arms, over 100 governments responded to a UN Consultation on the ATT.

Three years later in 2009, after pressure from the Control Arms campaign, 153 countries again voted to start negotiations on the Arms Trade Treaty, and to conclude negotiations in 2012. This historic step is a major achievement for the millions of campaigners across the world who were asking for negotiations to start immediately.

Despite this success, some governments want to weaken the treaty, in order to exploit the system and continue distributing arms irresponsibly. We need to keep the pressure on to make sure that they don’t succeed.

Act now

Sign up to support a bullet-proof Arms Trade Treaty

Other ways to help

Read the report: The Devil is in the Detail: The importance of comprehensive and legally binding criteria for arms transfers

Watch: see how the easy accessibility of weapons in Burundi is crippling its health services and making difficult for the country to develop and emerge from entrenched conflict: Bang For Your Buck

- Elizabeth Harper

A Better Food System

2012-07-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

A Better Food System

This last weekend some fellow volunteers and I had the privllage of tabling at the Twin Cities Jazz Festival. The event was located at Mears Park, a quaint park in the heart of Downtown St.Paul. The music was great! There were amazing acts all weekend but the highlight was definitely The Bad Plus w/ Josh Redman on Saturday! Tabling, at an event for Action Corps means simply having conversations with a diverse mix of people. We do not sell products or do any fundraising, but we do ask people to show their support &/or join the movement to "Build a Better Food System". We provide pins, flyers, as well as petitions to get people thinking and acting upon the very real issues surrounding hunger around the world. Our booth always remains lively and fun, even though we talk about heavy issues, because the solutions we discuss are easy to understand, and it's exciting. People care about food, how it's grown and where it's coming from, in higher numbers recently and it makes discussing something as primal and basic, as food and water, easier than it sometimes can be. I love talking to people about food and water because it is something we can all relate on.

Our Food System is the way in which our food is developed, transported, distributed and sold. Oxfam's GROW campaign aims to build a better food system: one that will sustainably feed our growing population. The system we have is not working- one in seven people goes to be hungry every night! The worst part is that we have more than enough food in the world to feed everyone, but deep imbalances in access to resources, climate change, and government policies keep many trapped in poverty. These issues are much more prevalent in rual agriculturally based regions of the world, but even those who have abundant food access now,will be affected by the mass conflict and migrations that will be occurring in the near future if our current course is not changed. Food is a serious matter that is the leading cause of conflict and instability in countries around the world. With an outlook of Nine Billion people living on this planet by 2050 we all must ask ourselves, how will we ever feed ourselves, and our future generations? and without destroying our planet? We must take it upon ourselves to fuel this movement, we must grow!

So what went so horribly wrong in the first place?
Watch this short informative video - Food and You to learn more about the history and current state of our Food System.

Here's what needs to happen:

The power to fix this system does not rest solely on the billion-plus farmers who produce food or the billions of consumers who eat it. Instead, companies and governments who determine who eats and who doesn't.

We must support this movement which seeks to:

Increase the productivity, self-reliance, and economic opportunity of small-scale farmers, especially women, who depend on agriculture for income and food.

Increase farmers’ access to resources like water and land, and make sure they don’t have to unfairly compete with big companies for ownership of these resources.

Increase farmers’ preparedness in the face of more-frequent and more-extreme droughts, floods, and storms.

Modernize our food aid programs so they are more effective, efficient, and fiscally responsible, improving the global response to natural disasters and food crises.

Hold governments and businesses accountable for the impacts of their policies and practices on global food security.

So, what can you do to support GROW?

Help create a GROWing movement for change. Sign-up and join the conversation about how to tackle some of the big problems at the heart of our global food system.

I will be posting a follow-up blog next week on more things you can do locally and in your individual life to help support the movement. Tips on how to reduce your carbon footprint, and how to buy, shop and produce food in a way that supports people and the planet.

All of us, in this generation and the next, deserve enough to eat.

Staying Busy in the Twin Cities!

2012-06-12T20:25:00.002-05:00

Staying Busy in the Twin Cities!

Flogging Molly Concert

Hi there, my name is Liz Harper and I am one of the newly trained lead volunteer organizers for Oxfam Action Corps of Minnesota! I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself since I will be the one keeping you all updated over the course of this next exciting year! I am a mom, a student and a chiropractic assistant so I stay busy, but I love making time for Action Corps. Since returning from D.C. with my co-leader Kim Kokket, (see the previous blog to hear more about the trip!) we have been staying active getting the group back up and rolling! Before we could even sit down and discuss our plans, we were already getting invited to the Flogging Molly show at "The Brick" in downtown Minneapolis! We happily accepted!

Flogging Molly are long time fans of Oxfam and we have had a presence at many of their shows over the years. This was my first time seeing them and it was awesome! Jessica, Kim and I all attended the show that night, and I have to admit it was pretty cool getting let in on the "Band's list". We set-up next to the merchandise table of The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band. Although we didn't get to see them perform, from what we could hear they put on a great show!

We all had a great time talking to people at the show about Oxfam, and we got alot of people to sign on to help fix our broken food system!

Drought and Disruption

After the show, we got busy working on our involvement with the Sierra Club's public forum: Drought and Disruption. I spoke on a panel along with Jessica Tatro; Sierra Club, Jamal Osman; Somali Family Services, and Zainab Hassan; Minneapolis Foundation. We all spoke on various components of the climate change in East Africa.

It was a very moving event, with great discussion. I learned alot and was pleased to meet so many like minded individuals. You could feel the energy in the room, people are concerned and really do want to help. More and more communities around the world are recognizing the deadly impacts of climate change and the importance of doing something now. The severe drought in East Africa led to one of the worst food crisis's in history. Click here to learn more about what Oxfam is doing in East Africa.

What is important now is supporting the over 13 million still at risk in East Africa, while also attending to the looming food crisis in West and Central Africa. This food crisis has been brought on by the erratic rains that have caused poor food harvests and water shortages. Oxfam is gearing up the response and hope to reach 1.2 million people across Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal with humanitarian aid. Learn More

So whats next ? Do you think its too late to offset the impacts of climate change? What does our future hold if farmers can no longer farm? Leave a comment! Let us know your thoughts!