2.8bn people struggle to feed themselves properly. 733m go hungry every day. It’s a tragedy already highlighted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in the of its Goalkeepers project. Yet farmers produce enough food to feed the world’s population. Climate shocks, conflicts, economic crises, inequalities and pandemics: there are several explanations for this inability to match production to needs. But the United Nations insists. The right to food for a better life and future is the leitmotif of World Food Day, celebrated today, Wednesday 16 October, throughout the world. Food, the third basic human need after air and water, is compromised for a significant proportion of the world’s population.
In line with this World Food Day, SOS Faim Luxembourg organised a press conference on 15 October to present the Alimenterre Festival, which will run from 6 November to 6 December in Luxembourg. The aim of the event is to tackle global food issues and raise public awareness of the importance of sustainable, fair food that is accessible to all.
Five documentaries on the programme
Already present in 17 countries, the Alimenterre Festival, coordinated in Luxembourg by SOS Faim with the support of 21 partners, is finally settling in the country. “We are delighted to be launching the first edition of this food festival in Luxembourg,” says Delphine Dethier, director of SOS Faim Luxembourg.
On the programme: five documentaries, accompanied by events, debates and discussions with experts to explore the issues surrounding our food and encourage collective reflection on the societal problems raised by the films. “It’s the perfect opportunity to get people thinking about sustainable food,” says Marie-Noëlle Brigode, head of communications at SOS Faim.
The five films to be shown at the festival are:
—“La Théorie du Boxeur” (The Theory of the Boxer) by Nathanaël Coste: the trained geographer looks at the Drôme region to show how climate change is disrupting the daily lives of farmers.
—“The Last Seed” by Andréa Gema: this film looks at the issues surrounding food and agriculture in Africa, and in particular seed control.
— “Eating our way to extinction” by Ludo and Otto Brockway: a portrait of the agri-food industry and its ravages on the planet.
— “De l’assiette à l’océan” (From plate to ocean) by Julien Challandes: explores the links between our food choices and the health of our seas.
— “Les maux de notre alimentation” (The evils of our food) by Clément Lefer, Maud Koenig O'Carroll and Christophe Guérin: this group of filmmakers presents five short films of seven minutes each, denouncing the practices of major food companies, often to the detriment of human rights and the environment.
“First step is to know what is going on and not to hide from it”
At the press conference, an extract from one of the five short films in the latest documentary was shown, highlighting the working conditions in Ecuador’s banana plantations. The footage, shot on the plantations, shows the extreme precariousness of these workers, who are often exploited and victims of systematic violations of their fundamental rights.
Filmed during the report, Jorge Acosta, a former agricultural pilot and now general coordinator of Astac (an association for the defence of agricultural workers), bore witness to the reality on the ground. Having himself contracted a serious illness as a result of prolonged exposure to pesticides, he founded this union to improve living conditions in the banana plantations.
Banana pickers are faced with a number of problems: daily exposure to chemicals and poverty wages that do not allow them to live decently. “How is it possible that a kilo of bananas, after having travelled thousands of kilometres, costs less than an apple that we can grow in our own garden?” Acosta asks indignantly. As for women, they are often victims of harassment and dismissed as soon as they become pregnant.
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“We are calling on everyone to show solidarity,” says Acosta. “What we’re asking is that supermarkets give priority to fruit grown with respect for human rights.” This problem illustrates the extent to which the food issue goes far beyond the simple question of available resources.
“The first step is to know what is going on and not to hide from it,” explains Dethier, director of SOS Faim Luxembourg. This has now been done. “Together, we have the power to change things,” she concludes.
Paperjam will continue to cover the food issues of the future and will be launching a series of five articles to be published daily between 21 and 25 October. The first episode will be dedicated to the challenges of food from the ocean.
This article was originally published in .