Our current global food system is in crisis and includes a struggle over control of the world’s seeds. Sister Miriam Bruder SSND in London, England shares what one parish is doing about it.
Blessed Sacrament Parish in London responded enthusiastically to an invitation from CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) to co-sign a letter to the World Bank from Salina, a small farmer from Bangladesh.
For generations, small-scale farmers have freely swapped and shared a wide variety of seeds to produce nutritious food. More recently, farmers have also developed seeds that ensure crops are resilient in a changing climate. However, laws are being introduced around the world that limit what small farmers can do with their seeds, forcing them to purchase commercial seeds each year.
Salina’s letter asks the World Bank to end all policies that restrict farmers’ freedoms to choose which seeds they use to grow food; to protect the fundamental rights of small farmers to save, use, exchange and sell their own varieties of seeds and to put an end to all policies that limit small farmers' choice over which seeds they can access. CAFOD will pass all the “giant letters” from parishes across England and Wales to the World Bank before its autumn meeting, so that the voice of the Catholic Community is heard loud and clear by those with the power to make change happen. Learn more about this CAFOD campaign
