We representatives of small-scale farmers, fishers, agricultural workers, indigenous peoples, women, youth, eaters, and NGOs came together from across Australia to meet on the traditional lands of the Ngunnawal, Ngambri, and Ngarigu peoples, paying our respect to elders past and present. At the 2018 Food Sovereignty Convergence we celebrated the opportunity to meet each other […]
The Fight for Farmers’ Rights to Seed
Background The idea of farmers’ rights arose in international governance in the early 1980s, a reaction to the increased demand for plant breeders’ rights, and to ensure farmers’ continued contribution to the global genetic pool – addressing the rights not of individuals, but of entire peoples. Its purpose was also to draw attention to the […]
AFSA calls out biased reporting on Victorian planning reforms
Peter Hunt, a Weekly Times reporter, has treated the concerns of Victoria’s pastured livestock farmers over proposed planning reforms with total contempt, calling them ‘delusional.’ This seems unsurprising given Hunt spent many years in a policy role with the Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF), a body whose reputation for attacking small-scale farmers is increasing. Pastured pig […]
‘The Regulation Diaries (7): Planning for Industrial Intensive Animal Agriculture’ by Tammi Jonas
This blog post was originally posted on AFSA President Tammi Jonas’ personal blog, Tammi Jonas: Food Ethics, as part of ‘The Regulation Diaries’ series. In October 2015, I visited Jo Stritch of Happy Valley Free Range, Livestock Farmer of the Year in 2014. Jo had just been ordered to remove all her pigs from her […]
Strategic Report
AFSA Strategic Retreat, Lorne, December 2016 The AFSA National Committee gathered in Victoria’s Lorne for almost two days of reflection on the year past, some pretty incredible food, and the rare space to think deeply about 2017. We’ve come away from the retreat renewed in our commitment to create and fight for a democratic and […]