Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance

Fair food for all Australians

AFSA Office Bearer Reports, 2015

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2015 President’s Report

Tammi Jonas

It’s been an exhilarating and challenging year as President of AFSA as I’ve worked with an amazing team of committed fair food activists to further the interests of food sovereignty in Australia.

Part of the focus for the five-year-old Alliance this year has been to improve our internal operations with clearer processes for decision making and communications, and better financial management. I am delighted to be finishing the year with a surplus and a healthy bank account, largely thanks to the fundraising made possible by the Fair Food documentary screenings, DVD sales, and generous support from the City of Melbourne. As at the end of the 2014-15 financial year, the doco had profited AFSA $6,679.

Both the Fair Food doco and anthology edited by AFSA Secretary Nick Rose have greatly helped spread the word of the good work happening across the country as producers, chefs, connectors, knowledge workers, local governments, and activists build a new, fairer food system for all. We have hopes of crowdfunding a second documentary focusing on the plight of farm and food workers in Australia, and how these systems of exploitation prop up the duopoly and concentration of power here and globally. Watch this space.

The year has seen AFSA leading the fight for fair and consistent regulation of the food system, with participation at the Regrarians-led #EatBuyGrow rally a highlight. Speaking alongside lunatic farmer Joel Salatin on the many ways in which ‘folks, this ain’t normal’ and the need to contest the orthodoxy of industrial food was both an honour and a great opportunity to amplify the message locally.

We’ve worked to spread the word of the plight of dairy farmers in Victoria affected by the Government’s hasty decision to make it more difficult to sell raw milk, as well as the difficulties faced by livestock producers in processing and distributing their produce, especially in Victoria, where we’ve helped trigger a review of the meat regulator PrimeSafe (yet to report). I visited the Executive Director of the America Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund in Kentucky to learn how we might build such a fund here, and work is well advanced towards the establishment of a legal defence branch of AFSA.

I’ve already recounted the #epicfairfoodtour I made of the US in June, where AFSA’s food sovereignty relationships and networks were further developed with some of the most popular voices in the movement, including Joel Salatin, Temple Grandin, Dan Barber, and Michael Pollan.

Back home, I was delighted to host the inaugural Deep Winter Agrarian Gathering(conceived by fabulous farmer Fraser of Old Mill Bio Farm in NSW) in August with the able assistance of local Sarah Chignell. Two days of discussing the issues and opportunities in production, connection, regulation, and regeneration of the food system were heralded by fair food pioneer Costa Georgiadis as ‘the Woodstock of Australian agriculture’. We recounted and plotted, feasted and posited, and frankly talked fair food ‘til the cows came home. The high proportion of young farmers and future farmers was especially encouraging – just goes to show how much more appealing fair food farming is than industrial agriculture! I’m already looking forward to the next one (perhaps somewhere a tad warmer…)

In the first week of September I had the honour and privilege to attend the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) meeting in Gujarat, along with my comrade Nick Rose. You can read our separate report on the outcomes of the meeting here. In short, the meeting clarified the need for AFSA to stand up to our own government in solidarity with our comrades in the Global South, to protect them as well as our own producers from the ravages of free-trade agreements that benefit nobody except large, transnational agribusiness. The impact of cheap imports is devastating for farmers everywhere – from fruit growers in Victoria to small-scale beef producers in Kenya.

Our involvement with the IPC has also connected us to the ongoing dialogue with the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN, where we can add our voice to the global movement for agroecology and the fight against industrial livestock production, amongst the many other issues.

In spite of the continued centralized control of our food system, especially by the duopoly Coles & Woolworths, and in spite of the burdens and unfairnesses of regulation for small-scale, transparent food production, and even in spite of the ongoing exploitation of the labour of farm and food workers across Australia, I feel hopeful.

I feel hopeful because more people are choosing to buy directly from farmers and leave the duopoly out of their shopping bag. I feel hopeful because we’ve got the regulators’ attention, and reform seems possible. I feel hopeful because of the work of Four Corners to expose the treatment of farm workers and the tireless work of the NUW to support workers everywhere. I feel hopeful because I’m a tragic optimist who takes every tiny grain of hope and plants it deeply in the rich soil of this fecund movement.

I am especially grateful for the work and support of Secretary Nick Rose, Communications Officer Alana Mann, Memberships Officer Michele Lally and our wonderful intern Katarina Munksgaard, who have contributed tirelessly all year.

Thank you also to Vice President Jeff Pow, Treasurer Nadine Ponomarenko, and Louise Abson for your contributions, and finally thank you to the members who resigned earlier in the year due to challenging circumstances, Clare Richards and Michael Croft. And of course thank you to long-term volunteers and co-founders of AFSA Russ Grayson and Fiona Campbell for your many years of work to build and support the movement through the website and AFSA communications with members.

So long as we all continue working together, we’ve got this. Here’s to another great year for the fair food movement!

Viva la revolucion!

Secretary & National Coordinator

Nick Rose

2015 saw AFSA celebrate its fifth anniversary. When I think back to where we were in July 2010, when the concept of a national food sovereignty alliance was first being discussed, it’s amazing just how much has been achieved. As a 100% volunteer-based organisation, with a small core of committed activists, these achievements have been all the more remarkable. At times it’s been far from easy, but five years in, we’re here, and working hard together to build the fair food movement in Australia. Our networks and relationships are spreading and strengthening, both in Australia and internationally.

This year has seen us make enormous strides, thanks in no small part to the enormous passion, energy, commitment and leadership of AFSA President Tammi Jonas, ably supported by the National Committee, in particular Communications Officer Alana Mann and Memberships Officer Michele Lally. I stand in admiration of them all, and feel grateful that AFSA is in such strong, experienced and capable hands – this is a great legacy for both myself and all the previous Committee members and long-time volunteers that have worked for AFSA and the cause of fair food in Australia.

So much of what we have done has been as a team. This has been especially the case regarding the coordination and screenings of the Fair Food documentary. With the support of 263 people and organisations that crowd-funded $32,675 in September-October 2013, and in collaboration with the Field Institute, we produced Australia’s first food politics feature-length documentary. It premiered to a sell-out audience of 200 at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne on 2nd December, 2014. From February to October 2015, over 40 public screenings have taken place in community venues around the country, in a diverse array of rural and urban settings, most recently in Mildura (Victoria), and in Lakeland and Cooktown (Far North Queensland). We estimate that the film has been now been seen by over 3000 people, and several screenings are scheduled for Fair Food Week. AFSA representatives have attended more than half of these screenings, and I personally have attended and spoken at 18. On every occasion, the documentary has met with an enthusiastic response, and has provoked sustained discussion and debate about key issues facing our food and farming system. Common themes have included the lack of abattoirs and regional processing and distribution facilities; the continuing exodus of farmers from the land in the face of ongoing consolidation and corporatisation, as well as increasing foreign ownership and control; the difficulties faced by small-scale producers and artisanal food businesses as regards food safety and related regulatory regimes; and the exercise of concentrated corporate power, above all the supermarket duopoly.

Importantly, the screenings have also provided the opportunity for local community members to share stories of grassroots initiatives and leadership, generating inspiration and hope amongst those present. The screenings have been universally positive experiences, with many groups and individuals thanking AFSA for our leadership and vision in making this resource available. We have no doubt that many positive initiatives and projects are already underway as a result of discussions following screenings, and so the documentary has already made an important contribution to the building of a fairer food system.

Another significant milestone this year was the publication of the Fair Food anthology: Australia’s first volume documenting the emergence and growth of a national food sovereignty movement through personal stories of several of that movement’s leading actors. I am the editor of the book, and it contains chapters by past and present AFSA Committee members, including current President Tammi Jonas, and so in several respects is also a history of AFSA itself. The book, published by Queensland University Press, was launched at the Melbourne Writers Festival on 26th August, and again at Avid Reader in Brisbane’s West End on 10th September. It has been reviewed favourably in the Sydney Morning Herald, the Saturday Paper and Pip Magazine, amongst other print and online media; and during September reached No.1 in the Independent Category in the Courier Mail’s listing of new books. The book is being stocked in airports around Australia, in mainstream bookstores like Dymocks, as well as in a wide range of independent bookstores. We expect it to be an important and permanent resource that will inspire existing activists and supporters to strengthen and deepen their engagement with the Fair Food movement; and that will encourage and inspire new and younger people to join the movement. As the SMH review concluded, “These heart-on-the-sleeve manifestos have something urgent and important to say.”

Fair Food Challenge
Inspired by the Real Food Challenge, an initiative launched and led by university and college students in the United States in 2008 with the goal of getting higher education institutions to pledge to source 20% of their food from ‘real’ (i.e. local / ethical / sustainable / fair) sources by 2020, in June 2015 AFSA began working with students leaders at RMIT (Ben McMenamin) and Melbourne University (Sophie Lamond) to develop a similar campaign here. A campaign website was built (www.fairfoodchallenge.com) and launched in July 2015, garnering the immediate support of organisations like 3000 Acres, Open Food Network, Youth Food Movement, Melbourne Farmers Markets, and many others. Relationships have been established with the coordinators of the Real Food Challengeand the aligned Meal Exchangecampaign in Canada; extensive outreach has taken place with students at many other campuses in Australia; and meetings and presentations have taken place with university sustainability officers and managers. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. In June 2015 AFSA submitted a grant application to the City of Melbourne for $20,000 to resource the campaign in 2015. Next steps will include a detailed examination of the meaning of ‘fair food’, so that we can begin to develop criteria which can guide purchasing decisions within the higher education sector, and beyond (e.g. local government, health, schools).

Food Sovereignty pilot, Cook Shire, Far North Queensland

This visit was undertaken from 23-26 September at the invitation of the Cook Shire Council and Cape York NRM, and in collaboration with Kym Kruse of RegenAg, as well as Sustain. The significance for AFSA is that the Cook Shire Council is, as a result of this visit and ongoing discussions, committing itself to a review of local laws with the aim of preparing a food sovereignty by-law, the aim of which would be to exempt small-scale producers and local food businesses from certain labelling, inspection and licensing requirements that inhibit the expansion of the local food economy: see MR_CookShireFoodSovereignty_121015_vf. This would be along the lines of the Food Sovereignty Ordinances (16 of which have now been passed by Councils in Maine), the Wyoming Food Freedom Act (passed in January 2015) and the 2013 Californian Homemade Food Act. We see this as a highly significant development that supports the AFSA regulation campaign (see Tammi’s report) and will likely set a precedent for other local councils to follow – as well as being a resource for other AFSA / FFFU members and fair food supporters to use to push for change at the local level.

IPC and Fair Food Week

As mentioned in Tammi’s report, and in our separate report to members (forthcoming), I attended with her the 2015 meeting of the International Planning Committee on Food Sovereignty, (in Gujarat, India). An inspiring experience that made us realise we are truly standing on the shoulders of giants, and following in their footsteps, in our work to build the food sovereignty movement in Australia. I have also worked with Alana Mann in getting Fair Food Week off the ground in 2015, and it’s exciting to see that as of the writing of this report, nearly 50 events have been listed from every state and the ACT, including for the first time a National Fair Food Convergence. Significantly this year we have commenced discussions with the National Union of Workers around joint work and collaboration on their major Fair Food Campaign (www.fairfoodaustralia.org), targeting Coles and Woolworths over the exploitation of farm and food system workers in Australia. Through existing relationships we secured $2000 sponsorship for FFW from the City of Melbourne, and in-kind support worth $3000 from the William Angliss Institute (WAI). In addition to the Fair Food Convergence, AFSA is jointly hosting (with WAI and Sustain: The Australian Food Network) a unique one-day workshop on 19 October, Democratising Food Systems.

Speaking and media

As detailed in the reports of Tammi and Alana, AFSA continues to build its profile in the media and in community, government and professional forums and debates. I have spoken at more than a dozen this year as well as given many radio interviews. Highlights include the Municipal Association of Victoria’s Local Food Forum (Melbourne, 10/9), the Real Food Festival in Maleny (12-13/9), EATology panel discussion about a Food Plan for the ACT alongside ACT Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development, Shane Rattenbury, and AFSA/FFFU member and local producer Penny Kothe (Canberra, 30/9), and the Great Southern Sustainability Festival in Albany, WA (4/10).

Communications Officer

Alana Mann

This year 2015 has been a period of transition for AFSA and the Communications area has been no exception. Key tactical activities have included:

  • the promotion of screenings of the Fair Food documentary and the Fair Food edited collection
  • the updating of resources including the AFSA printed flier and the Fair Food Week artwork (by volunteer Sharon Lee)
  • publication of news releases and position statements on hot issues including the food safety regulation and the Trans Pacific Partnership
  • rich content on social media including key events such as the highly successful Deep Winter Agrarian Gathering.

Fair Food Week (Oct 16-25) is promising to be a success with the partnership of the Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network (ACFCGN) and Permaculture Australia (PA) who are ably promoting the Week around Australia.

Work in progress

The handover of web assets from long-time volunteer Fiona Campbell has been on ongoing process that has highlighted the need for a multimedia editor/web manager. This role is currently ably filled for the Fair Food Week website by volunteer Kate Raymond but the AFSA web site is still without technical support. A new hosting arrangement for the site is in train.

The future

The next steps for the Communications Officer include the development of a comprehensive communication strategy based on outreach to target audiences, including community-based food organisations and individuals in remote areas such as Northern Australia. Research into the needs and expectations of these stakeholders is needed. The development and timely delivery of rich multimedia content for subscribers is a high priority that will be facilitated by a skilled multimedia editor.

Memberships officer

Michele Lally

What a delight it has been to work with a group of passionate fair food advocates and farmers. In my first year on the National Committee, my passions to lead in membership and communications as well as utilise some of my commercial and branding experience for the group has been both rewarding and challenging.

This year’s KPI to increase membership by 30% was like eating lemons and drinking lemonade all at the same time. While both challenging and fruitful, with a final increase in membership by 50%, delivering this KPI well above what was expected has not been by chance. Our team located around the country has worked hard and with much enthusiasm, to bring a united message of leadership by advocating directly and using social media to involve and encourage participation from new areas that have not yet been exposed to AFSA. We have all utilised the Fair Food Documentary and other events to inspire more eaters to get closer to their food sources and highlight the advocacy our group participates in. With increased activity and interest from outside of usual channels comes more interest and membership to our wonderful organisation, and thus, a strong increase in membership has been realised.

Our challenge in the membership space was our system and process. Our systems have not geared up just yet to provide a seamless and viable option to be run by busy volunteers, and the next project that will be undertaken, includes seeking a membership system that has increased automation options to provide an enjoyable and professional experience for all of our members. This will link in further with increased participation through events and communications and will then provide the framework to offer more to our members and provide a valuable resource to our committee for targeted campaigns and communications release in a timely manner.

With South Australia as my locale, I have worked hard to bring several screenings of Fair Food to our state, as well as engagement with several food groups and advocacy groups who are feeling the pinch of decreased voluntary availability. I continue to advocate and work on creating South Australia into a more resilient Fair Food state, although, we are several years behind the passion that is seen along the Eastern Seaboard, participation and interest will be the key to the coming 12 months.

I have also been involved in the Legal Defence Fund, inspirational Deep Winter Agrarian Gathering, involved with a new Poultry producers Risk Management strategy and looking further at indigenous food security as corporate centralised food distribution continues to make high quality food unavailable to some in remote areas.

It’s been both inspiring and uplifting to have the opportunity to be a part of such a dynamic and innovative team and connect with such passionate and inspiring people in our peer group. Thanks must go to Tammi, Nick and Alana who have supported me so professionally in my first year with AFSA.

Sharing Fair Food

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By Kerry Miller, first published on arc-Community.net.au

What would happen to your family, if there was a breakdown in Australia’s food distribution system?  As a nation, we rely heavily on a highly centralised system to supply food for our plates. Most Australians have little or no connection with the actual producers of their food, and an increasing number of voices are raising concern about this.   It’s an issue we at arc-Community have touched on previously (see our story on the Goulburn Valley Food Co-op), and one which affects every Australian and every community.

The way our food system is structured has implications for farmers, distributors, retailers, and of course — consumers of food.  The bad news is that our system is unsustainable, and visibly failing. The good news, however, is that there are a number of individuals and groups who are creating change.  New, resilient, localised systems are emerging and succeeding.

The Fair Food movement is aiming to encourage a grass roots reformation of our Australian Food system.

Fair Food — the documentary

Re-Saved-optThe Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance  describes itself as “a national alliance of farmers, food entrepreneurs, public health professionals, community gardeners, farmers market coordinators, journalists, researchers and local food advocates who share the vision of a fair food future for all Australians”.

They have produced the documentary, ‘Fair Food‘, as a way of raising awareness of the issues surrounding Australia’s food security, as well as showcasing some of the successful alternative models that are emerging.

The film is screening around Australia in selected locations, hosted by community groups, food co-ops, community gardens and other small organisations. I attended a recent screening in Bowral, hosted by Bundanoon Community Garden.  There was a panel discussion following the screening, with special guest, Rosemary Stanton, and local representatives from agriculture, the food industry and the community.

Both the film and the discussion afterwards were well worth the experience.  The film is not a professional production, however it covers a variety of issues clearly, and as a springboard for discussions about local issues, works extremely well.

A brief summary

For those who don’t have the opportunity to see the film (and I recommend you do so, if you can). here is a brief summary of some of the issues covered in both the film, and the discussion afterward.

Care of the land is integral to clean, good quality food, and to sustainable production.  More and more, scientific research and innovative farming methods are stressing the vital importance of managing the ecosystem and replenishing the land, for continued good production.

Production-oriented farming practices deplete and degrade farmland, rendering it infertile over time.  The use of high volumes of fertilisers and other chemical inputs cause problems with salination and dieback of trees, and requires constantly increasing inputs to maintain the same level of production.  This makes farming expensive and un-sustainable.

Our food distribution system is controlled by two major supermarket chains.  These big players control not only the stock they buy and sell, but most of the production and distribution of food, all the way down the chain.

Whereas decades ago, farmers had control over pricing and were able to keep around 90 percent of the profit from the food they produced, pressure from the rising costs of conventional farming, and from supermarkets who control the distribution, means farmers receive about 10 percentof the profits of their labour.  As an example, the recent milk-price wars were cited, where milk sold for a dollar per litre was below cost to the farmer — yet they do not have an alternative market for their product.

Farmers continue to be forced from the land in large numbers, because they are no longer able to make a viable living.  Younger people are not taking up farming as a vocation.

Although there is a challenging transition period from conventional farming using pesticides and fertilisers, to wholistically managed farming, sustainable farming systems are cheaper to run once established.

Australia produces some of the cleanest, best quality produce in the world, yet we are becoming increasingly reliant on imported food to feed our communities.

Our very centralised food distribution system means local food is often not available.

Successful small farmers are developing their own supply chains and networks, outside of the centralised system.  This gives them control over pricing, so they can remain viable.

Successful local food production depends on relationships.  Successful small farmers depend very much on community connections and establishing relationships with other individuals and local businesses.  A striking feature of these small local food networks, is the way they are negotiated, so that each stakeholder is able to take what they need from the system, in order to continue giving back.

In the discussion that followed, local issues were identified.  In the Southern Highlands, there is no regular farmers market, and only one local market gardener making produce available locally. There is a definite need for some form of local distribution.  Bundanoon Community Garden have made themselves available as a connecting point for further discussion and development of ideas.  It will be interesting (and hopefully, exciting) to see what develops from this.

Learn more…

If you are interested in connecting with the fair food movement contact the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance.

If you are interest in showing or viewing the Fair Food The Documentary…

[button_link url=”http://www.justfoodfilms.com” target=”blank” style=”” title=”” class=”” id=”” onclick=””]Visit Just Food Films website[/button_link]

If you are a Southern Highlands local, and wish to connect with others interested in establishing an accessible local food system…

[button_link url=”http://www.bundanooncommunitygarden.org.au” target=”blank” style=”” title=”” class=”” id=”” onclick=””]Visit Bundanoon Community Garden website[/button_link]

Fair Food screens around the country to enthusiastic response

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Story by Nick Rose, May 2015

ff_sidebarAustralia’s first food politics documentary, Fair Food, has been screened over 20 times since February this year to a combined audience of 1700 people. AFSA co-produced this documentary with Melbourne-based food publishers The Field Institute.  We have been delighted with the response it has received to date.

The film features farmer innovators, social enterprise leaders, urban agriculture dynamos, and leading researchers and thinkers. It presents a sharp critique of the dysfunctional nature of Australia’s food system, and shows pathways to a fairer and more hopeful future.

The film has been screened in diverse locations including Canberra, Wagga Wagga, Albany, Seymour, Daylesford, Upwey, Launceston, Hobart, Byron Bay, Sydney, Ballarat, Lakes Entrance, Coonabarabran, and Brunswick. Upcoming screenings include Mildura, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Maitland, Perth, Temora and Mornington Peninsula.

Everywhere it’s been screened the film has sparked intense and passionate debate and conversation amongst highly engaged audiences. Topics for discussion have included the need for regional abattoirs, how a local high school is growing hundreds of kilos of corn for local foodbanks and selling to the local IGA, questions about food literacy and food education, issues facing local artisanal producers and Council red tape, questions about the impact of free trade, and how good food can reach people in lower income brackets.

The film can be screened at a suggested licence fee of $300. We are hugely grateful to all groups and organisations that have supported our work by screening this film, as it has helped us raise over $4000 so far.  For those members with the time and capacity to assist further with fundraising, DVDs can now be provided for sale at selected screenings at a price point of $20 each.

Interested in hosting a screening?

If you are interested in screening the documentary, and/or would like some copies of the DVD to sell, please get in touch by leaving an expression of interest via www.justfoodfilms.com, or simply email admin@afsa.org.au.

 

Fair Food — the trailer

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Fair Food — the documentary

Australia’s food system is broken but innovative farmers, businesses and communities are creating something better. In the absence of vision and leadership from most tiers of governments, and the corporate agri-food sector, these Fair Food pioneers are taking action themselves.

This is the theme of a new documentary film released in December 2014. Produced by the national fair food campaigning organisation, the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA), and food publishers and facilitators, the Field Institute, Fair Food documents the work of Australian farmers, social entrepreneurs and communities pioneering new approaches to food production, marketing and distribution.

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[quote author=”Dr Nick Rose” image=”https://afsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/nick-200.jpg” w=”150″ h=”150″ image_align=”right”]It’s Australia’s first feature-length documentary that tells the story of our fair food pioneers, those creating a resilient and fair food and farming system…

The film features outstanding individuals like Victorian free range pig farmer Tammi Jonas, who is combining farming with direct marketing; pasture cropping and holistic land management expert Colin Seis; Ben Shewry of Attica Restaurant; ABC Gardening guru Costa Georgiadis; and Australian rugby union star and fair food advocate, David Pocock…[/quote]

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[button_link url=” https://afsa.org.au/blog/2015/02/03/fair-food-documentary-details-for-screenings/” target=”blank” style=”” title=”” class=”” id=”” onclick=””] Details for screenings  [/button_link]

 

[button_link url=”https://afsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/FAIR-FOOD-FILM-MEDIA-RELEASE-.pdf” target=”blank” style=”” title=”” class=”” id=”” onclick=””] Download Fair Food documentary media release [/button_link]

 

Fair Food Documentary – Details for Screenings

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GAC_FairFoodThis is the text of an email sent to all those who have expressed interest in hosting a screening of the Fair Food documentary

Dear Friends

Fair Food – the documentary!

Thank you so much for your support of AFSA and the Fair Food movement in Australia. We are very excited to be collaborating with communities all around the country in sharing some truly inspiring stories of the wonderful people transforming our food system. In this email we are providing details about how you can obtain a copy of Fair Food from us, arrangements for screening, and the support in terms of materials and promotion and, if possible, speakers, that we can provide.

Obtaining the DVD

Once the licence fee (see below) is paid and the licence agreement signed, a copy of the Fair Food DVD will be sent to your nominated address. The releasedate for the DVD will be confirmed in a subsequent email but is likely to be between mid-February and early March. The film is 1 hour 4 minutes duration.

Resources and event ideas

How you choose to organise the event is entirely up to you, and we recognise and celebrate that many of you will no doubt have more experience than us in running similar events. We want to help make your event as successful and enjoyable as possible, and so we are putting together some resources and strategies from our own experience hosting film events, as options for you to consider.

Materials / Resources

Here are some of the resources available – let us know on the order section at the base of the licence agreement which, if any, you would like: • A5 small flyers about Fair Food & AFSA • A4 flyers with more information about Fair Food and Food Sovereignty in Australia and why we need a Fair Food movement • Scripts or guided conversation outlines are available to use to introduce the film and to use at the end of the screening to stimulate discussion

Speaker / panel discussions

Wherever and whenever possible AFSA will attempt to have a local AFSA member available to your screening to discuss fair food and food sovereignty issues in Australia, the work of AFSA, and to take part in any speaking slots or panel discussions you may wish to conduct.

Fair Food Week, October 2015

We encourage all groups and organisations conducting screenings to make attendees aware of Fair Food Week in October 2015 (www.fairfoodweek.org.au) and if possible guide discussion around what event or events could be planned in your local area to celebrate Fair Food Week this year.

Event ideas

And here are some event ideas which have worked well elsewhere:

  • instead of (or to supplement) catering, invite attendees to bring a plate of locally grown food, local fruit or drinks
  • set up a photo booth with the #fairfood hashtag, and card and textas available for people to write a short message about what fair food means to them and have their photo taken. Photos can be shared on our AFSA / Fair Food Week Facebook pages and with our Instagram account (http://instagram.com/fairfoodnow/) to celebrate your screening. For inspiration, check out this photo album put together by members of the Lakeside Drive Community Garden for Fair Food Week 2013: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.543397022400692.1073741832.125167374223661&type=3
  • if you decide to have some discussion afterwards, and you and the participants feel comfortable doing so, it would be great to capture a few views and opinions about local fair food issues on a short video. We can add these to our YouTube channel and also upload them to the Fair Food doco website, www.justfoodfilms.com, to share what’s happening in your community with the rest of the country and the world.

Cost

Fair Food is available to community groups for a one-time licence fee of $300. Please see the attached FAIR FOOD – Licensing Agreement May 2015 for details of the licence conditions. If your organisation or group would have difficulty recouping the licence fee through ticket sales and sponsorships, or might otherwise have difficulty paying the full amount of this fee, please contact us to discuss alternative arrangements. Equally, as a non-profit association that is entirely reliant on member subscriptions and volunteer labour to sustain our advocacy programs and campaigns, if you are in a position to make an additional donation beyond the licence fee, we would be sincerely grateful. If you are uncertain about any of these terms, please contact AFSA via email or the numbers below to discuss and outline your questions.

Screenings near you

There are numbers of groups interested in hosting screenings planned for Adelaide, Brisbane and north coast NSW (Byron Bay). If you are in those regions and are not already in contact with others locally, please let us know so you can coordinate screenings, if it is decided to host more than one.

Membership of AFSA

Membership of AFSA is not a requirement for purchasing the DVD, but we would like to share a few reasons to consider becoming a member, whether as an individual ($10 / $25), farmer ($50), community group ($35), organisation or business ($100). Change doesn’t happen unless you work for it – and we have, over nearly five years:

  • created Australia’s first crowd-sourced food policy document – the People’s Food Plan, with the direct participation of 600 people in 40 public forums;
  • exposed the flawed and flimsy foundations of the previous Federal Government’s business-as-usual National Food Plan;
  • established a new national event to celebrate the farms, individuals and organisations transforming our food system – Fair Food Week – with over 210 events and more than 35,000 people participating in 2013 and 2014;
  • with the Field Institute, crowd-funded over $30,000 to make Australia’s first food politics documentary – Fair Food;
  • supported the establishment of local Fair Food Chapters in Brisbane, Adelaide, Sunbury, and Byron Bay, with more in formation;
  • created a dedicated advocacy and networking chapter for producers pioneering new ways of land stewardship and short supply chain relationships with their customers and communities – Fair Food Farmers United;
  • campaigned for a Local Food Act and multi-million dollar Local Food Fund to support and resource the efforts of all Australians who want a fair food future;
  • actively participated in the global food sovereignty movement by attending conferences of La Via Campesina and the International Planning Committee on Food Sovereignty, as well as participated in global food security governance negotiations at the World Committee on Food Security;
  • secured a contract with University of Queensland Press to write Australia’s first anthology of the Fair Food movement, which will be published later this year;
  • written dozens of articles for online publications and magazines, participated in many seminars, conferences and events as speakers, and been interviewed dozens of times on local and national radio to raise awareness of the key issues.

This is power of a social movement – the power of people working together united by a common vision and passion for change. And we’re just getting started! With your support and participation as individual and group members, we can really make the Fair Food movement in Australia become an unstoppable force for change. We also value greatly your support of AFSA by distributing the membership leaflet at the screenings and promoting membership to attendees. For details of how to join AFSA, please visit: afsa.org.au/join-us.

We are excited about the level of interest being shown around the nation in the Fair Food documentary. We are proud to have been part of bringing Australia’s first Fair Food documentary to you, and hope it will play a role in bringing us into greater connectedness and stimulate smart, innovative, creative action towards making our food system fairer for all.

If you would like any further information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch either by email or by phone at the numbers below.

Warmly,

Tammi Jonas
AFSA President
tammois@gmail.com
0422 429 362

Nick Rose
AFSA National Coordinator
admin@afsa.org.au
0414 497 819

 

On behalf of the AFSA National Committee

 

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