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Press Room — News releasesFor immediate release ‹‹ Back to News Releases MORE THAN 40 MAJOR ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORT FOOD SOVEREIGNTYMONTREAL, Sept. 7 /CNW Telbec/ - More than 40 major Quebec organizations, meeting at the Summit for Food Sovereignty held today in Montreal, signed a declaration of support for food sovereignty, which will be tabled at the Commission on the future of Quebec agriculture and agri-food on this, the last day of public hearings. Environmental organizations, unions, industrial food processors, cooperatives, producers, "food citizens", and other organizations from civil society all massively endorse the principles of food sovereignty, as promoted by a growing number of organizations in many countries around the world.The declaration calls on the governments of Quebec and Canada to make food sovereignty the cornerstone of their food and agricultural policy, as well as play an international leadership role in promoting an exception for agriculture and the right of peoples to food sovereignty. "Given its social, environmental and agricultural dimensions, agriculture should be treated similarly to culture under the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions," the organizations affirmed in the declaration. "To deal with the issues of our current food system, we propose a consensus solution. Increasingly, both consumers and producers agree that food sovereignty is a win-win solution. This social contract satisfies the needs of each group - to feed themselves and to make a good living from agriculture," said Frédéric Paré, Coordinator of Équiterre's Ecological Agriculture program. "Why subject all agricultural production to WTO rules when 90% of agricultural products are consumed in the countries which produce them? Blind liberalization of markets leads to failure, whereas food sovereignty represents a ray of hope for both developed and developing countries," said Laurent Pellerin, spokesperson for the GO Coalition, an organizer of the Rendez-vous québécois pour la souveraineté alimentaire (Quebec rendezvous for food sovereignty). Food sovereignty is defined as the right of peoples to determine their own food and agricultural policies, to protect and regulate domestic agricultural production and trade in order to achieve sustainable development objectives and prevent the dumping of agricultural and food products in their markets. Food sovereignty does not prevent trade between countries, provided that trading practices respect peoples' right to local, healthy and environmentally sustainable agricultural produce grown locally under fair conditions that respect the right of farmers and farm workers to decent working conditions and pay. "Quebec and Canada already have unique and effective market-regulation tools to achieve concrete food sovereignty objectives, specifically supply management, collective marketing, cooperation and short marketing channels," said Denis Richard, President of La Coop fédérée. "These tools must not only be maintained but defended and promoted by our governments to international bodies like the WTO," Richard added. Concrete measures to achieve food sovereignty Meeting in plenary session, the food sovereignty promoters, in particular, discussed a concrete plan of action to help governments implement a food sovereignty framework, such as the adoption of a food procurement policy for public and parapublic institutions, giving preference and support mostly to locally produced food, or the requirement that food retailers purchase a minimum quantity of local, regional and national products. Summit organizers also agreed to call a meeting of the declaration's signatories soon to promote food sovereignty and put it at the centre of our public policies. "The table has definitely been set for food sovereignty," Frédéric Paré observed. "We all agree. The governments now have to intervene to put in place the principles of agriculture and food solidarity, equity and sustainability founded on our productive territory," he added. The Summit for food sovereignty is part of a series of events entitled "D'abord nourrir notre monde - Rendez-vous québécois pour la souveraineté alimentaire" (Feed our people first, Quebec rendezvous for food sovereignty), organized by Équiterre, the GO5 Coalition and La Coop fédérée. To read the official Declaration, visit: www.nourrirnotremonde.org/declaration List of organizations that support the Declaration
Chefs supporting the concept of food sovereignty
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