Autumn – especially in Vermont – is a time of beauty and
celebration. It’s a time to watch our leaves change color, and to celebrate our
always abundant harvests. Who doesn’t love their hot apple cider and their
Thanksgiving spread?
This season, while we’re giving thanks for what we have and
celebrating plenty, is perhaps the most important time to remember that poverty
and food injustice leave millions without luxury, and even sustenance, every
year.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. We know that when we all
come together, we can change the world, which is why this fall Oxfam is kicking
off Six Weeks of Action Against Hunger.
Kicking it off, today we’re celebrating World Food Day, a day
commemorating the founding of the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization. This
day celebrates efforts in the fight for food security, and brings awareness to
issues in vital need of action.
This year, World Food Day is focusing on family farming.
Here in Vermont, the Oxfam Action Corps are celebrating with a night at the
Vermont Goat Collaborative in Colchester. This organization works with new
Americans to raise and sell goats in the community – a relief for many who have
suddenly found themselves in a country where, despite its importance elsewhere,
goat meat is scarce. The project is an awesome example of how farming and food
can bring people together.
We’ll be cozying up in the Goat Collaborative’s barn,
sharing warm drinks, and watching Planet for Sale – a documentary about
the corporate and government scramble for control of farmland, and what that
could mean for family farmers across the globe. We’ll have a discussion
afterwards, using the film as a springboard for what we can do, and how our
action can help.
Join us tonight, and stay tuned for the next five weeks of
action!