Environmental for Food Justice

Attributed to Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Jr. From ‘Keep on Pushing’ to ‘Pushaman’ & Back Again ORGANIC INTELLECTUALS • DIRECT ACTION • FIFTY YEARS PAST CHICAGO’S ‘WAR ON POVERTY’ Pancho McFarland | Chicago. IL | February 16, 2014 Originally prepared for the “50 Anniversary of the War On Poverty” Chicago State University   February 11, 2014 I teach a “Class and Stratification” course for the Sociology Program at Chicago State University.   In the course we focus on inequality, the global capitalist economic system, critiques of it and examinations of alternative economic systems.   We examine the problems of inequality caused by the capitalist economy and then focus on our city, Chicago, as a means to understand our places in the economy as working class people of color.   To learn about ourselves in Chicago I use a text written by the Chicago Grassroots Curriculum Taskforce.   The book, Urban Renewal or Urban Removal? is volume one of a planned eight.   ...

Bija swaraj, Chicago-style SEED-SAVING AS SELF-DETERMINATION AND RESISTANCE Pancho McFarland | Chicago, IL | October 2, 2013 Gardeners at the Roseland Community Peace Garden have committed to the principles of bija swaraj , which is the principle of seed self-rule or seed democracy. They are also committed to bija satyagraha or non-cooperation with the powerful corporate seed machines and unjust laws and legal structures that benefit transnational corporations at the expense of the planet.   This summer at the Outdoor CommUnity Classroom at the Peace Garden, gardeners discussed international movements for food sovereignty and food autonomy, especially as detailed by Vandana Shiva in her numerous works and how this related to the their situations in the U.S. inner city. Vandana Shiva A Commitment to Bija Swaraj In the Peace Garden we discuss the seed, bija .   We examine the fact that seed is the source of life.   Access to the seed means the ability to survive.   If ...