Presenters: Alexis Yamashita, Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance; Chanda Robinson-Banks, Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance; Ira Wallace, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange; Viven Sansour, Palestine Heirloom Seed Library
Session Title: Race, Equity and the Organic Movement

This session was recorded during the 11th Organic Seed Growers Conference hosted February 4-11, 2022 by Organic Seed Alliance. More presentations from the conference are available in this playlist.

Over 1,200 seed people from 48 U.S. states and 39 countries from across the Earth participated virtually in the weeklong event. The biennial Organic Seed Growers Conference is the largest conference in the U.S. focused solely on organic seed, and creates spaces where experienced and emerging seed stewards can convene timely conversations, educational trainings, and strategy sessions.

To participate in the discussion about this session, join the growing network of seed stewards, Organic Seed Commons at [ Ссылка ]

Race, Equity and the Organic Movement
Since its formation in the early 20th Century, the organic movement has largely focused on the day-to-day practices of farmers and food producers, aiming to advance a style of agriculture that preserves the natural world while providing healthy food, fiber, and medicine for humanity. For the most part, the organic movement has had little to say about broader societal issues beyond environmental preservation and human health. Though “Certified Organic” implies strict requirements surrounding chemical inputs and other farming logistics, it implies nothing with respect to farmworkers rights, environmental justice, or diversity, equity, and inclusion. At a time when institutions large and small are rightly questioning long-established practices as a first move toward building a more just future, shouldn’t the organic movement be doing the same? What long-established practices in organic agriculture should be changed or abandoned? Whom does the organic movement seek to serve and include among its ranks? Have we become too insular or exclusive? And what future is there for the organic movement if it fails to reach the communities that suffer most from industrial agriculture — and yet are also sometimes the most skeptical of the “USDA Certified Organic” label? This roundtable discussion aims to begin a conversation around these important questions.

свернуть