Behind the brands, oxfam behind the brands, teach about sugar, teach about fair. Land acquisitions become land grabs when they do one or more of the. One thing ive learned from my experiences and oxfams campaign. Investors buy land at low prices, then sell high when the recession is over.
First, he did a lot of traveling in africa, asia and south america to visit some rather difficulttoreach outposts such as gambella in ethiopia. Fred pearce, who investigated the practice for his 2012 book the land grabbers, put it this way in an interview with the guardian. Land grabbing is the contentious issue of largescale land acquisitions. Landgrabbing, hunger, and climate change the global. The oxfam handbook of development and relief deborah. Oxfam has documented numerous land conflicts and land grabs associated with sugar production. Reviewing cocacola and pepsicos land assessments in brazil.
See more ideas about food system, going to bed hungry and food. Pepsico and associated british foods make sure your sugar doesnt lead to land grabs. They got no compensation from the company and live underneath the bridge now, dos santos told the antipoverty nonprofit oxfam pdf last year in a report on land grabs in the sugar industry. The omo valley in ethiopia vast tracks of land have been sold off almost without consultation with the kara people. After more than 2 decades oxfam s school program has closed. More than 272,000 people joined oxfams behind the brands campaign and called on pepsico and cocacola to help stop land grabs, signing petitions, sending messages on social media, and more. Land grabs have become an important and controversial issue in development economics in recent years throughout the world, it is estimated that 445 million hectares of land are uncultivated and available for farming, compared with about 1. No matter where we live, we can take steps to help stop land grabs. Our collection of secondhand books is huge and growing all the time, so theres always something new to discover. Biofuel bonanza not so sweet for brazils sugar cane cutters half a million jobs and 500 years of tradition are to be phased out in brazils sugar cane industry since oxfam reported sugar land conflicts last year, two big buyers cocacola and pepsico have stepped in with new supplier policies. This has led to a rush of speculative land purchases. Nicaragua nicaragua sugar estates limited01leon and chinandega 2008.
And in asia, they study indonesia, vietnam, cambodia, philippines and china. Since oxfam reported sugar land conflicts last year, two big buyers cocacola and pepsico have stepped in with new supplier policies. This campaign complements the likes of greenpeace, rainforest action network and other ngos targeting companies for the environmental impacts associated with large land deals. Food and drink firms urged to crack down on sugar land. Bad governance leads to bad land deals the link between politics and land grabs february 8, 20 ricardo fuentesnieva right and marloes nicholls left crunch the numbers to find that big land investments sniff out countries with weak governance aka no accountability, no regulation, no rule of law, and a green light for corruption.
The driving forces of african land grabs are global. Last century the tales of an adventurer in the asian tiger era hardback kindle. In the fall of 20, davis said, oxfam campaigned for zero tolerance for land grabs in the supply chains of cocacola, pepsico and associated british foods because these three companies are significant buyers of surgar so could exercise immense power in putting an end to land grabs in their supply chains. Oxfam set out to find a good example of largescale land acquisition and so we went to paraguay, one of the poorest countries in south america whose economy relies on agriculture.
Princeton sugar is sweet, but the ethics of its production is anything but appealing. Jose graziano da silva, director general, united nations food and agriculture organization the global farms race is an exceptional book, easily the best on land grabs of any that i have seen. Land grabbing is a bitter secret in the sugar supply chains of some of the worlds biggest. Oxfam s behind the brands campaign says that the worlds ten biggest food and drink companies lack strong enough policies to stop land grabs and disputes from featuring in their supply chains. While used broadly throughout history, land grabbing as used in the 21st century primarily refers to largescale land acquisitions following the 200708 world food price crisis. Authors support oxfam land grab campaign the bookseller. Ethiopia is experiencing economic growth though its a brutal dictatorship and yet millions of its citizens suffer from chronic food shortages. In november we partnered with photo sharing app eyeem to ask you to stand for land by taking a photo of your feet in your favorite place and stand in solidarity with those affected by land grabs, to demand action from pepsico and abf to. Image marc veraart, flickr international aid often comes with big strings attached.
A recent oxfam report said that sugar production was the motive for 100 large corporate land deals involving 10 million acres over the past years and argued that the competition will only. Winnie byanyima is the executive director of oxfam international. The land grabs next door oxfam america first person blog. Food and drink firms urged to crack down on sugar land grabs this article is more than 6 years old demand for sugar is triggering land conflicts, says oxfam, as it calls on cocacola and other. And many onlookers are worried about a corresponding rise in land grabs. Contents prologue 8 introduction 1011 1 why land 1. Food and drink firms urged to crack down on sugar land grabs.
Industrialsize sugar plantations and a soon to open dam are strangling indigenous communities over more than 375,000 hectares. This briefing shows how one crop sugar has been driving largescale land acquisitions and land conflicts at the expense of smallscale food. Oxfam, the aflcio, trillium asset management and several other investors today filed a formal shareholder resolution urging pepsico to account for land rights violations in its supply chain. We are building reservoirs, dykes, roads, towns of 15,000 people. Sugar rush, a recent report released by oxfam international as part of its behind the brands campaign, has shown that our use of sugar implicates us in land grabs that violate the rights of some of the worlds poorest communities. Find 2 listings related to books a million in sugar land on. Oxfams supply chain study likes unilever, nestle, but is. Land grabs are big deals where local communities that rely on the land are evicted without consent or compensation. In 20112014 anz partfinanced the pps sugar plantation complex by providing a loan for a sugar mill built on, and sourcing from, the disputed land.
Oxfams own behind the brands campaign has targeted some of the largest brands in the world around their role in fueling land conflicts and land grabs. Feb 21, 2012 oxfams grow campaign aims to build a better food system. Investors, governments and international organizations must also put a stop to land grabbing by fixing the current policies, regulations and business practices, which frequently fail to ensure that local people are consulted. It offers an expression of oxfams fundamental principles. Oxfam backs greater investment in agriculture and increased support to.
In november 20, cocacolathe worlds largest purchaser of sugar announced major commitments to respect and protect the land rights of rural and. Associated british foods responds to oxfam land grab criticism. Coke, pressed by oxfam, pledges zero tolerance for land. Paraguay is in the grip of a soy boom, becoming the worlds fourth largest exporter. Ethiopias omo valley is one of the most culturally diverse places on. Land grabs push thousands further into poverty oxfam. Land grabs leave people hungry and homeless oxfam demand for cheap food and fuel in the rich world is driving poor people from their homes, according to oxfam, as big business, including. Contrary to widespread perceptions, land grabs do not just involve wide swaths of rangeland in subsaharan africa or massive palm oil, soy and sugar cane plantations in asia and latin america. This means the world bank will work to ensure that the worlds most vulnerable people have their land rights respected.
This handbook is the product of the experience of oxfam uk and ireland in its work in over 70 countries around the world. Its been great working alongside oxfam creating something that could really make a difference and will hopefully raise awareness of such terrifying events. We all rely on the landour common groundand farms to put food on the table. Sugar cane background cuban recipes, dominican republic.
Land grabbing is having more of an impact on the lives of poor people than climate change. Associated british foods abf has released a statement in response to a report published by oxfam yesterday which alleged that abf, along with beverage giant cocacola and pepsico, were not being proactive enough in stopping. Grow is oxfams campaign for better ways to feed the world while protecting the planets resources. We have everything from classic childrens books to fireside fiction, super scifi, travel and history books. Our commitment to tackling poverty and empowering communities continues. In this post, she shares the success of oxfams latest campaign, which has prompted coca cola to adopt a policy of zero tolerance for land grabs. Writers aminatta forna, kamila shamsie, paul theroux and henning mankell have given support to a new oxfam campaign to stop land grabs in developing countries. Banks accused of backing unethical foreign companies. Over the last three decades, rising global demand for food, biofuel and fi bre and concerns ove r water supplies in ri cher arid and semi a. This resource helps learners understand some of the issues involved in sugar cane production and compare and contrast these issues with the values pepsi. Since 2000, at least 4 m ha of land has been acquired through 100 largescale deals by sugar industries.
Explore the issues around land grabs and be inspired to take action as active global citizens. Antony loewenstein is in south sudan researching his explosive new book. Explore the connection between big companies, sugar and land grabs. Oxfams research also links nab to the singaporean palm oil giant wilmar and cba to a company called bunge, whose sugar operations in brazil are under investigation for alleged links to land grabs. The new fight over who owns the earthpearce has written a book on a topical and controversial themeforeign investment in farmlandthat can be commended on at least three counts. Head of research for oxfam gb and author of from poverty to power. Oxfam said that of the three agricultural commodities which pose the greatest risk of being linked to land grabs sugar, soy, and palm oil sugar production posed the biggest problem. Behind the brands explore the connection between big companies, sugar and land grabs. The denial of such rights is at the heart of poverty and. After 250,000 people joined the call for cocacola, pepsico and associated british foods, three of the biggest players in the sugar industry to make sure the sugar in their food and drinks doesnt lead to land grabs, cocacola committed to take steps to stop land grabs in their supply chain.
With new dataladen reports and academic papers coming out on a seemingly weekly basis describing the dynamics of global land grabs, pearces book plays a valuable role in bringing to life the human element involved in these deals, including both affected local communities and investors. The resources on these pages will no longer be updated. Ethiopias omo valley is one of the most culturally diverse places on the planet. Oxfam files shareholder resolution urging pepsico to address land grabs. Land conflicts will burn you, big ag oxfam america the. Giving with one hand and taking everything with the other by antony loewenstein ethiopias omo valley is one of the most culturally diverse places on the planet. The bitterness of sugar by peter singer project syndicate. The global farms race provides an international survey of this phenomenon and a valuable exploration of the controversies surrounding it. One of the problems with socalled land grabs is secrecy. With your help, oxfam has been campaigning on land grabs as part of our grow campaign for food justice. Almost 900 million of us go to bed hungry every night, the majority women and girls. She also highlights the progress that other large buyers like pepsi co and associated british foods are yet to make. Food and drink firms urged to crack down on sugar land grabs new oxfam report shows that sugar, along with soy and palm oil driving largescale land acquisitions and land conflicts cocacola, pepsico, associated british foods and other global food and beverage companies are being urged to establish a zerotolerance policy. This means investing in womens lives and capacities.