THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE FUTURE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE

About the Commission
The International Commission on the Future of Food was created in 2003 out of a joint initiative of Claudio Martini, President of the Region of Tuscany and Vandana Shiva, Executive Director of Research Foundation for Technology, Science and Ecology/ Navdanya, and is composed of a group of leading activists, academics, scientists, politicians and farmers from North and South working toward shaping more socially and ecologically sustainable food and agriculture systems.
It seeks to help strengthen and make more visible viable alternatives to the present corporate controlled, technology-based, monocultural, and export-oriented systems of food and agriculture.
The Commission is a unique example of an on-going collaboration between a regional institution and a group of leading civil society representatives active in creative movements for the protection of biodiversity, local food production and consumption, food security and food safety, and the rights of small farmers. It seeks to strengthen forces for global democracy through helping construct a network of regional and local governments and movements working on sustainable food security systems.

...its main activities and underlying principles
The Commission’s work is guided by the principles outlined and developed in its three manifestos : the Manifesto on the Future of Food, the Manifesto on the Future of Seed, and the Manifesto on Climate Change and the Future of Food Security.
The Manifesto on the Future of Food was drawn up as a response to the growing industrialization and globalization of the world’s agriculture and food supply that is increasing hunger, landlessness, despair and suicides among farmers. It affirms that local, national and regional entities and communities have the inherent right and obligation to protect, sustain and support all necessary conditions to encourage production of sufficient healthy food in a way that conserves the land, water and ecological integrity of the place, respects and supports producers’ livelihoods, and is accessible to all people.
The underlying principle of the Manifesto on the Future of Seed is that seeds are a common property resource, to be shared for the well being of all and saved for the well being of future generations. Seed saving and sharing is a right and obligation that cannot be interfered with by any national or international law which makes seed saving and seed sharing a crime and calls upon governments world wide to reverse the privatisation of seed development. It calls on regional governments to join the example of the Region of Tuscany, which has enacted a seed law that promotes access of farmers to local seeds. The Seed Manifesto affirms that any future concept of agricultural production must anticipate and take into account the change in climatic conditions and must urgently introduce stringent measures to reduce Co2 and greenhouse gas emissions.

Manifesto on Climate Change and the Future of Food Security
The Commission drew up its third Manifesto in response to the growing negative impact that climate change is having on food and agriculture systems and to the deepening food crisis in the world. It was presented in Brussels on 27 May 2008 at the European Parliament, an event hosted by the Region of Tuscany. The document outlines a set of agro-ecological principles that help mitigate and adapt to the hazards and the impact of climate change on the food security of the planet. The report demonstrates that current global trade and economic policies enforce a highly energy intensive food and agriculture system that is directly at odds with the planet’s food and ecological imperative; it is a the same time extremely vulnerable to climate change. It assesses that as much as 25% of emissions are caused by current systems of industrial farming and globalised trade. It outlines some of the false agricultural solutions that are being promoted in the name of “clean” or “green” energy — namely, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and large-scale production of agrofuels, policies that promote speculation and drive up food prices. The report demonstrates that ecological organic food systems are a real solution to current climate concerns in terms of mitigation and adaptation and an energy transition to a post-fossil fuel era; it identifies clear strategies for addressing the dual crisis of food instability and hunger.

A Joint Declaration of Intent between the Commission on the Future of Food and the European Network of GMO Free Regions and Local Authorities was signed in May 2007 that outlines shared principles and objectives with the intent of carrying out joint programmes and initiatives aimed at prohibiting the cultivation of GMOs and at protecting and enhancing biodiversity.

The role of the Region of Tuscany
The Region’s sustainable agriculture model is based on quality production, valorization of the environment and territory, biodiversity protection, diversity of knowledge, multifunctional agricultural enterprises, and the relationship between producers and consumers. It is convinced that this type of sustainable agriculture will grow and increase as opposed to the industrial monoculture model based on chemical and energy inputs, GMOs and on intellectual property monopolies of seeds by a few multinational companies. In order to further effect implementation of these policies, the Region has committed itself to activities of international scope such as the support of the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture, the Slow Food Foundation on Biodiversity and the European Network of GMO free Regions and Local Authorities.

The Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture is supported by the Regional Government of Tuscany/ARSIA, a pioneer in shaping agricultural policy towards sustainability, diversity, health, safety and participatory democracy.

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