Cultures of Resistance

For the last three decades, the Oakland-based think tank Food First has been on the forefront of the fight for food justice. Learn about how their research, analysis, advocacy, and production of educational materials shape agriculture policy debates and assists social movements working for food sovereignty.

Until quite recently, farming had not changed much for thousands of years. Human and animal power was responsible for tilling the soil and harvesting crops, and nearly all food was produced in close proximity to where it was consumed. A number of developments in the twentieth century changed all that.

Cultures of Resistance supports efforts to make trade fair and to ensure that farmers and other producers in the global South receive just wages for their work.

Slow Food International, with its myriad local chapters, or "conviviums," works to protect communities' abilities to produce their own ecologically safe and economically fair foods, while preserving indigenous cuisines from multinational agribusiness.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has for decades been on the forefront of international emergency medical aid. Cultures of Resistance supports MSF's new multimedia campaign, "Starved for Attention," which sheds light on the millions of children without adequate diets and the flaws of the international food aid system.

CoR ally PARSA's projects around Afghanistan all have as their common purpose to help women improve their own livelihoods. The Widows Garden project helps the many thousands who have lost their husbands to rebuild their lives and support their families.

For over 40 years, American Near East Refugee Aid (ANERA) has responded to the immediate needs of refugees while honoring a commitment to long-term development and self-sufficiency. What really sets them apart, though, is their inclusion of creative expression in the healing process and in education. Check out how ANERA employs art, music, dance, and theater to engage refugee camp populations about nutritional health.