Green Time TV, April 2017: Food Sovereignty in Missouri, US and the World
by Don Fitz
Who really controls the food that we eat? Who controls the food the world eats? April 2017 Green Time episodes challenge the domination of food.
What is the neoliberal economy? What does it have to do with food and freedom? In the first April Green Time, host Don Fitz and food activist guest Kathleen Logan Smith look at what “food sovereignty” is and what it means for Missouri farmers. They explore corporate control of farmland and food. How does that control affect immigration from Mexico? How much of US food is grown here and how much is imported? How do bankers affect the growing of food?
What are the “Pink Tide” countries of Latin America? How have trade agreements change them? During the second April Green Time, host Don Fitz and guest Dan Hellinger of Webster University discuss the Lula and Rousseff governments of Brazil and how food, land and hunger affected their governments. How did “extractivism” affect food security in Brazil? What was Cuba's “special period” and how did it change agriculture? How are Cuba's new links to the world economy influencing it? In Mexico, where did the Zapatistas come from? What new agricultural institutions did the Zapatistas set up?
What health dangers do crops with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) pose, both from the GMOs themselves and from the Roundup pesticide that most are created to withstand? The third April Green Time has host Don Fitz and guest Daniel Romano of GMO-Free Midwest looking at the sinking stature of the industry which is caused largely by the distrust and hostility it has generated. Would an agriculture which was grassroots, organic, sustainable, labor-intensive and locally sourced raise or lower the price of food?
There is a strong connection between the desire local autonomy and opposition to trade treaties. The fourth April Green Time includes host Don Fitz and guests Karen Wilson and Mark Strothmann of Joining Hands asking why India’s government pushed hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides onto its farmers. What were India’s farmers doing before this? They look at the relationship between the price of food and profits of corporations as well as how NAFTA has affected both the US & Mexico.
What are “public variety” seeds and why are they getting harder for farmers to find? The final April Green Time features host Don Fitz and guest Roger Allison of the Missouri Rural Crisis Center (MRCC) discussing how that organization addresses problems faced by Missouri farmers. They look at what “food sovereignty” means for local farmers and people throughout the world. The globalization of food production is strongly linked to the industrialization of agriculture. These processes, as well as international trade policies have hurt farmers in country after country.
April shows include portions of the movie Greening the Revolution.
Green Time appears at noon on Saturdays in St. Louis on Channel 24-1 and at 8 pm on Mondays in St. Louis on Channel 24-2, Springfield on Channel 39, Joplin on Channel 36 and Marshfield on Channel 17. Green Time programs air on these dates:
April 1, 3: “Food Sovereignty in Missouri,”
April 8, 10: “Food, Finance & the Pink Tide,”
April 15, 17: “Biotech Consolidation: An Industry in Decline,”
April 22, 24: “Injustice in International Trade,”
April 29, May 1: “Challenges to Missouri Agriculture.”
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