Alternative Globalization Addressing Peoples and Earth

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of people in these countries are destroyed and food sovereignty is
undermined. Using food aid as a further outlet for dumping, especially for
genetically modified (GM) grain, deepens these effects. Worse, it confronts
governments with the dramatic choice of accepting GMOs with associated
risks to the integrity of their bio-systems, or letting their people starve.
We believe that God’s economy of solidarity and justice for the household
of creation includes the promise that the people of the world have the
right to produce their own food and control the resources belonging to
their livelihoods, including biodiversity. It is therefore the right and the
responsibility of governments to support the livelihoods of small farmers
in the South and in the North. It is their right to refuse the demands of
agribusinesses that seek to control every aspect of the cycle of life. Such
an approach requires respect for indigenous spiritual relationships to land
and the bounties of mother earth.
It is the communities themselves who must determine their own solutions
to land tenancy and sustenance of life.
The biblical tradition of the prophets and Sabbath/Jubilee puts the priority
use of the land for the well-being of the poor, the widow, the orphan and
the stranger. Trade rules and the institutions responsible for their
implementation are just if they serve, first of all, oppressed and marginalized
people. This is the biblical call for justice (Amos 5: 11-15).
3.4 Resistance and the transformation of trade rules and
relationships
Today, the good news is that peoples themselves, often working alongside
their governments, are daring to say “enough is enough”. Peasants, workers
and social movements, along with trade unions and other civil society
organizations, have mobilized at the local, national and international levels.
Their pressure has strengthened the resolve of Southern governments and
helped them expose the power politics that drive international trade.
The people have raised their voices against the unjust trade system in the
name of social justice, self-determination, democracy and the right to life.
For example, peasant movements, rooted in their local struggles, have
become internationally linked through networks such as Via Campesina,
whose affiliates represent 60 million farmers across 46 countries. In Cancun
in 2003, at a three-day indigenous and farmers’ forum convened by Via
Campesina around the ministerial trade talks, the farmers shared with each
other knowledge and strategies around common concerns of land
ownership, access to food, biodiversity, water, the impact of commercial
forestry, fisheries and tourism, and the exploitation of farm workers.
Significantly, their message of unity and internationalism was expressed
through a rich diversity of cultures and identities.