GROW is Oxfam's new campaign for better ways to ... - Oxfam Blogs
GROW is Oxfam's new campaign for better ways to ... - Oxfam Blogs
GROW is Oxfam's new campaign for better ways to ... - Oxfam Blogs
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<strong>GROW</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>Oxfam</strong>’s <strong>new</strong> <strong>campaign</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>better</strong> <strong>ways</strong> <strong>to</strong> grow, share, and live<strong>to</strong>gether. A <strong>campaign</strong> <strong>for</strong> the billions of us who eat food and over a billion menand women who grow it, <strong>to</strong> share solutions <strong>for</strong> a more hopeful future in whicheveryone al<strong>ways</strong> has enough <strong>to</strong> eat.Soon there will be nine billion of us on the planet. We are all in th<strong>is</strong> <strong>to</strong>gether. Oursocieties must grow <strong>to</strong> meet our needs. But more of the same <strong>is</strong> not the answer.Some of the <strong>ways</strong> we grow <strong>to</strong>day are increasing inequality and using up ournatural resources – the fertile land, stable climate and fresh water on which weall rely.Already almost a billion of us go <strong>to</strong> bed hungry every night, not because there<strong>is</strong>n’t enough, but because of deep imbalances in opportunity and control ofresources. Now half a century of slow progress <strong>is</strong> being reversed. An age of cr<strong>is</strong><strong>is</strong>,extreme weather, r<strong>is</strong>ing prices, and failing production threatens <strong>to</strong> push manymore back in<strong>to</strong> hunger.Th<strong>is</strong> <strong>is</strong> a turning point. A system organized by vested interests <strong>is</strong> failing the res<strong>to</strong>f us. To meet humankind’s needs and take the pressure off the planet, we need<strong>to</strong> grow more fairly and sustainably, and <strong>to</strong> choose cooperation over div<strong>is</strong>ion.A powerful few, including some politicians and business elites, argue the answer<strong>is</strong> more of the same. More industrial agriculture, controlled by a few bigcorporations, using yet more resources. Land grabs by corporate interests thatd<strong>is</strong>possess men and women living in poverty. More of the same false solutionsthat benefit the few most. But more of the same <strong>is</strong> no longer enough.Instead, we can share a wealth of solutions that are fit <strong>for</strong> the future and benefitus all. Solutions like the sustainable rice system spreading through Asia, helpingsmall farmers <strong>to</strong> produce more with less. The Zero Hunger <strong>campaign</strong> which wesaw increase equity and cut hunger by a third in Brazil. A wealth of innovationsin green growth around the world.The plan <strong>for</strong> the <strong>GROW</strong> <strong>campaign</strong> <strong>is</strong> <strong>to</strong> share solutions <strong>for</strong> the many, not justthe few. To expose the threats we face, limit the power of vested interests, andhelp grow movements <strong>for</strong> a <strong>better</strong> future. To make practical positive changes inhow we produce, consume, share and manage food and other resources. We will<strong>campaign</strong> <strong>for</strong> three big shifts in how we grow, share, and live <strong>to</strong>gether on theplanet:1. Growing <strong>better</strong>We can and must invest in a <strong>new</strong> agriculture, so that over a billion small-scalefood producers around the planet, many of them women, are no longer starvedof the land and resources they need <strong>to</strong> sustainably grow enough <strong>for</strong> themselvesand others.
2. Sharing <strong>better</strong>We can and must trans<strong>for</strong>m how we govern the food system – managing markets<strong>to</strong> prevent food cr<strong>is</strong>es, s<strong>to</strong>pping corporate abuses of power, re<strong>for</strong>ming flawedpolicies at global and national level, and empowering families and communities<strong>to</strong> respond <strong>to</strong> shocks and d<strong>is</strong>asters.3. Living <strong>better</strong>We can and must build a <strong>new</strong> prosperity, with <strong>better</strong> <strong>ways</strong> <strong>to</strong> do business,organize our economies and live our lives – an ecological future rich in sharedresources, safe from the r<strong>is</strong>ks of a changing climate, more equal and wellbalanced,valuing what really matters <strong>for</strong> human progress and futuregenerations.To achieve these shifts, <strong>GROW</strong> has <strong>to</strong> be <strong>Oxfam</strong>’s biggest <strong>campaign</strong> ever.Movements <strong>for</strong> a <strong>better</strong> future are already growing all around the planet. We willjoin hands with them. We will target governments, well-known and powerfulcompanies, and global <strong>for</strong>ums like the G20 summit. We will name and shamethose who are failing, support those who are building a <strong>new</strong> v<strong>is</strong>ion, and createmore space <strong>for</strong> leaders <strong>to</strong> be bold.We will work with others <strong>to</strong> involve many millions more in the growing publicconversation about food, <strong>better</strong> <strong>ways</strong> of living, and the future of our planet –empowering people, sharing knowledge, and taking action.Together, we will press governments <strong>for</strong> urgent action <strong>to</strong> prevent cr<strong>is</strong>es, re<strong>for</strong>mpolicies, preserve scarce resources, and ensure equal rights. We will demandresponsibility from companies, and expose the multinational interests grabbingprecious land or profiting from volatility. We will advocate <strong>for</strong> policies thatempower over a billion men and women who grow food and the billions more ofus who eat it. We will help <strong>to</strong> build a safer, fairer and more hopeful future.But practical positive change starts with each one of us. Every time we choosefood that’s produced fairly and sustainably, every time we harvest what we’vesown, every time we cut our environmental footprint, and every time we pressgovernments and companies <strong>to</strong> change their <strong>ways</strong>, we’re helping <strong>to</strong> make goodthings grow.Share solutions <strong>for</strong> food, life and the planet. Join the movement. Let’s growa <strong>better</strong> way.LOGO EMBARGOED UNTIL 01.06.2011 – DOCUMENT FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY