Canadian Foodgrains Bank A Christian response to Talking points: Harvest of Letters Presentation hunger since 1983 This suggested outline/script is to aid letter-writing event organizers in presenting the Harvest of Letters. It accompanies our Harvest of Letters Prezi and powerpoint presentations. If you have any questions or comments contact us at foodjustice@foodgrainsbank.ca or 1.800.665.0377 and ask for a Public Engagement staff person. Slide 1: Welcome: • “Welcome to this letter-writing event. I will do a brief presentation on the issue and purpose of letter writing. We will then have time for questions and continue on with the letter writing.” Climate Change and Hunger Slide 2: • The issue we are looking at for this year’s Harvest of Letters is Climate Change. The mission of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank network is to end global hunger. But climate change is making this more difficult to do. Slide 3: • First, let’s look at the facts. Slide 4: For many people around the world climate change is very real and having an impact on their ability to feed them- selves and their families right now. What does it look like? • Higher temperatures • More droughts, which leave crops parched • Changes in rainfall patterns, making it difficult for farmers to know when to plant and harvest • Rising sea levels which crowd out coastal communities • All of these climate-related issues lead to poor crops, more hunger and occasionally food crises. Slide 5: • At least 70 percent of people who regularly go to bed hungry live in rural areas in developing countries. Most of these people are smallholder farmers. Their livelihoods are intimately connected to weather and climate. • Climate change is making these already vulnerable people more vulnerable to hunger. Slide 6: So “What has Canada done so far to help vulnerable people?” • Canada has signed onto an international agreement (the Copenhagen Accord as part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change—UNFCCC) to address climate change. That agreement includes a commitment to support developing countries in their ongoing fight against climate change. • Between 2010 and 2012, Canada provided $1.2 billion in climate change financing for developing countries, which was its fair share of a $30 billion fund promised in the agreement . • Most of this financing has gone toward mitigation, which means helping developing countries slow climate change by reducing greenhouse gases. This is important, but it doesn’t help those who are already suffering from the impacts of climate change.
Slide 7: • There was a further agreement under the Copenhagen Accord to help raise up to $100 billion/year by 2020 to help developing countries address climate change. • However, Canada has not made any specific commitment for climate change financing after 2012 and very little of the previous financing was put toward adaptation, which are activities that help people cope with and adapt to changing climatic conditions, such as planting drought—resistant crops, using new irrigation meth- ods etc. Adaptation is the overwhelming priority for smallholder farmers. What does Canada need to do to continue to help vulnerable people? • The Foodgrains Bank and other groups in Canada are asking the government to make a new commitment of $400 million per year for the next three years to support developing countries’ efforts to cut emissions and adapt to climate change. • It is also important that Canada use half of this money for adaptation efforts, to help people deal with the adverse effects of climate change right now. Influencing Policies Slide 8: • One of the ways in which Canadian Foodgrains Bank works to end hunger is by influencing changes to existing policies, or advocating for new policies to make ending hunger easier. It is also important for us as constituents and Canadians to help out. Slide 9: Why work on influencing policies? It can seem like an impossible task. However, there are 3 very good reasons to work on this: 1. We are called as Christians to be advocates. The Bible contains many inspiring stories of advocates. In these stories God calls people to an awareness of an injustice, and these people respond by speaking out on behalf of others. Jesus advocated for impoverished and marginalized people in his public ministry. His teaching and example gave us the command “love your neighbour as yourself,” which calls us to extend our compassion to neighbours throughout the world. Advocating in support of people affected by hunger—a truly biblical call— is needed to achieve food justice. 2. It is our privilege as Canadian citizens to communicate to our representatives in government about issues that are important to us. It is our role as members of a democratic society. We are privileged to live in a democracy, and need to take this privilege and its obligations seriously. We each have the power to influence our govern- ment and the elected officials expect to hear from us. They will only know what matters to us if we tell them. 3. Finally, it is important because it works! Slide 10: Here are two big success stories from the Canadian Foodgrains Bank’s efforts to influence policies that decrease global hunger: Aid for Agriculture and the Untying of Food Aid. Slide 11: • Canadian Foodgrains Bank’s policy work was begun with the desire to see Canada improve its efforts in food security. As with other donor countries, CIDA’s support for agriculture had plummeted during the 1990s. One early goal was to make agriculture a priority of CIDA’s work and to increase investment in this area. • As you can see, this has been successful! It took many years, but CIDA dramatically increased its investment in food security—including agriculture, nutrition and food aid—after the 2008 food crisis.
Slide 12: • The Foodgrains Bank worked for years to address the problem of “tied aid”. Untying food aid has been nother big success story for influencing policies. • Not many years ago, all food aid coming out of Canada had to be food grown in Canada—this is why it is called “tied aid”: it has a link to the benefit of the donor country. • This type of food aid has various problems: it is expensive, it is slow, it floods local markets and can negatively impact the receiving region’s economy, and it can also be culturally inappropriate. • Canadian Foodgrains Bank began asking for more flexibility in sending food assistance in 1990, and advocated for change. It was granted gradually, and in 2008 the government announced that the Canadian food aid program would be completely untied. CIDA has credited the Foodgrains Bank for playing a significant role in this important policy change. Slide 13: • Untied aid has made a big difference. It is significantly faster to buy food aid locally than ship it from Canada. This means people are being fed more quickly, before crises get worse. It is also much cheaper, at least $63 per ton cheaper on average, which ensures that more people are fed with the same amount of money. Last year, the Foodgrains Bank delivered around 35,000 tonnes of food aid. That means more than $2 million was saved. Think of how many more people can be fed! • Clearly, influencing policies can have an enormous impact on efforts to end global hunger. What can YOU do? Slide 14: What can you do to help people vulnerable to climate change? The Canadian Foodgrains Bank encourages constituents to aid in their work of influencing policies that affect hunger in 3 ways. Slide 15: The first is to write to your Member of Parliament: • Personal, handwritten letters have been indicated as a very effective way to communicate with the government. This year’s Harvest of Letters campaign invites Canadians to remind the government that it has an important role to play in helping developing countries deal with the impact of climate change: • To make a new financial commitment to help developing countries address climate change; and • Allocate more of this money to adaptation activities, so that it helps meet the immediate needs of smallholder farmers and other vulnerable people. Slide 16: You can also write an email to your MP . • MPs get many emails a day, so it is important to label your email well: put “climate change financing” in the subject line. • It is also important to make the email your own: no form letters, please! There are sample letters available for both the hand-written and email strategies of the Harvest of Letters. • In an email, you should copy the Prime Minister and the Minister of the Environment, so they are aware of the message you are sending your MP .
Slide 17: • A third way to get involved in influencing policy is to meet with your Member of Parliament. This is likely to have the biggest impact, as face-to-face encounters often do. • If you want to try this method, be sure to read up on the issue. It is also good to get a few other people together to join you—a group of two or three is great for an MP visit. There is additional information, including a tip sheet, at the Harvest of Letters website. • If you need help, staff at the Canadian Foodgrains Bank are happy to help! Slide 18: And remember to pray! Prayer is another way we as Christians advocate. Pray for the policy makers in the govern- ment; pray that they will make good, just decisions for the betterment of our world. Pray for your Member of Parliament, and for all the people around the world working to end hunger, either for themselves or on behalf of others. Slide 19: (Foodgrains Bank logo)
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