2012 Food Sovereignty Prize: Recap

The Food Sovereignty Prize ceremony, hosted by WhyHunger in New York City last week, was a great success! Honoring the inspiring work of the Korean Women’s Peasant Association, the National Fisheries Solidarity Movement of Sri Lanka, the Unified Peasant Movement of Aguan Region from Honduras, and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (fresh off their great victory with Chipotle), the event drew more than 300 people, and hundreds more who watched via live stream from around the world. The evening also featured an engaging explanation of the differences between food sovereignty and food security by UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter, plus music and calls to action from the great musician and activist Tom Morello: The Nightwatchman, who brought the house down. “I apologize for the language,” Morello said, calling the honorees, presenters, and the audience up on stage to join him for his final song, “but the fight for social justice is not rated PG-13!”

The ceremony was covered by Rolling Stone and the Wall Street Journal, among others; you can read all the media here, and you can still watch video of the ceremony here. Many thanks to our event sponsors and all those who made it possible. We’ll be posting more about the honorees and about food sovereignty here on the Connect blog in the coming weeks – stay tuned!

Siena Chrisman