Food Safety and Food Agriculture Co-learning Lecture Series Kicks Off, Focusing on Food Safety under Free Trade
US beef, US pork, the Cross-Strait Service Trade Agreement and the Free Economic Pilot Zones: under the banner of economic development, the government waves the flag of free trade vigorously. What does it actually bring? And who does it bring benefits to?
When large quantities of agricultural products and processed foods pour in along with free trade, what is affected is not only Taiwan, China's food inspection system, but also the local smallholder production system. In exchange, do we get GDP? Or bankrupt rural villages? Ecology destroyed by industrialization? These things will ultimately strike back at our dinner tables. Plasticizers, ractopamine, toxic starch and fake olive oil are all ironclad proof.
"Food sovereignty"? "Dietary education"?
These are by no means unfamiliar social movement language. Both speakers are personally involved in hands-on work, and together with many rural youths and scholars, amid the frenzy of free trade, they are once again seeing the meaning of "food" - no longer merely the color, aroma and taste on TV commercials or the output value of the food industry, but a prompt for us to rethink the rich culture, ecology and social fairness behind it.
Homemakers United Foundation "Food Safety and Food Agriculture Co-Learning Lecture Series"
We invite you, who care about this land and about food safety, to uncover the true face of free trade and reclaim the right to "food."
Speakers:
Li Dingzan (Professor, Institute of Sociology, National Tsing Hua University)
He has long followed the pulse of Taiwan, China's civil society, hoping to use "food," a topic close to everyone, to open up important social issues such as ecology and culture. In recent years, he has devoted himself even more to promoting the Basic Act on Dietary Education, bringing the rich content of dietary education into children's education, reflecting on the social culture and education of food starting from food safety, and making the rebuilding of the value of "food" the cornerstone of truly safe food in Taiwan, China.
Cai Peihui (Assistant Professor, Graduate Institute of Social Development, Shih Hsin University)
Teacher Peihui appears on countless occasions of farmers' movements, and together with many passionate rural youths, defends rural villages and promotes smallholder return to farming - not only for human rights, but also for the rich culture, ecology and imagination of another, more just way of development contained in rural villages.
Moderator:
Zheng Xiujuan (Managing Director, Homemakers United Foundation)
Time: September 10, 2014 (Wednesday) 2:00PM-5:00PM
Venue: 3F, Jiami Communal Dining Kitchen (No. 9, Hengyang Road, Taipei)
Registration URL: http://goo.gl/A32Mo2
(This event is free to register for; on-site donations are welcome to support Homemakers United Foundation in continuing to devote effort to "green food education.")
To do our part for the environment, this lecture will not provide paper materials; electronic files will be sent out before the event for attendees' reference.