WORLD FOOD DAY: Hundreds of protesters take on Parliament: ‘Wake up, the climate emergency is here!’
What do they want? Food justice. When do they want it? Now. Hundreds of protesters marched to Parliament on World Food Day, demanding food sovereignty, climate action, pesticide bans and urgent preparations for El Niño.
On World Food Day, hundreds of protesters converged on Parliament in Cape Town to demand urgent action on climate change and food sovereignty. Organized by civil society groups like the Climate Justice Charter Movement and South African Food Sovereignty Campaign, the march sought to put the country on a climate emergency footing, ban harmful pesticides, and adopt proposed legislation and policy for a more equitable food system.
The protesters, who gathered from Hanover Street in District Six, delivered a memorandum to parliamentary representatives, urging the government to prioritize people over corporate interests and support agroecology over industrial agriculture. SAFSC national coordinator Qhawekazi Mahlalela emphasized the need for a fundamental transformation of the food system, stating that the proposed documents aim to equip community organizers with the knowledge of their rights and serve as a training tool for activists.
However, the protesters criticized the government for not engaging in meaningful dialogue when presenting the documents in 2018 and 2024, and for failing to adopt the Climate Justice Charter, which lays out principles of food sovereignty, eco-mobility, and the rights of nature. CJCM co-chair Jessica Ngwenya highlighted the government's failure to convene an emergency parliamentary session in 2018 to discuss the IPCC's Global Warming of 1.5°C report, a missed opportunity to prepare for the worsening climate crisis.
Protesters spoke to the systemic issues at play, with Wendy Roebeck, a member of the CJCM, stating that the concentration of land, resources, and power in the hands of a few has led to a food system that prioritizes profit over people. Farmworker Engela van Schalkwyk described how the minimum wage she earns is insufficient to sustain her, and called for the government to support farmworkers in building their own farms using the skills they already possess.
CJCM co-chair Vishwas Satgar warned of the catastrophic consequences of inaction, noting that South Africa is not prepared for the 1.5°C global warming overshoot or the fact that the country is heating at twice the global average. As El Niño approaches, he urged the government to take immediate steps to prepare the nation for the impending climate emergency, stating, "Wake up! The climate emergency is here!"
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