Invest In Today and Tomorrow's Food and Farms

Invest In Today and Tomorrow’s Food and Farms

December 2, 2011 Michael R. Dimock

What a year! Occupiers across the nation are finally challenging the corporate lock on our governance, a lock that is fully apparent in our food system. We are facing the reality that corporatism has supplanted democracy on the national level. So it is a serious and historic moment. I honestly believe that lobbyists are the main reason that pizza is considered a vegetable and school food contributes to childhood obesity, diabetes is an epidemic, a few companies control most of the food supply, food chain workers are among the lowest paid, and agricultural pollution remains a problem. Congress and their allegiance to lobbyists over people is thwarting change at the national level.

Roots of Change (ROC) has been a central force in pushing the food movement forward, particularly here in California, and a corner has been turned. ROC has helped plant the seeds of progress across the state and nation. We are thankful to our network because we could not have done it without your support and online involvement. Highlights from this year include:

- Collected over 32,000 signatures on two collaborative petitions urging Governor Jerry Brown to stand up for healthy food and farms.
- Supported 124 California Farmers Markets to promote the sale of fruits, nuts, and vegetables to low-income families and increased farmer income.
- Significantly impacted political discourse and food policies in three large cities (San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego) and 10 counties.
- Demonstrated we can show up on a moments notice to represent you before the State Board of Food and Agriculture and members of Congress.
- Dialogued on a national level to catalyze change with those representing industrial food and agriculture.

Roots of Change understands what it will take to renew California’s approach to food and farming: engagement, collaboration, resources, and actionable ideas. Since 2007, nearly two-thirds of our funding has been passed through to projects that support our common vision and empower communities. In order to further our impact we still need your support to help ROC engage and gather a more diverse range of Californians toward boarder solutions for better food and farming in our great state.

The time is NOW to create the change we need, but we can’t do it alone. No one wants to think that the food we eat could make us sick, shorten our kids’ lives, hurt workers or change our climate. Please make a contribution today to ROC so we can invest in promising innovations and advocate for policies that produce good food and farms that are healthy for California’s people, land, air, and water.

Click here to donate to Roots of Change and help us find concrete solutions for the future.