Dear friends,
It’s been a long time since you’ve heard from me, and I am happy to be back. Indeed, I am rekindling Seed the Commons. Many things have been happening in the world that have pushed me towards this decision, one of which is the upcoming COP30 in Brazil, a country where the Earth’s lung, the Amazon forest, is being ravaged by human activity.
Before going further, I should say that we are not planning to jump back into the level of intense activity that we once sustained and for which many of you know us. One of the reasons I left STC was the simple lack of resources, and that reality hasn’t changed. However, many other things have changed, from the use of technology to the evolving awareness around core issues. For years, I went to every event that I could to speak about the importance of organizing around food systems and building a veganic movement. Now we can build on that work. The resources required for outreach and education are no longer the same. And of course, we have learned from what worked and what didn’t. In this context, I am very optimistic that with some well-chosen interventions, we can make big strides.
When you last heard from me, STC had joined an international grassroots mobilization in response to the Food Systems Summit of the United Nations (or – *ahem* – in response to its corporate capture). We’re back to mobilizing around the UN: we are on our way to Belém, Brazil to take part in the People’s Summit Towards COP30. We are also heeding the Global Call to Action ahead of COP30 by co-organizing a solidarity march in San Francisco.
This isn’t our first climate march – some of you were with us in 2018 when we marched down San Francisco’s Market Street demanding that food systems and agriculture be centered in climate talks, and that we transition to a food system based on vegan agroecology. The California governor had convened the Global Climate Action Summit, a gathering of government and UN officials, leaders from the business sector, and civil society. In response, a coalition of grassroots groups and non-profits came together to demand real solutions.
As part of this coalition, Seed the Commons helped organize the largest climate march that the West Coast had ever seen. But it wasn’t enough that we call for action on fossil fuels, and it wasn’t enough that we denounce the false solutions that would be peddled at the summit. We needed to bring home the message that agriculture was central to climate change and had to be central to any real solution – and that we needed an ecological approach, not corporate-driven false solutions.
But… we weren’t the only ones with that message. For years, the regenerative grazing movement had been gaining steam. Proponents of regenerative grazing were ever more dominant at eco-conferences, in activist discourse, and the climate summit had even partnered in a feel-good initiative to get local restaurants to go carbon neutral for the week… only to donate the proceeds to a dairy farm and an organization that promotes ranching in Marin County, where ranching has caused immense ecological damage.
Seed the Commons saw regenerative grazing for what it was: yet another false solution. We needed to take the reins of the eco-farming message – so I took on the organization of the farmer’s contingent. I invited small-scale veganic farmers to San Francisco, and they were joined by many others as they called for a transition to agroecology and to a plant-based food system.
Our message is even more urgent now. Ranching has been a devastating force in Brazil as in California. If we want to save the Amazon, we cannot let ranching be ignored or worse, eco-washed. And there is no way to rehabilitate it, nor is there any reason to. True regeneration involves protecting forests and native ecosystems, not chopping it all down to turn the world into a pastoral postcard. At the People’s Summit, Seed the Commons will participate in the Just Transition axis by presenting our vision for a transition that is truly just, truly inclusive, and truly a transition.
Little-known fact: When Chema and I founded Millahcayotl (the original name of Seed the Commons), the first thing we did was go to COP15 in Copenhagen to share our veganic vision. We had been helping a climate caravan that was kicking off with a series of events and protests in Geneva, and then traveling to Copenhagen with many stops along the way. When the caravan left Geneva, we decided to follow them (also overland, but faster!) and meet in Copenhagen, where we would help them part-time and spend the rest of our time making connections and putting out the word for what was a very niche take on agriculture.
We – the collective we, which includes you – have come such a long way in these 15 years. Our vision was rooted in millennial knowledge; it has now been enriched by countless hours of learning from today’s small farmers, activists and academics. We can now share tangible, present-day success stories and resources, and I am so excited to exchange with people from all over the world.
Before it has even begun, the effects of the People’s Summit Towards COP30 have already rippled out into a global phenomenon, with solidarity marches scheduled around the world. We are thrilled to have merged the San Francisco one with the People Over Billionaires march, because solving the climate crisis requires wresting our power back from the billionaires. And I could not be more encouraged by the number of fantastic organizations that have already endorsed the march, including SEIU Local 1021, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), and Jobs with Justice San Francisco.
People are hungry for change, and we are at a moment where change feels very possible, even as the current US federal administration barrels towards authoritarianism and turns its back on science. The key to creating change is building broad coalitions. Our messages complete each other, and our energies lift each other. So join us! Bring your signs, or walk with our veganic banner. If your organization would like to endorse the march, email me by Wednesday.
We will post about Belém and San Francisco on social media and livestream when we can, so follow us on Mastodon, X, Instagram and Youtube. In December, we will host an in-person report-back from the People’s Summit along with webinars on how to organize for a Just Transition, a veganic future, and much more.
Hasta la victoria,
Nassim