Harvest of Letters
Contact your Member of Parliament!
Resources for Letter Writing or Awareness Events and Meetings With MPs:
A Primer on Climate Change and Hunger (PDF download)
"Let's Talk About the Weather" (Climate Change and Hunger brochure)
Meeting With Your MP - How To Do It! (click here for the PDF)
A More Detailed Tip Sheet (click here for the PDF)
"Juggling the Risks" - A Climate Change and Hunger Object Lesson (click here for the PDF download)
A Prayer of Blessing over Letters (click here for PDF download)
Prayers and Litanies on Climate Change
Video "On Earth As It Is In Heaven" a 1minute YouTube prayer
Video "Don't Drop The Ball On Climate Change" (from CAFOD)
Video: Climate Dish" (1 minute video on how climate change aggravates hunger)
Video: Runaway (a whimsical look at how we're all in this together - from NFB).
The issue: Climate Change Adaptation
Higher
temperatures. More droughts that parch fragile crops. Changes in seasons
that leave farmers scratching their heads over when to plant their
fields. Rising sea levels that crowd out coastal communities. This is
what climate change looks like for many people around the world.
It also means more hunger.
More
than 75 percent of people who regularly go to bed hungry live in rural
areas in developing countries and most of these are smallholder
farmers. Their livelihoods are vitally linked to the weather—and what
is happening with the climate.
Our partners tell us they are
already noticing changes in their seasons, more droughts and more severe
storms that are making it more difficult for community members to grow
enough food to feed their families. We are responding by asking
Canadians to write letters to their MPs.
What we’re asking for
We
can support smallholder farmers by advocating for strong Canadian
policies that address climate change and its impacts on vulnerable
people. Canada actively participates in international climate change
negotiations, which include decisions on how to financially help
developing countries address climate change.
In 2010, Canada
provided $400 million in financing for developing countries—Canada’s
fair share of the global fund for 2010 agreed upon in Copenhagen.
Unfortunately, most of Canada’s money went as loans through the World
Bank for clean energy development and is unlikely to reach the most
vulnerable.
We expect another commitment of $400 million for 2011
and 2012. We need to influence how Canada spends this money so that it
will more effectively reduce hunger.
To do this, the government should:
- Increase
funding for adaptation – In 2010 only 11% of Canada’s $400 million went
toward adaptation. The Copenhagen Accord stipulates that financing
should be balanced between both slowing climate change (mitigation) and
helping people adapt to changes that are already happening. For
smallholder farmers, adaptation is the immediate priority.
- Give
grants not loans – To truly help those most vulnerable to climate
change, most financing should be given as grants, not loans that burden
developing countries.
- Make financing additional to
Canada’s aid budget – Financing for climate change shouldn’t divert
money away from other important initiatives, such as health, education
and food security.
These actions would benefit many people who
are vulnerable to hunger—and is an important part of a Christian
response to hunger.
Read more or watch videos about our work on climate change (click here).
If you'd like to make a difference, write a letter to your MP or organize a letter-writing event for your community. Click here for a PDF of the Harvest of Letters Campaign and sample letter. Our advocacy guide - A Voice at the Table
- can also help you plan a simple, and effective, event. You could go
the extra mile and plan to meet with your MP. We are open to help with
this, just let us know by email foodjustice@foodgrainsbank.ca.
Keep in touch by joining the food justice network – you’ll receive bi-monthly emails to keep you up-to-date.
