Latest news with #UnionAgainstHunger
Daily Maverick
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Maverick
SA food system ‘is not broken' — there is a lack of will to ensure food security
On World Hunger Day, Gauteng MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Vuyiswa Ramokgopa was among the keynote speakers at the Union Against Hunger (UAH) community meeting in Lenasia South, Johannesburg, calling for an end to hunger. This was one of multiple information and capacity-building events planned by the organisation. MEC Vuyiswa Ramokgopa commended Union Against Hunger for bringing stakeholders together to begin the process of demanding change and fighting against hunger. She likened public and civil society collaboration to a soccer team, with all players having a significant role to play. 'I love what UAH has done in bringing others into the fold, that is exactly how we need to address these issues. We need to foster a safe, prosperous, hunger-free South Africa in one generation. We can't wait for 30 years, we don't have 30 years. That's why, as a department, we have committed to a reduction of 10% in this province by 2029. It doesn't sound like a lot, but that is at least 250,000 people no longer experiencing hunger. Let's end hunger,' said Ramokgopa Despite progressive constitutional guarantees, including the right to food and basic nutrition, millions of South Africans still face chronic and acute hunger. This mismatch between legal promises and lived deprivation is the focus of the Union Against Hunger (UAH). 'This year, on World Hunger Day, 28 May 2025, the UAH will be hosting a number of dialogues nationally to engage communities and the public and share information that will better enable and support the mobilisation of communities to demand their right to food and hold government and industry to account,' said Dr Busiso Moyo, member of the UAH secretariat and postdoctoral researcher with the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security. 'The food system is not broken,' Moyo said at the mini-food indaba UAH event in Cape Town, which was held simultaneously. 'It is working exactly as intended, to accommodate some and exclude many.' The UAH, with its founding members, which include the Healthy Living Alliance, Grow Great, Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the Women on Farms Project, Callas Foundation and the Centre of Excellence in Food Security, will, through these activities, draw attention to the 'slow violence' of hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity in South Africa. Civil society organisations all echoed that hunger needed political will and a policy fit for purpose, over and above citizens understanding their right to food. The Women on Farms organisation chaired a public meeting in Cape Town and called on Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht to urgently drop food prices to save lives. Zwelinzima Vavi, General Secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions, said the painful daily reality that haunted communities needed to be confronted — 'the stomachs that go to sleep empty, the children whose growth is stunted, and the families forced to choose between a loaf of bread and a school uniform'. According to Union Against Hunger, about 15.3 million people (25.8% of the population) experience food insecurity, while 6.8 million people (11.4% of the population) face chronic hunger. More than 1.5 million children have stunted growth as a result of chronic malnutrition. More shocking is that three infants die daily due to severe malnutrition in a country where the Constitution clearly states that 'everyone has a right to sufficient food and every child to basic nutrition'. 'These are not just numbers,' said Vavi. 'They are a national scandal. Comrades, what are the sources of this crisis? First, we must talk about land. Hunger in South Africa is rooted in land dispossession. It is a direct legacy of colonialism and apartheid. To this day, 72% of farmland remains in white hands. While land restitution was meant to reverse this injustice, the government has failed dismally,' said Vavi Vavi said that by 2022, more than 90% of land claims resulted in financial compensation, not the return of land. Of the land that had been returned, more than 70% lay fallow, abandoned, because there was no post-settlement support, no equipment, no inputs, no training, no credit. The state had set people up to fail. 'Instead of a redistribution programme that empowers the landless to produce food and employment, we are witnessing a slow surrender to the land hunger of mining houses, golf estates and commercial elites,' said Vavi He said that the food system was rigged against the poor. 'Let's talk about the profiteering of the big food monopolies. Just six companies dominate our food retail sector – and they are making obscene profits while our people starve. In 2023, the CEO of Shoprite, Pieter Engelbrecht, earned a package of R63.5-million. That's over R170,000 per day – enough to feed over 2,000 families daily on the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group's household food basket. 'Meanwhile, food prices have risen more than double the CPI. The Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group shows that in April 2025, the average food basket cost over R5,500 while most workers earn less than R4,000.' 'This is not just a market failure. It is criminal greed. 'Third, we must expose the double standards of global trade,' said Vavi. The Union Against Hunger also launched a petition (available here in English; here in isiZulu; here in Sesotho; here in isiXhosa) calling on Shoprite CEO Pieter Engelbrecht, who reportedly earned R83-million in the 2024 financial year, to bring food prices down urgently. The three main demands are:
Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- General
- Eyewitness News
To address food shortage, activists call on govt to compel farm owners to share unused land with workers
CAPE TOWN - Community activists at the Food Indaba in Cape Town have called on government to compel farm owners to share unused land with workers to address food shortages in the Union Against Hunger held a mini indaba for World Hunger Day on Wednesday to support communities in asserting their right to union said that despite constitutional rights to food and nutrition, 15 million people go hungry in South on Farms activist, Colette Solomons, called for the redistribution of productive farmland, specifically to women seasonal farmers and poor communities. READ: 'We are slaves on the farms': Women farmworkers want a seat on the table "It really boggles the mind that there is such a lot of land unused, but at the same time, the workers on those farms would love to have access to land so that they can grow their own vegetables."Solomons added that there was little transformation in the commercial agriculture sector, especially in the Western Cape."If you go to Stellenbosch today, if you go to Paarl today, the land is still in the hands of white male farmers." She said the people who continued to work the land were still poor black workers.
Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- Eyewitness News
Food insecurity identified as a driver of poverty, crime in SA
CAPE TOWN - Civil society organisations, women seasonal farm workers, and academics in the Western Cape have identified food insecurity as one of the drivers of poverty and crime in the country The Union Against Hunger is holding a mini-indaba in Cape Town for World Food Day on Wednesday to support communities in asserting their right to food. ALSO READ: Union Against Hunger: Plans in place to reach goal of eradicating hunger in SA The Union Against Hunger said, despite constitutional rights to food and nutrition, 15 million people in South Africa go hungry. Speakers at the event want both government and industry leaders in the agriculture sector to be held accountable for hunger and food insecurity in the country. Women on Farms activist Colette Solomons said it's unjustifiable that women farm workers who've been working the land for decades remain landless and hungry. 'Food insecurity, for us, is the food system that puts profits above people, making it unaffordable for the women who produce the food.' Yandiswa Mazwana from the Masiphumelele Creative Hub in Fish Hoek explained the impact of food poverty in her community. 'Food insecurity, for us, it's the areas of our communities that we call wetlands where people go and just give up and start all over each and every year of their lives.' The Union Against Hunger said the mini-indaba is part of a series of community-led events taking place nationwide.
Daily Maverick
7 days ago
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Unpacking obstetric violence in Africa, World Hunger Day discussion and examining NDPP appointment processes
World Hunger Day is on 28 May, and to commemorate it the Union Against Hunger will host a community dialogue centred around food justice. There will also be discussions on maternal rights and NDPP appointment processes this week in civil society. On Tuesday, 27 May 2025 at 1pm the Dullah Omar Institute will host a webinar on Obstetric Violence in Africa. According to the organisation, obstetric violence is a pervasive yet often overlooked form of gender-based violence that undermines maternal health and women's rights across the African continent. 'Obstetric violence refers to mistreatment, abuse, neglect, or coercion experienced by women during pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal care. It manifests in many forms, including verbal or physical abuse, non-consensual procedures, denial of care, and systemic neglect. Women most at risk include those in rural areas, adolescents, migrants, the poor, and women living with HIV,' the institute said. The panel discussion will draw on research from Ghana, Kenya, Malawi and Nigeria and explore the scale of the problem, legal and policy gaps, relevant human rights standards, strategic litigation, and practical steps towards reform and respectful maternity care. Panellists: Aisosa Jennifer Omoruyi, Research Fellow, Dullah Omar Institute, UWC. Nyokabi Njogu, Feminist Lawyer, Kenya Legal and Ethical Issues Network on HIV and Aids (Kelin). Achieng Orero, Violence Against Women Lawyer, Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (Isla). Moderator: Favour Akanbi, Faculty of Law, University of the Western Cape. Click here to register. On Wednesday, 28 May at 1pm the Union Against Hunger (UAH) will host a community hunger dialogue in which it will engage with 300 community members about hunger and discuss the organisation's demands for affordable quality food, laws to prohibit food waste and an emergency food plan. 'We will be joined by the Department of Gauteng Agriculture and Rural Development MEC Vuyiswa Ramokgopa as our keynote speaker and esteemed panellists like Mr Zwelinzima Vavi, the general secretary of Saftu, Mr Irfaan Mangera, a national youth leader from Lenasia, and Mr Tim Abaa, a community agriculture activist from Orange Farm… just to name a few,' UAH said. Venue: Lenasia South Civic Centre On Thursday, 29 May at 11am Defend Our Democracy will host a civil society discussion on the process that should be undertaken in the appointment of the next National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP). With National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shamila Batohi set to retire in early 2026, Lawson Naidoo from Casac, Gareth Newham from the Institute for Security Studies and Kavisha Pillay from Code will discuss the appointment process of her successor. Register to join the important discussion here. DM
Daily Maverick
08-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Maverick
Ending hunger: A call for legislative action on food waste in South Africa
To be successful in addressing food insecurity and malnutrition in South Africa, the broadest possible consultation will be required across the food system, including with farmers and agri-business food manufacturers, retailers, the non-profit organisation (NPO) sector and, crucially, the government. The commitment by Gauteng Department of Agriculture MEC Vuyiswa Ramakgopa to ending hunger in Gauteng — and in South Africa as a whole — is most encouraging. Her 'Ending Hunger Symposium' held in early April 2025 was a powerful show of her genuine interest in collaboration among all the many civil society and government organisations that are fighting the hunger crisis in South Africa. The Union Against Hunger (UAH), a recently launched movement that aims to pull together the efforts of the myriad organisations and individuals fighting to end hunger, along with FoodForward South Africa and SA Harvest, are committed to working closely with Ramakgopa and her department to build this collaborative effort. FoodForward SA, South Africa's largest food redistribution organisation, understands that, since food insecurity and malnutrition affects millions of vulnerable households each month, addressing these challenges requires the combination of systemic intervention involving the government, the private sector, and civil society. The right to food The foundation of the right to food in South Africa is the enshrinement of that right in the South African Constitution. Broadly speaking, section 27(1) (b) of the Bill of Rights states that everyone living in South Africa has the right to enough food and water, while Section 28(1)(c) states that every child has the right to basic nutrition. It is abundantly clear that the government has failed in its responsibility to honour its obligations in relation to the right to food. It is unacceptable that in our country, which produces more than enough food to feed all its people, more than 29% of our children up to the age of five are stunted as a result of severe acute malnutrition; up to 20 million South Africans are on a spectrum of severe food vulnerability ranging from running out of money to feed their families at some point during the month, to millions of children going to sleep hungry every night. Up to 65% of South African women and about 40% of men are overweight or obese because of the general unaffordability of nutritious foods. The government must urgently set in motion the realisation of its constitutional obligations with respect to sections 27 and 28. This demand is also expressed constitutionally: Section 7(2) of the Constitution imposes an obligation on the state to 'respect, protect, promote and fulfil' all rights in the Bill of Rights, which obviously includes the right to food. Make dumping edible food illegal — a low-hanging solution It is globally accepted that legislation concerning various aspects of the food ecosystem would make a massive — and relatively quick — difference to ending hunger in South Africa, and the place to begin is by making the dumping of edible food illegal, a measure that has precedent, and has achieved great success in countries such as Italy and France. One-third of food produced in South Africa — ten million tons — goes to waste each year. This is equivalent of 40 billion meals, in a context where 20 billion meals are needed to feed all of South Africa's hungry people three meals a day for a year. It is difficult to estimate the quantum of food that is currently being saved from the food chain but, suffice it to say that if legislation increased the food saved from going to landfill by just 5% per annum, two billion additional nutritious meals per annum would become available. Legislation and incentive schemes to reduce food waste have made a palpable difference globally. One well known example is France's 2016 'Garot Law' , which mandates, inter alia, that unsold food products from retail stores that are still safe for consumption must be donated rather than discarded. This includes measures such as that supermarkets larger than 400 square metres are required to sign agreements with food redistribution organisations to donate unsold food, and that supermarkets are obliged to keep records of their food donations and provide annual reports on the amount of food wasted and donated (tax incentives or penalties apply). If a similar law were legislated in South Africa, farmers, manufacturers and retailers would be obliged (by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, which is responsible for drafting the current food waste reduction policy) to make agreements with food redistribution organisations (e.g. SA Harvest and Food Forward SA). This would ensure that the cost of handling and transporting donated food was not a barrier for redistribution organisations, and that tax incentives were provided for farmers, manufacturers and retailers. These incentives would include reductions in their income tax based on the value of the food donations they have made. In South Africa, in addition to the mandates such as those included in the Garot Law, two key actions that we believe are required. First, a Food Donations Bill that, inter alia, relaxes the often over-strict safety liability of food donors and redistribution organisations and clarifies date marking ('sell by' dates), which can be misleading, as they often suggest a much shorter 'safety' window for a product), which severely hampers the quantum of food that can be donated by food producers. Second, a Food Donations Bill should revise the front-of-pack labelling guidelines issued by the health department, encouraging the donation of food that has passed its 'best before' date. (Editor's note: draft new front-of-pack labelling guidelines have been under review for more than two years.) Rescued food Since the Garot Law was passed in 2016, according to independent research carried out for SA Harvest, the law has been effective in increasing the amount of food rescued by nearly 28% (from 36-million to 46-million kilogrammes) in its first two years. Ultimately, to be successful in addressing food insecurity and malnutrition in South Africa, the broadest possible consultation will be required across the food system, including with farmers and agri-business food manufacturers, retailers, the non-profit organisation sector and, crucially, the government. Critical to this process is that the government creates a Food and Nutrition Security Council (which has been promised since 2018) in order to (1) onboard strategic partners (2) strategically carve out an approach to solutions, and (3) develop key performance indicators and metrics, as well as define who will be responsible for measuring success, and for reporting on the council's actions and progress. As Dr Tracy Ledger, who leads the Just Transition programme at the Public Affairs Research Institute and is one of South Africa's leading food activists, asks: 'Why is it that food prices are so high that millions of South African families go hungry, while the prices paid to farmers for the same food are so low that many cannot stay in business? Why are the people who produce our food — farmworkers — among the most insecure of all? Why do high levels of rural poverty persist while corporate profits in the food sector keep rising? How did a country with enough food for all and a constitutional right to food become a place where more than one in four children is malnourished and classified as stunted?' Obtaining the answers to these questions is what Ramakgopa has set in motion. 'We will find the answers through a collaborative effort, and we will ensure that, based on these answers, we will implement the appropriate actions,' she said. 'After all, quality research and market intelligence are worth nothing without action, and I am dedicated to showing that genuine care, in the case of our people, is a 'doing' word.' DM
