I rejoice today to be surrounded by such incredible power, extraordinary strength, brilliance, wisdom, grace, and leadership. When women unite, we spark each other’s light, and together, we move mountains, catalyse action, shape the future, and drive real transformative change. No wonder they say that “when women gather, the world shifts a little. And change happens!”
In the words of one of my Mentors, Dr. Vadana Shiver Food is Life. Food is Dignity. Food is Power. He who controls your food controls your society, and he who controls your seeds controls life on Earth. Thomas Sankara also said, “Those who feed you – control you.” Food sovereignty means power. The power of choice is in the hands of the people
Our local food is more than just nourishment; it’s a vessel of history, it’s community bonding, and indigenous knowledge passed down through generations. Preserving this heritage is an urgent necessity. Our children deserve to inherit a rich food tradition that promotes health, pride, and cultural continuity. WE ARE WHAT WE EAT. In our campaigns, we say, WHAT YOU EAT MUST NOT EAT YOU!
There is systematic infiltration targeted at our local crops, staples, and diets, which undermines the cultural value of our indigenous diets and risks creating a generation disconnected from their Food roots, which invariable threatens our Food Sovereignty.
Isn’t it strange in a world of abundance, too many of our people face hunger, malnutrition, toxic food environments, and ecological collapse? My Father, Comrade Nnimmo Bassey, paints this picture aptly in His Poem ‘Mountains of food; Oceans of hunger!
This is not an accident. Our Food system is threatened. It is corporate-controlled, profit-driven, and extractive, and it is harming our people, our planet, and our health. It is painful to note that our small-scale farmers are still the first victims of this industrial model of production. Sad, that the ones producing food can hardly live from the land anymore in our societies.
At this point on the pathway and road to COP30 and Beyond, we want to make it abundantly clear to the corporations and multinational companies. You cannot tell our story or our narratives without us in the room. We will not back down, we will not be silenced, we will not look away. We are Here! We are Rising and we are bringing change!
We cannot allow the retrogressive messaging of industrial corporate bodies, agencies, and their local actors to continue unchallenged. We cannot continue to make chemical giants happy at our expense. It is time to advance a common-sense approach.
It is not all doom; there is hope. A transformative solution exists –Food Sovereignty to rescue. This is how we will build a healthy and thriving future.
It is the right of people, of communities, to define their food systems.
It is about who controls land, seeds, water, food, and knowledge.
It is about local control, not corporate control.
It’s about respect for the people who produce the food
It is about growing food in ways that nourish people and the planet: agroecology, biodiversity, and deep cultural knowledge.
It puts women, Indigenous peoples, small-scale farmers, and communities at the centre, not corporations.
Why does this matter so urgently? Because the industrial food system is driving:
Climate change — responsible for up to one-third of global greenhouse gases.
Biodiversity collapse — destroying nature’s web of life.
Land grabbing — pushing people off their ancestral lands.
Unhealthy, toxic diets — driving pandemics of disease and malnutrition.
Without Food Sovereignty, there can be no food justice.
Without Food Sovereignty, there can be no climate justice.
Without Food Sovereignty, there can be no health justice.
And what is the role of women in this?
Women grow more than 50% of the world’s food.
Women are the true seed savers. The knowledge holders. The custodians of biodiversity.
Yet, too often, women are denied land, excluded from decision-making, and marginalised in policies.
Building Food Sovereignty is feminist work; it means dismantling the patriarchal and corporate power structures in food systems.
Women must be in the front and centre in this struggle.
So what must we do? Even as we prepare to go to Brazil for COP30 and also to Sri Lanka for the 3rd Nyéléni Forum in September,
We must:
Reclaim our local food systems — from seed to plate.
Defend women’s land rights — no land, no food sovereignty.
Resist corporate capture of food, land, seeds, and governance.
Promote agroecology — for health, resilience, and life.
Build strong alliances across women’s movements, Indigenous movements, farmers’ movements, youth, and urban communities.
Finally — the vision.
Food Sovereignty is not just a dream; it is being built right now by women, farmers, and Indigenous peoples across the world.
It is a radical, hopeful vision for food systems that nourish our bodies, our cultures, and our planet.
A Thriving Food System is not only possible, it is urgent. And as women, we must lead boldly.
We are not guests at these tables of power — we are here to reshape them. And together, we will build a healthy, thriving future, rooted in Food Sovereignty. We are Here! We are Many! We are Ready! And we will not be stopped. Thank you.
A presentation by Mariann Bassey Oruvwuje at Global Women’s Assembly for Climate Justice: Path to COP30 and Beyond on Tuesday, June 24, 202,5, on Zoom. Mariann is the deputy Executive Director of ERA/FoEN.
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