A SEED on tour along mega pig stables
.A SEED Europe and the German organisation Nandu are in these days visiting a large number of locations where local residents have organised themselves against the construction of mega pig stalls. Most dates on the tour feature an information meeting and a street event. But also the informal exchange of information, experiences, arguments and strategies are important objectives of the tour.
Video letters, picture exhibition and street theatre
Outside in the street and during the information nights video letters are being screened. These are filmed registrations of personal stories by people that live in soy producing regions in Paraguay, in which they include their message to farmers and consumers in Europe. During the tour dates in The Netherlands and Germany new video letters are being recorded with messages from local European organisations to each other and to farmers and rural organisations in Latin America. Read more about the video letters and watch them.
Both in The Netherlands and Germany Dutch industrial pig farmers are planning for considerable expansion of their businesses. On most locations their plans meet with local opposition, mainly because of the effect of huge pig stalls on the local environment. Apart from that the only way to feed the immense numbers of animals is by importing cheap soy, which has far reaching consequences for the Latin American regions where soy is mass produced. Local resistance against large scale pig industry as well as local resistance agains soy production is widely spread. The main aim of this tour is for the Dutch, German and Paraguayan organisations that are involved in these protest to make contact with eachother. By putting together their wide variety of arguments against this industry the organisers of this tour hope to strenghten the existing campaigns.
The programme on every tour date consists of an informal part in which we get to know the organisation of local people, and an outdoor event and information evening. The informal meetings serve to exchange experiences, arguments and ideas. Towns and villages close to the planned mega stalls will be the stage for a street theater (see videoclip below) and a photo exhibition (see below).
The street theater act makes use of a board game to show how small farmers, rural people and animals are getting pushed out as large soy producers and large scale pig farmers move in. The exhibition shows images of the entire soy food chain, from cutting down forests to create farmland, till the soy ends up as food for the animal industry. The information nights cover the problems caused by soyproduction, rural developments in Europe and the situation locally. Combined with a diverse public there are enough reasons to expect lively discussions.
For more information about the tour: contact soy[at]aseed.net.
Additional blog on the tour, tour dates and reports, information and links:
www.aseed.net/soy
www.nandu.net
-picture-exhibit:
Power Point Soja Megastalle Web
