Even after years of struggle and in a time of
economic crisis.”
Photos and video available
upon request.
LOS ANGELES—On Saturday,
January 30th at 12:00pm the South Central Farmers will roll out
The BIG Fruit Tree Giveaway in collaboration with
Tree People organization. Taking place at the South Central Farm Center located
on 1702 E. 41st Street, right next to the former site of the South
Central Farm, one hundred fruit trees will be distributed to neighboring
families. The Farmers want every tree that was bulldozed, killed, or forcibly
removed from the South Central Farm to be lovingly replaced by a new sapling of
potential and hope in South Central Los Angeles. Tree types will include
passion fruit, apples, apricots, nectarines, loquats, peaches, cherimoya, plums,
and guavas.
THIS campaign is part of a larger
plan to address community food security issues through comprehensive and
multi-faceted efforts that engage multiple stakeholders and constituencies in
planning for and implementing viable food systems that feed hungry families in
disenfranchised urban neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
The rise of the South Central
Farmers began nearly four years ago when their raucous and playful street
protests, with over-sized cardboard corn FIGURES and a multicultural blend of
community, gave voice to 350 families being thrown out of a public URBAN FARM
they had cultivated into a hidden paradise in the middle of L.A.'s industrial
district.
Developer Ralph Horowitz bulldozed
the site of the South Central Farm, the nation's largest urban farm, in June of
2006 after negotiations between the Mayor's office and Horowitz failed.As of now they have temporarily halted Horowitz's planned construction of
a mammoth DISTRIBUTION CENTER for Forever 21, forcing Horowitz to agree to an
Environmental Impact Report before construction could go forward on the
warehouse. Regardless of the difficulties, the farmers continue on their mission
for food sovereignty and environmental justice through the established
non-profit organization South Central Farmers Health and Education Fund, a
501c.3. They also continue to hold weekly farmers markets in Watts, Leimert
Park, Atwater Village, Eagle Rock, LA City Hall, as well as
Hollywood.
-danny
santana~> -South Central Farm Volunteer -
Never Forever 21 Coalition -
Across Mexico, sidewalk vendors with unhealthy offerings wait for students after classes let out.?
MEXICO
CITY — Though still afflicted by large pockets of the malnourished
poor, Mexico is fat and quickly getting fatter, its children gaining
weight faster than anyone else in the country.
About 70 percent of
Mexican adults are now overweight, according to government estimates,
more than triple the number of three decades ago. Also, about a third
of the country's schoolchildren and teenagers are overweight, making
Mexicans the second-heaviest people on the planet, gaining quickly on
their American neighbors.
With
more people living in urban areas, and some with more money, Mexicans
are eating more and exercising less. Forgoing the beans, tortillas,
fruit and vegetables their grandparents ate, people flock to U.S.-style
fast food.
Also,
calorie-laden Mexican dishes once reserved for special occasions have
become routine fare. Anything fried, packaged pastries, soft drinks and
candy are widely available.
By
some estimates, more than 200,000 people die each year in Mexico
because of heart disease, diabetes and other diet-caused illnesses.
Experts and government officials warn the problem shortly will prove
overwhelming.
“It's
an epidemic,” said physician Abelardo Avila, a leading researcher at
Mexico's National Institute of Medical Science and Nutrition. “Millions
of Mexicans are being put in danger, and the health system is not going
to be able to keep up with it. There is nothing like this in the
history of public health in Mexico.”
