Early Years (2005-2010)

In March 2004, Debbie Field (Executive Director, FoodShare Toronto), Wayne Roberts (Coordinator, Toronto Food Policy Council), Cecilia Rocha (Director, Centre for Studies in Food Security, Ryerson University), and Nick Saul (Executive Director, The Stop Community Food Centre) were invited to attend the Second National Conference on Food and Nutrition Security in Olinda, Brazil, as part of a small group of international observers. This was an opportunity to witness the culmination of a democratic process in which civil society organizations from throughout the country participated in the development of key recommendations to be forwarded to the federal government through the Brazilian National Council for Food and Nutrition Security (CONSEA). For the Canadian observers, it was also an opportunity to reflect on our own challenges and opportunities in developing a movement to improve food security in Canada and elsewhere based on principles of social justice and participatory democracy. The Conference was strongly grounded on the works of two key figures in the Brazilian movement against hunger and for food security: Josué de Castro and Herbert de Souza. The impact of the work of these two Brazilians reached far beyond their country’s borders, and their legacy can still be felt today.

 

Josué de Castro (1908-1973) had a distinguished career as a physician, writer, diplomat and, most notably, as a humanitarian (http://www.josuedecastro.com.br/engl/frame.html). He is credited with promoting the issue of hunger as a scientific and political inquiry through books such as Geography of Hunger (1946), and through his work as Chairman of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). He died in France, in 1973, exiled by the military dictatorship that came to power in Brazil in the 1964 coup.

 

Herbert de Souza (“Betinho”, as he is known by millions of Brazilians and others around the world), was also a humanitarian forced into exile by the military dictatorship. But he survived to see democracy return to his country, and to make a major contribution towards a more egalitarian, just society. Among the many causes he embraced and led was the Campaign Against Hunger and for Life which triggered the new movement for food and nutrition security in Brazil. Before returning to Brazil in 1979, Betinho lived for five years in Toronto, Canada, where he learned about the political power of civil society organizations. Betinho died in August 1997. Upon their return to Toronto, the four Canadian observers of the Brazilian Conference felt the need to rekindle the Toronto connection with Betinho. Thus emerged the Betinho Project -- from our desire to celebrate Betinho’s life and work, and to make a contribution to the continuation of his campaign against hunger and for life everywhere in the world. Ryerson University’s Centre for Studies in Food Security has hosted the project since then.