Slow Food Chile on the recent fires

Public statement

As Slow Food Chile we are greatly affected by the situation caused by the fires ravaging large parts of our country. Slow Chile is part of a global movement, active in more than 160 countries, with the main aim of ensuring access for all to good, clean and fair food.

We are very sorry about the loss of lives, homes and belongings and we are available to help in any way possible.

As on other occasions, it is more than clear that these fires were started intentionally and their origins lie in the economic interests of real estate developers and huge road and agroindustry projects. The authorities should carry out urgent investigations and get to the root of the problem, together with a community that is calling for such action.

Moreover, our land is dry due to water use in industrial and mining activities, making the spread of fires inevitable. We are clear about the human origin of this tragedy and that, as always, the worst affected are rural communities and nature.

It is vital that the laws that allow our lands to be plundered and that favor those who make dispossession their way of life, such as the water code, the forestry model, land changes, the lack of protection of wetlands, mining, agroindustry and so many others that benefit from the tragedy affecting communities, be revised as soon as possible, mainly through state contributions in the form of multi-million dollar subsidies given to companies that base their economic activity on the extractive model, such as the bonuses given to forestry companies that destroy native forests to plant exotic species that damage our ecosystems.

It is vital that we review, as a country, the education we are giving to the younger generations, especially on issues of care and respect for life and the environment. From our foundations and principles, we can state that it is possible to have a dignified and good life without destroying our planet and that, on the contrary, if we continue with the uncontrolled plundering of natural resources, our humanity does not have much hope of continuing.

We share the conviction that we can regenerate destroyed spaces through agroecology and community work. The economic model of monoculture and accumulation of resources proves once again that it is not viable for our planet, even less so in the context of the climate crisis and rising temperatures we are experiencing. .

We call on our communities and friends to stand in solidarity with the burned regions and to get ready for reconstruction, maintaining the resistance and historical struggles of the regions.

Slow Food Chile defends land, water, seeds, cultures and common goods, and opposes the extractive model and the pillaging of our natural heritage.

We defend food sovereignty and firmly oppose the threat of looming megaprojects, threatening our very life.

Communities

Slow Food Chile AG