Mainers will vote on the referendum in November. Supporters say it takes power from corporate food interests. But opponents argue it could endanger animals and threaten food safety.
Vegan Kitchen: Maine s Right to Food referendum, yea or nay? pressherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pressherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The ballot question will ask:
“Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to declare that all individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being?”
If passed, Maine would be the first state to adopt a constitutional amendment enshrining a right to food. West Virginia and Washington are also considering right-to-food amendments for their state constitutions.
The language to be added to the Maine Constitution would read:
“All individuals have a natural, inherent and unalienable right to food, including the right to save and exchange seeds and the right to grow, raise, harvest, produce and consume the food of their own choosing for their own nourishment, sustenance, bodily health and well-being, as long as an individual does not commit trespassing, theft, poaching or other abuses of private property rights, public lands or
Earth Day Latest: 14 million South Africans go to bed hungry
Environmentalists have called on the government to take climate change seriously and to focus on building just food systems on Earth Day.
As food prices continue to rocket, placing access to nutritious food out of reach of desperately poor South Africans, environmental activists have called for a more just food system during an Earth Day protest in Durban on Thursday.
South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA) activists highlighted the need for governments to repair the damage caused by monocultural mass food production and to take the science regarding climate change seriously. The Earth Day protest was held on the steps of the Durban City Hall.
Activist groups across the country are calling for local and provincial governments and the South African Local Government Association (Salga), to adopt the Climate Justice Charter on Thursday, 22 April.
The 42 actions, organised by communities and climate activist groups, are taking place in the form of online dialogues and physical engagements with local governments and municipalities.
Actions and events have taken place in parts of Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg.
The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance is one group that held a creative demonstration outside the Durban City Hall, on Thursday morning.
The South Durban Community Environmental Alliance held a creative demonstration outside the Durban City Hall on Thursday, 22 April. Photo: Shanice Firmin