USA~Mexico Farmers Forum Program Schedule October 13, 2003 Hotel Fort Des Moines Des Moines, Iowa A Bi-National Farmers Forum between U.S. and Mexican family farmers will be held in Des Moines, Iowa on October 13, 2003 at Hotel Fort Des Moines to explore agriculture and trade issues. The forum, which will include a delegation from the Mexican farmers’ movement El Campo No Aguanto Mas (The Countryside Can’t Take it Anymore) is an effort to create a culture of solidarity amidst schemes of economic globalization. Farmers, their organizations, scholars and journalists will come together to explore mutual concerns in the light of agricultural trade. The meeting is open to the public. The Mexican delegation will include Tania Molina, a journalist from La Jornada, a major national newspaper; Dr. Armando Bartra, Director of the Maya Institute, a major research and analysis center in Mexico; plus Mexican farm leaders such as Carlos Raul Ramos Alba (CNPA), Emilio Lopez Gamez (CIOAC), Servando Olavarria (UNORCA)and others. The US delegation will include well known farm journalist Alan Guebert, social scientist Dr. Thomas Lyson of Cornell University, farm leaders such as David Frederickson, President of National Farmers' Union, Larry Mitchell from the American Corn Growers, Denise O'Brien of Women, Food and Agriculture, and a number of others. El Campo No Aguanto Mas is a national farmers’ movement in Mexico calling on the Mexican government to renegotiate NAFTA's agricultural trade chapter. It is a movement on behalf of 25 million small farmers in Mexico whose livelihoods have been affected by cheap agricultural imports from the United States in recent years. The United States’ subsidies for domestic agriculture have undercut many farmers around the world and have created the notion in Mexico that all U.S. farmers benefit from these subsidies. Several new trade agreements modeled after NAFTA are currently being negotiated, including the Central American Free Trade Area (CAFTA) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). To learn more about the Mexican countryside perspective, please see these two statements: * For the dignity of the land, For the dignity of Mexico * Six Proposals for the salvation of the Mexican countryside The Bi-National Farmers Forum will be held at Hotel Fort Des Moines, 1000 Walnut Street, Des Moines, Iowa. Registration fee is $40 and includes an "all Iowa" lunch. To register for the Forum, call National Catholic Rural Life Conference at 515-270-2634 or e-mail us at [log in to unmask] Our mailing address is 4625 Beaver Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50310. [For reservations at Hotel Fort Des Moines, please call 1-800-532-1466.] The Bi-National Farmers Forum will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Celebratory Dinner for Sustainable Agriculture On the evening of the Farmers Forum, October 13th, a special dinner with all Iowa food will celebrate sustainable agriculture and recognize the work of Neil Hamilton, Director of the Drake University Agriculture Law Center. Dr. Hamilton will receive the International Local Food Prize and then deliver a timely address: "Trade, Hunger, and Local Food Systems". We will also recognize and provide our Mexican guests with warm Iowa hospitality. The dinner and evening events will run from 6-9 pm. The all Iowa dinner costs $35. The full day forum and evening events will cost $75. Registration information is same as above; please contact NCRLC at 515-270-2634. Sponsored by The National Catholic Rural Life Conference, Catholic Relief Services, Mexican Bishops Social Pastoral Commission. All are welcome! Erin E. Jordahl Director, Iowa Chapter Sierra Club 3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280 Des Moines, IA 50310 515-277-8868 [log in to unmask] www.iowa.sierraclub.org - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Make your voice heard! Find out how to get Take Action Alerts and other important Sierra Club messages by email at: http://www.sierraclub.org/email