Skye D’Aquila
Professor Katrinell Davis
SOC 19
October 24, 2014
Extra Credit: Speaker event

The event I attended was on “Food Day,” and focused on Corporate Agribusinesses large land grabbing in Brazil, resulting in the displacement of the poor. The speakers name is Jose Maria Tardin, who is an Agroecologist and political activist from Brazil. He was apart of Brazil’s activist group, MST (Landless workers movement) and conducted many protests regarding the lack of governmental action and resource. This is a good group for poor families to unite and actively share their struggle for land against the large corporations. There are over 400,000 families in the MST. Many are put in encampments, where the living conditions are not great, but it provides the people with a space to unify and socially organize themselves to enact greater change. Jose Tardin also helped in creating Brazil’s first college level Agroecology school. The government failed to support this school, resulting in very small funds. Funds so small they could not afford to pay their professors. This did not stop them however because they were able to find 200 volunteer professors. Not only did this school provide people with an education, but it provided them with a community of people who have shared similar struggles. Graduates of this school often went on to work with the MST to demand land justice. Jose Tardin did not speak English, so he had his wife translate for him. This only served as a reminder of how far he had come to share his story. It was incredible to hear such a real story directly from someone who has experienced it and dedicated most of his life to see it change.