Hedging Against Hunger

On September 13th, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, with the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment, hosted a webinar concerning investments in food commodities.

Co-presenters Mike Masters and David Frenk of Better Markets walked over 100 financial managers, consultants, and socially responsible investors through a high-level presentation on commodities, their financial structure, challenges, as well as their social effects.

Listen to the webinar "Hedging Against Hunger: Webinar for Investment Professionals" (NOTE: The presentation will only play in the Internet Explorer web browser. At the prompt, enter the passcode: iccr2012 ).

Read ICCR's Guidelines for Responsible Investing in Food Commodities and Recommended Guidelines for Responsible Land Investments:

With growing evidence of man-made contributions to global warming, members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) are calling on asset owners to use their voices and their votes to push for stricter GHG reduction goals and to accelerate investments in renewable energy.

ICCR members are sponsoring 28 climate-related proposals this proxy season. Several focus on obvious industries like extractives and utilities. Others, targeting big box retailers, food retailers, the energy-intensive IT sector, and the financial services sector – with its power to drive investments in green energy solutions – move into new territory.

To learn more, read our press release.

Our 60 Minutes piece from 1998 chronicles the work of Sr. Pat Marshall and Sr. Pat Daly. As Lesley Stahl reports, religious congregations have for years called for socially responsible practices from their corporations. From the board room of CBS News to the annual meeting of General Motors, the audience witnesses the sisters utiliizing their power as shareholders to call for more ethical actions.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7380089n

We are proud to carry on this legacy!

In November, Kate Walsh, Associate Director, traveled to Zambia to speak at conference co-sponsored by Catholic Relief Services and CAFOD on Extractives in Southern African. Here is her reflection on that experience:

“The first weekend, I went to Mongu in the Western Region. This is the poorest region of the country. After a 7 hour bus ride from the capital, I arrived and went to visit the Diocese of Mongu Development Centre (DMDC). When this opened in the early 70′s, its focus was to provide nutritional assistance to the local residents, specifically children. Today, it focuses on local food sustainability. To meet that goal, DMDC provides everything from farmer training; to running a distribution center for seeds and equipment; and operating a rice polishing machine, free for the community to use. DMDC is even exploring technologies with bio-diesel. One of the greatest benefits of all their work is how earnestly they commit to sustainability. They teach people how to grow rice for sustenance as well as for sale at the market. All the rice seeds sold to the local farmers are organic. Rice husks and residual powder are given purposes such as fertilizer for local crops and road cover. Trees are grown at the center and then planted to restore deforested areas.

Later that day, I met Fr. Michael, the finance director of the Mongu diocese. He gave me the greatest gift: the reminder of my purpose in this trip. He told me to share the story of Mongu. He did not ask me to take action; he did not ask me to find funders for their wonderful programs. He asked me to tell others of the poverty, but also the wonderful hope and programs that do exist. His message was wrapped up in his quick statement “Be a mouthpiece, Kate”. And I think that is what we are collectively called to do with this work- be a mouthpiece and lift up the stories.

So, as our work allows us to be a mouthpiece, the rest of my time allowed me to hone that ability. The rest of the week I spent In Lusaka at the CRS/CAFOD Conference, which was incredibly well run. There was such excitement over this work, and it brought over 100 people from 13 countries together to strategize on such a complex, yet crucial issue of extractives.

Africa is rich in natural minerals and resources. Yet, the local people do not always benefit from these resources. Our conference pulled together NGOs, CSOs, company representatives, and others to begin to talk through the issues. We learned about Free, Prior, and Informed Consent, and how to utilize it before an operation begins; we learned about international laws and remediation tactics; how to utilize social media, especially in the wake of Egypt’s example; we studied conflict resolution; and heard about great groups like EITI and Publish What you Pay.

What was difficult some of our differences US ownership of companies  vs. Ownership in general, which is so incredibly dissimilar, and not what the organizers wished to spend time on. The good news is that conference participants did strongly appreciate how to engage companies, regardless of different securities laws- such as tactics when they aren't responding, knowing it takes time not a silver bullet, and how to build relationships for the benefit of communities. The CSO groups were very excited to take these strategies back and if there can be partnerships with ICCR, they will let us know!

All in all this was a great experience, getting to see some fantastic sustainable food production, as well as work with on the ground groups in the extractives industry as well as learn some critical life lessons".

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Through its work in the agricultural sector, ICCR has developed expertise that lead to the release of Principles for Sustainable and Equitable Food Production in November of 2012.

An excerpt:

Food has always played a central role in the world’s cultures and faith traditions. In religious life the spiritual dimensions of food are manifest in rituals such as food offerings,sharing, fasts, taboos and dietary practices. Examples of the sacredness of food from the world’s major religions are the Christian sharing of the Eucharist in Holy Communion, the month-long Muslim fast of Ramadan, Jewish Passover and Kosher practices and Prasad offerings in the Hindu faith. The cultural dimensions of food are embodied in the harvest festivals, thanksgiving feasts and countless food ceremonies and traditions that mark rites of passage and milestones for people across the globe.Members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), many with global ministries in food-insecure communities, have long advocated for an equitable, accessible and sustainable food system that nourishes both people and planet.

The Current Food Crisis

There is an urgent need for a food system that will sustain the world’s people both now and for future generations. It is widely cited that agricultural production will need to increase 70% to feed the global population of 9 billion expected by 2050. Moreover, as a result of unfair trade, production and distribution practices, today’s food system fails to provide equitable access to nutrition for nearly one in seven people. Increased demand for biofuels and speculative investments in land are artificially inflating the price of vital natural resources and concentrating them in the hands of multinational corporations and hedge funds. The global economic crisis has driven millions around the world into poverty.We see evidence of the unrest caused by rising food prices in land and water conflicts that are surfacing with increased regularity not only in developing countries, but in wealthier countries long thought immune to the threat of food insecurity. The situation is exacerbated by the impact of climate change, which has produced increased flooding, more frequent and enduring droughts and pollution. How businesses respond to these growing pressures on our world’s food supply will determine whether hunger and poverty are eradicated or soar to new heights.

To read the entire Principles document, visit: http://iccr.org/issues/subpages/pdf/2012ICCRFoodPrinciples-lowrez.pdf