Saturday, December 12, 2009
bite sizing-up food not bombs!
Food Not Bombs! started out in 1980 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when anti-nuclear activists protesting the Seabrook power plant began handing out free food to the city’s homeless (and hungry). Their message was simple: money for food, not bombs. In the thirty years that followed, autonomous Food Not Bombs chapters, built on the same underlying principle, formed in over a thousand different cities around the world. One such city is our very own Hamilton.
OPIRG's Abeer Siddiqui interviewed Food not Bombs’ volunteer Tom Dusome - lover of biking, hater of shopping malls, and a member of the Hamilton Awkward Hockey group - for discussing with us both his role in Food Not Bombs, and the role of Food Not Bombs in fuelling radical change.
Fueling Radical Change, One Meal at a Time
When asked about the principles underlying the Hamilton chapter, Tom answered with a comment on barriers. He believes that Food not Bombs is as much an organisation supporting non-violent change, as it is about breaking barriers between protestors and onlookers. It provides a simple way of personalising an international crisis for a local audience. He goes on to say that volunteers often find themselves breaking a few personal barriers, as well.
Food not Bombs, in Tom’s words, is about ‘appreciating the source of food’. He compares the ways in which it is distributed both locally and internationally, and comments on the system’s deliberate wastefulness. Food not Bombs’ tradition of acquiring excess food from local markets and providing it, at no cost, to the city’s residents challenges this system; and further asserts that there is, in fact, enough food to go around.
Tom, who is a vegetarian, also discussed Food not Bombs’ decision to provide purely vegetarian and vegan meals, and believes that this choice serves to represent the organisation’s support for non-violent movements around the world. It is also a decision based on providing healthy choices, and garnering a larger audience.
Like all Food not Bombs chapters around the world, the Hamilton group is run on a formal consensus basis. In this way, power is distributed equally among all members, everyone has a say in any decision made, and it lets all volunteers - new and old - become more comfortable with the organisation. Tom supports this model and firmly believes in its lack of leaders, winners and losers.
Our final question to Tom asked him where he would like to see Food not Bombs in the future. He answered that he hopes for greater communication between its different chapters. Though this contradicts the traditional Food not Bombs’ concept of ‘Each Group is Autonomous’ he believes that it will provide a means for greater skill-sharing and a greater support network of non-violent movements across Canada.
Upon the conclusion of this interview, it became clear to us that Food not Bombs cannot be defined as a charity. Though it does supply food to the homeless and has responded to crises such as the Asian tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Katrina, it is more of a support group. It provides the general public a link to the minds and movements of change. And, as Tom said as he finished our interview, it hopes to “never let radical change go hungry”.
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Find out more about Hamilton Food Not Bombs! Working Group at their opirg web site. Please contact hamiltonfnb@gmail.com for more information.
To get involved as an OPIRG McMaster volunteer, start here!
OPIRG's Abeer Siddiqui interviewed Food not Bombs’ volunteer Tom Dusome - lover of biking, hater of shopping malls, and a member of the Hamilton Awkward Hockey group - for discussing with us both his role in Food Not Bombs, and the role of Food Not Bombs in fuelling radical change.
Fueling Radical Change, One Meal at a Time
When asked about the principles underlying the Hamilton chapter, Tom answered with a comment on barriers. He believes that Food not Bombs is as much an organisation supporting non-violent change, as it is about breaking barriers between protestors and onlookers. It provides a simple way of personalising an international crisis for a local audience. He goes on to say that volunteers often find themselves breaking a few personal barriers, as well.
Food not Bombs, in Tom’s words, is about ‘appreciating the source of food’. He compares the ways in which it is distributed both locally and internationally, and comments on the system’s deliberate wastefulness. Food not Bombs’ tradition of acquiring excess food from local markets and providing it, at no cost, to the city’s residents challenges this system; and further asserts that there is, in fact, enough food to go around.
Tom, who is a vegetarian, also discussed Food not Bombs’ decision to provide purely vegetarian and vegan meals, and believes that this choice serves to represent the organisation’s support for non-violent movements around the world. It is also a decision based on providing healthy choices, and garnering a larger audience.
Like all Food not Bombs chapters around the world, the Hamilton group is run on a formal consensus basis. In this way, power is distributed equally among all members, everyone has a say in any decision made, and it lets all volunteers - new and old - become more comfortable with the organisation. Tom supports this model and firmly believes in its lack of leaders, winners and losers.
Our final question to Tom asked him where he would like to see Food not Bombs in the future. He answered that he hopes for greater communication between its different chapters. Though this contradicts the traditional Food not Bombs’ concept of ‘Each Group is Autonomous’ he believes that it will provide a means for greater skill-sharing and a greater support network of non-violent movements across Canada.
Upon the conclusion of this interview, it became clear to us that Food not Bombs cannot be defined as a charity. Though it does supply food to the homeless and has responded to crises such as the Asian tsunami of 2004 and Hurricane Katrina, it is more of a support group. It provides the general public a link to the minds and movements of change. And, as Tom said as he finished our interview, it hopes to “never let radical change go hungry”.
----
Find out more about Hamilton Food Not Bombs! Working Group at their opirg web site. Please contact hamiltonfnb@gmail.com for more information.
To get involved as an OPIRG McMaster volunteer, start here!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Torture, Canadian style...
Ending Canadian Involvement in Torture
Campaign to Stop Secret Trials and Homes Not Bombs! activist Matthew Behrens will speak on Dec 10 (Human Rights Day) at McMaster.It will be in the Med Centre room 1A6 (Ewart Angus Centre) at 7:30pm
Amnesty International Groups 1 and 8 (co-sponsored by OPIRG McMaster)
Monday, December 07, 2009
cycling in hamilton - the future mapped
Ever wonder what cyclist can expect for future infrastructure in Hamilton? Where will new bike lanes, multi-use paths, and ped/cycling bridges be? Now you can use Transportation for Liveable Communities' mapping of the Shifting Gears Cycling Plan.
View Larger Map
Disclaimer: this is not an official opirg mcmaster sponsored event, and is posted for information purposes only. Please contact the event organizers with any questions or concerns.
View Larger Map
Disclaimer: this is not an official opirg mcmaster sponsored event, and is posted for information purposes only. Please contact the event organizers with any questions or concerns.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
hurry! survey for rapid transit in Hamilton
McMaster and the City of Hamilton are seeking input from faculty, staff and students as work continues on a city rapid transit plan.
A campus-wide survey is being launched this week to learn more about the McMaster community’s transit usage and preferences. The consultation is part of the work underway to bring a rapid transit system to Hamilton, which would include a terminal on campus.
City representatives will be in the McMaster University Student Centre on December 1 and 2 to distribute and collect surveys. You can also complete survey online by visiting www.hamilton.ca/rapid-transit
McMaster is committed to working with the City to locate a rapid transit terminal on campus in an appropriate spot that provides convenient access to transit for the McMaster community and respects the campus plan. A key goal of the City is to effectively and efficiently serve the campus community and the survey will help create a better understanding of the needs of students, staff and faculty.
The City’s priority is a Light Rail Transit (LRT) system which includes a McMaster to Eastgate Square line. The City is working with Metrolinx, the provincial body responsible for expanding transit in southern Ontario. A decision is expected in the new year.
A campus-wide survey is being launched this week to learn more about the McMaster community’s transit usage and preferences. The consultation is part of the work underway to bring a rapid transit system to Hamilton, which would include a terminal on campus.
City representatives will be in the McMaster University Student Centre on December 1 and 2 to distribute and collect surveys. You can also complete survey online by visiting www.hamilton.ca/rapid-transit
McMaster is committed to working with the City to locate a rapid transit terminal on campus in an appropriate spot that provides convenient access to transit for the McMaster community and respects the campus plan. A key goal of the City is to effectively and efficiently serve the campus community and the survey will help create a better understanding of the needs of students, staff and faculty.
The City’s priority is a Light Rail Transit (LRT) system which includes a McMaster to Eastgate Square line. The City is working with Metrolinx, the provincial body responsible for expanding transit in southern Ontario. A decision is expected in the new year.
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