A group of mums from Devon joined a six day hunger strike outside 10 Downing Street on Mother’s Day in order to demand decisive, coordinated action from the UK government on poverty and the climate crisis.
The mothers went on a six day hunger strike to highlight the plight of the one in four mothers in the UK who are skipping meals to feed their children and other mothers globally whose children are suffering severe hunger and malnutrition as a result of the climate crisis.
Emma Hopkins organiser and catalyst of the hunger strike and Mothers Manifesto campaign explained: “There are enough resources and food for everyone according to the United Nations. So why are children starving to death? Why in the UK one of the richest nations are mothers skipping meals to feed their children? This is a political choice.”
One of the strikers, Chantelle Norton who is coordinator of Totnes food project and food bank, Food in Community said: “I’m using my privilege to choose to hunger strike in solidarity with all parents in the UK and around the world who are food insecure. The actions we are calling for will improve food security for everyone, and ensure those on the lowest incomes have enough at a time when when prices are rising faster than incomes.”
Photo: Arlo Hopkins
Dr Grace Thompson, one of the striking mothers said: “I am hunger striking from Mothers Day in solidarity with all the patients and families I have worked with directly and who cannot feed their children. I see families in the UK affected by food poverty on a daily basis. How can our children thrive and be well when they are hungry? I am here to say “this is not OK, we are not OK”.
Linking the high price of fossil-fuel-based energy with food insecurity, as well as the impacts of the climate crisis on our food systems, the striking mothers have recognised the need for a systemic approach to change. They are calling on the UK government to play a transformative role in bringing about a world in which all children can thrive by taking coordinated action across a number of interconnected issues.
Christiana Figueres, former executive secretary of the UNFCCC and co-host of the climate podcast Outrage + Optimism said: “No child should be hungry, no child need be hungry if we only assume our urgent responsibility on inequality. Climate change is accelerating this crisis and we need to address it now. These brave women striking in solidarity with mothers should be listened to in the U.K. and around the world”
The mothers detail their demands in a Mothers’ Manifesto for Change, which outlines in stark terms the state of food insecurity in the United Kingdom and around the world. Their calls to action include making sure all children in the UK have enough to eat; that the UK government keeps its promises on foreign aid and climate, and for a windfall tax on oil and gas companies’ excessive profits.
Poet Benjamin Zephaniah has offered his words of support too. He said he was dedicating his ‘I Luv Me Mudder’ poem to the mothers going on hunger strike this Mother’s Day in support of the Mother’s Manifesto ‘because I know women really struggling to raise their families because they are getting a raw financial deal from this government. These women cannot take any more. This is why I’m supporting and I urge you to support this too’.
For more local news scroll down or click here.
You can join us on our social media pages, follow us on Facebook or Twitter and keep up to date with whats going on in South Devon.
Got a news story, blog or press release that you’d like to share or want to advertise with us? Contact us
