Climate Spike SUCCESS!

Awesome job and a big CONGRATS to all the Oxfam Action Corps who took action for our campaign spike Tuesday! If you haven't heard, that day, May 20, marked a big push for our activism regarding climate change, and how the Big Ten food and beverage companies are contributing to it. We specifically targeted the two companies who rank lowest on our scorecard for climate, Kellogg and General Mills. All across the country, volunteers and staff took action to spread the word, which in turn sparked actions from over 17,000 people on this one day! 

The objective was to raise awareness among consumers, but also to send a strong message to these two companies to shape up their climate policies. We did this by taking pictures in front of the brands, engaging with the public on the street, handing out mini cereal boxes with a twist (see pictures below) and collecting petition signatures. Additionally eight of our Action Corps teams visited facilities to deliver a report that addresses why food and beverage companies must do more to tackle climate change. You can read the full report here.

Altered labels to send our message to consumers!

Kansas City Action Corps volunteers

Des Moines Action Corps volunteer at facility in Iowa

Burlington Action Corps volunteers

Other GRRRREAT! activity from May 20 happened in Chicago, where there was a "Sweets and Snacks" expo with attendees from all the major players in the food and beverage industry, including General Mills and Kellogg! Our incredible staff both from Boston and Chicago, along with Action Corps volunteers, dressed up as famous mascot characters from the brands, and stood outside. Here is the result:

Staff and volunteers dressed as mascots in front of expo

"Breakfast of the Future" stunt in Lake Michigan

Our team in Chicago made great contact with the companies, as well as local allies. This stunt in particular had a huge presence on social media, along with all the other great posts from allies and Action Corps. As far as general media, Oxfam had a presence in over 35 news stories, including mentions in Time, Reuters, Financial Times, Huffington Post, and Al Jazeera America. In addition, Oxfam’s President Ray Offenheiser and a few other Oxfam staff held airtime on various TV networks, advocating for these issues and our campaign.

And the work doesn’t stop here! We will continue to advocate for climate change and work with these companies to ensure they follow through on making reforms. To get in on the action, make sure you have visited behindthebrands.org to sign the petition, and help out with social media activity! Follow the Oxfam America national blog for updates on news and reporting on the companies’ progress. Thank you again to ALL the help from Action Corps across the country! This was a momentous day

Climate change: things are heating up

Read this incredible first-person perspective of climate change from an Action Corps volunteer in Des Moines! (Originally posted on May 11 at http://iowansforoxfam.blogspot.com/2014/05/climate-change-things-are-heating-up.html)

Privilege is often not intuitive to the privileged. Yet, I am fortunate to be aware of my privilege. For example, when I’m thirsty, I walk about 10 feet to my kitchen sink where miles of underground water pipes bring me fresh, clean, and treated water from my municipality. I pay for it, of course. But I’m also privileged to have grown up in a developed country where I had access to education so that I could one day have a job that allows me to pay my monthly water bill. Billions of people worldwide have lived their entire lives in a state of water scarcity – they have never had access like I’ve had access. I am privileged to have never gone a full day in my life where my water source (and thusly, my life or my livelihood) was at risk or not knowing when/where my next drink of that delicious H₂0 would come from.

And yet, I get the feeling like there’s a change coming. A quick online search displays a dizzying array of recent articles on climate change – most of them attributable to the “buzz” created around the White House’s release of the U.S. National Climate Assessment last week. This report paints a very serious picture of what a United States of America could look like when grappling with some of more terrible effects of climate change. The report “highlights” 12 major areas of impact – one of which is our water supply. Just a few snippets from the report:

                “Short-term (seasonal or shorter) droughts are expected to intensify in most U.S. regions. Longer-term droughts are expected to intensify in large areas of the Southwest, southern Great Plains, and Southeast.” (pg. 42)

                “The annual maximum number of consecutive dry days (less than 0.01 inches of rain) is projected to increase, especially in the western and southern part of the nation, negatively affecting crop and animal production.” (pg. 47)

                “Increased warming, drought, and insect outbreaks, all caused by or linked to climate change, have increased wildfires and impacts to people and ecosystems in the Southwest.” (pg. 78)

It’s a very sobering reality that we, as a species, expect to face these hardships in coming years. Worse yet, these are the impacts to a developed country that has the infrastructure to respond and counteract (at least, temporarily) to crisis. What about developing nations? What about the countries that have already faced years of drought or floods? What about the hardships that poor communities face – those who are one negative natural event (maybe even a minor one) away from the complete loss of their way of life.

Climate change is real. And it's devastating to people and communities all across the globe. Worst of all, it hits poor communities first and with a greater severity. They lack the resources and education to properly adapt to a changing climate. That’s where Oxfam steps in – helping to provide those tools with the ultimate goal of empowerment. There’s this great story of a gardener in the Philippines named Josephine Alad-Ad. She’s had to adapt to severely unpredictable weather events (floods, droughts, landslides) and with the help of Oxfam’s Climate Resiliency Field Schools, she’s been able to do that – altering what she grows so the crops require less water and how she grows it so more water is conserved. It’s yet another way that Oxfam works to right the wrongs of poverty, hunger, and injustice.

We're built on your ideas

In the summer of 2013 we convened an Advisory Group of volunteers and our trained organizers, both current and 'alumni.'  Together we assessed the Oxfam Action Corps program and suggested ways to strengthen it.  This brief slide show gives an update on how that process has shaped our progress this year and will continue to do so.




Many thanks to those of you who have served as organizers and advisors.  We look forward to continuing to brainstorm and learn together in the near future!

Brian