Protect the Earth, Secure Our Food: A Call for Just and Sustainable Food Systems

Today, on Earth Day, the Philippine Network of Food Security Programmes (PNFSP) joins communities, advocates, and peoples across the world in honoring our shared home—the Earth—and in affirming our commitment to protect its resources for present and future generations.

Earth Day is not only a reminder of our duty to care for the environment but also a powerful call to action: without a healthy planet, there can be no food security. In the Philippines, the climate crisis, land degradation, resource extraction, and corporate control over agriculture continue to threaten the very foundations of food production and the rights of rural communities.

Food self-sufficiency and the right to food cannot be achieved without defending the land, water, and ecosystems that sustain them. This Earth Day, PNFSP calls on the government, civil society, and all Filipinos to:

1. Uphold the right to food as a basic human right, ensuring access to adequate, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food for all, especially the most vulnerable.

2. Protect and rehabilitate the environment, particularly agricultural lands, watersheds, forests, and marine ecosystems from destructive industries and unsustainable practices.

3. Support farmers, fisherfolk, and indigenous communities who are the real stewards of our land and natural resources. Their knowledge, labor, and rights must be protected and uplifted.

4. Promote agroecology and sustainable farming practices that work in harmony with nature, ensuring food security while restoring ecosystems and building climate resilience.

   
   

We cannot separate food from the environment—they are deeply and inextricably linked. As we face intensifying environmental and economic crises, now more than ever, we must pursue genuine agrarian reform, invest in sustainable rural development, and prioritize the needs of people and planet over profit.

This Earth Day, let us unite to protect our natural resources, defend food sovereignty, and build just and resilient food systems grounded in the wisdom and strength of our communities.

For the Earth. For Food. For the Future.