– March 8, 2013 –

WASHINGTON – Ecumenical Advocacy Days (EAD) is pleased to announce that Oxfam America will sponsor the Saturday Lunch Plenary at EAD’s 2013 national gathering, “At God’s Table: Food Justice for a Healthy World,” April 5-8, 2013.

The lunch plenary, titled, “Land and Food Justice: Managing Our Natural Resources to End Hunger and Achieve Justice Around the World,” marks a first-time sponsorship of an EAD event for Oxfam. Douglas Grace, Director of EAD, commented, “We are thrilled to welcome Oxfam America as a joint ally in seeking global food justice. With Oxfam’s sponsorship of EAD 2013, participants attending the gathering will hear first-hand accounts of advocates from Ghana, El Salvador, Guatemala and the U.S. about the critical issue of corporate “land grabs” that are impacting families and communities all around the world. The luncheon will put a human face on the global food policy issues that Brother Dave Andrews, CSC, JD, Senior Representative at Food and Water Watch, will introduce early that morning.”

Today, nearly 900 million people in the world are not able to claim their right to food. Far too often, rural communities and indigenous peoples in the Americas, Africa and elsewhere are being challenged by powerful corporations who seek profit from the exploitation of their lands, water and non-renewable resources hidden underneath their soil. The lunch plenary will connect the local, national and global challenges and detail how communities, activists and advocates are responding. Panelists from Central America and West Africa will speak to the struggles in their countries to defend communities’ rights to land and water and to secure healthy food and a life with dignity for their families.

For more information on the Oxfam America-sponsored lunch plenary, including keynote panelists, click here.