Statement by Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria (Food Safety Alliance) 

Mexico City, January 18, 2017 – Given the injuries, threats and actions that the elected president of the United States, Donald Trump, has posed against Mexico and Mexicans, and in the absence of any meaningful action from the Mexican government, the organizations within the Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria (ASA) calls citizens to act responsibly, in solidarity and exercise their power as consumers to strengthen the national economy, the small and medium companies and the small producers of this country, part of the most vulnerable groups under the new US administration. 

The ASA asks Mexican consumers to:

1. Buy local products to strengthen the local economy.
2. Buy at local markets and get to know your producers. Buy at mom and pop stores.
3. Buy fresh, healthy produce. Mexico has healthy, affordable options.
4. Punish with our purchasing power. Choose to boycott companies that favor the new US administration and threaten Mexicans.
5. Organize with neighbors and co-workers to create CSAs and food cooperatives to enable you to purchase local healthy produce and become a conscious consumer.

 
The ASA asks the government to:

1. Raise the minimum wage.
2. Guarantee Mexicans the right to know where their food comes from and what’s in it in order to make an informed purchasing decision.
3. Ensure that government purchases are sourced from local producers when the option exists.
4. Ensure that all food for school breakfasts and community kitchens comes from local producers and that it is healthy.
5. Support a program of local markets for regional and local producers in every city in the country that has a fair trade component to it and strengthens small producers’ livelihood. 
6. Exclude staple and strategic crops from the North American Free Trade Agreement.
7. Support small and medium sized businesses that offer healthy, fresh food. 
8. Increase Pemex refinery to a 100% of its capacity reversing the price increase to gas.

The ASA asks domestic companies to:

1. Commit to buy national supplies.
2. Stock up supermarkets with national products and inform consumers about the origin of their products. 

The statements and threats from the elected president of the United Sates should translate into a rational response to bring about a radical change to the national development model and to retrieve food sovereignty and food health. 

ASA pointed out that the threats of elected president Trump are generating international responses and that Mexico must take a leading role in this movement of reaction being the country that has been the focus of his rage and hate and look for Latin American solidarity and support.