As the deer were still grazing in the early morning fog and the aroma of fresh brewed coffee began to fill the air from the quaint university village; new neighbors quietly invited themselves into the small bay area community of Albany, California.  On Earth Day 2012, over two hundred protestors broke the locks that protected a ten acre parcel used by UC Berkeley agriculture researchers in order to “take back the tract.”   Large signs were hung along the fences proclaiming: “Whole Food not Whole Foods”, “Occupy the Farm”, and “Resistance is Fertile.”  Calling themselves “farmers”, the protestors pulled up fava beans, tilled the soil, and began to plant carrots, broccoli, and corn.  They told community members this was the last class 1 agriculture soil in the urban East Bay and it would soon be paved over to make way for a Whole Foods Supermarket and Senior Living Center in the upcoming year.  In a statement to the press, “Occupy the Farm” implicated UC Berkeley for developing most of the 104 acres of the original Gill Tract for self interest with a “deliberate disregard for public interest.  For decades the UC has thwarted attempts by community members to transform the site for urban sustainable agriculture and hands-on education.”  By nightfall weeds had been cleared and replaced by rows of vegetable seedlings, while in the center of the field tents were erected to house the growing number of occupiers for the upcoming three weeks. 

Although the occupy movement had been spreading throughout the UC Berkeley campus taking on different forms from protesting fee hikes to wanting increased anthropology hours, this occupation explained that their ties were of a global scale to bring awareness to “Food Sovereignty” and were acting in solidarity with an organization called La Via Campesina.  According to Via Camesina’s website, Occupy the Farm “seeks to address structural problems with health and inequalities in the Bay Area that stem from the communities’ lack of access to food and land.” The farmers also highlighted the desire to turn the Gill Tract into a community farm was not a new concept, but one that had a fifteen year history. 

On a global level the occupiers might appear to be grass root heroes: taking on possible corrupt entities that are out to make a buck by selling off precious land for development while surrounding communities had “lack of access to food.”  Unfortunately these are real issues people around the world face every day… but in the San Francisco Bay Area?!  A closer look at what the occupiers were claiming had local residents begin to ask questions. 

The original argument claimed that UCB had developed most of the 104 acres with self interest with disregard to the public.  Yet, all the land that has been developed to date has been for the greater good of the community and even on a federal level to provide sites for: USDA Research Facility, War housing for ship builders during WW2 followed by veterans housing, Albany’s Civic Center (that also houses the police and fire department) and public elementary school, two community gardens, and university family housing for UCB students.  Whole Foods and the Senior Living sites slated for development in the upcoming year will be built on a five acre lot where WW2 barracks use to stand.  The barracks provided cheap housing for students, but one had to sign a waiver of liability due to the presence of mold, lead paint, and asbestos.  They were demolished in 2007.  The occupation area that was taken over is the current cite of UCB Natural Resource Department’s open-air laboratory where researchers conduct research.  According to UCB, there is no immediate plan to develop the remainder of this agriculture tract.  Eventually the goal was to have it turned into “Recreation and Open Space,” not paved over.  As one resident points out, this does not rule out the possibility of another community garden since the current two on the original 104 acre Gill Tract are also labeled “Recreation and Open Space.”

The other message “Occupy the Farm” brought attention to was the notion that it was the community’s right to claim the land under the banner of “food sovereignty.”  La Via Campesina coined this term in protest against the affect neoliberalism had on small farmers, peasant fishermen, pastoralists, and indigenous people by pushing them off their land to be developed for the profit of a few.  Food sovereignty as explained by Via Campesina, “Puts the aspirations, needs and livelihoods of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations.” 

Despite efforts made by UCB to allow an urban farm to coincide with the open-air laboratory, the protestors would not leave claiming that all their demands had not been met.  On May 14, 2012 over 100 UC police from all over the state closed the site and arrested nine individuals who refused to leave.  With false claims against UCB, this brings to question if the occupation was more about the protest itself?  Although at the end of three weeks UCB compromised allowing 25% of the Gill Tract to be used as a community urban farm, the greater message of food sovereignty for those who truly do not have access to food was lost.