Women, Food & Agriculture Network started in 1997, but the name, Women, Food and Agriculture originated in 1994 when Denise O'Brien, current WFAN coordinator, and Kathy Lawrence of New York, formed a Women, Food and Agriculture working group in preparation for the United Nation's Fourth World Women's Conference in Beijing, China in order to remedy the neglect of food and agricultural issues.

The network formed in 1997 after Denise spent a few years doing work under the name, but found the going difficult without a network. Along with Denise, a few dedicated individuals decided to form a network to act on their long standing concerns about systemic rural, agricultural, and environmental problems and gender relation in these domains.

After a few meetings, the group decided on the mission statement for Women, Food & Agriculture Network, "to link and amplify women's voices on issues of food systems, sustainable communities, and environmental integrity."

The goals were decided on soon after:

1. To promote sustainable agricultural and community structures.
2. Insist on social and ecological justice for current and future human and non-human communities.
3. Provide opportunities for education on economics and environment that
   • articulate a holistic view of agriculture,
   • instill a sense of place, and
   • draw forward useful experiences from the past.
4. Create networks that
   • support communities of growers, consumers, workers and others who strive for sustainability,
   • increase effective access to and use of existing resources,
   • engage participants in experiential learning,
   • provide safe places for self-expression, and
   • respect the spirituality of the land and people.
5. Advocate change by exploring alternatives and challenge
   • the globalization of economies,
   • cultures of domination and institutionalized discrimination,
   • the disintegration of landscapes, and
   • oppressive conceptual frameworks.

Today, WFAN has close to 150 members. Although centered in Iowa, WFAN members come from over 25 states and several other countries. We are diverse in ages (ranging from teens to seventies) and backgrounds. We are farmers, urban gardeners, environmental educators, community activists, academics, and others who care about food and our environment.

To learn more about WFAN, view the June 2002 newsletter (pdf).