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Jun 29, 2011-2011

United States of America

Feeding the Hungry = Terrorism

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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP

Food Not Bombs

TARGET

Government of Orlando; Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer

WIDELY HELD BELIEF

People have rights to feed hungry and homeless populations in large numbers. Any law preventing that is against human rights, cruel, and should be banned.

CASE NARRATIVE

Issue and Opponent: The “Large Group Feeding” ordinance, is an Orlando City law, which requires groups to obtain a permit to serve food, even for free, to groups of 25 or more. Such permits are granted to any group only twice per year. Orlando Food Not Bombs used both of its allowed permits during the year. Orlando mayor Buddy Dyer called the Food Not Bombs activists “food terrorists” when they decided to continue holding their events to feed people in need, despite having already used their assigned permissions. Food Not Bombs shares free vegan and vegetarian meals with the hungry in over 1,000 cities around the world to protest war, poverty, and the destruction of the environment. Dilemma Action: In 2011, after using both of their allowed permits for the year, the Orlando-based NGO Food Not Bombs broke with the ordinance against feeding the homeless, opting instead to share food with poor and hungry people in the community to meet their needs. Because the group of homeless and hungry fed numbered more than 25, the permitted per occasion, those giving the food were arrested due to the new ordinance. Outcome: At least 21 people were arrested during the event. Legal proceedings were initiated against the city for implementing a law that goes against human rights. The Florida Civil Rights Association has requested a public apology from Mayor Dyer for his designation of the Food Not Bombs group as terrorists. The core message of Food Not Bombs is that the government should redirect funding to meet vital human needs instead of spending it on wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL

Accountability / Corruption
Economic justice
Human rights

DA TACTICS USED

Civil disobedience of “illegitimate” laws

CASE NARRATIVE WRITER

SUCCESS METRICS

9 / 12

(EREP) Dilemma action got replicated by other movements

(MC) Media Coverage

(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists

(OR) Opponent response

(PS) Dilemma action built sympathy with the public

(PUN) Punishment favored the activists

(REFR) Dilemma action reframed the narrative of the opponent

(RF) Dilemma action reduced fear and/or apathy among the activists

(SA) Dilemma action appealed to a broad segment of the public

PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN

1 / 3

Activist group continued working together after the action

RESOURCES

Project documentation

Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook

Case study documentation

Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset

CC BY 4.0 Deed, Attribution 4.0 International

SOURCES

Goodman, Amy. 2011. “Free Florida’s ‘food terrorists,'” The Guardian. Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jun/29/florida-poverty).


Stoner, Eric. 2011. “Feeding the hungry equals terrorism?” Waging Nonviolence. Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://wagingnonviolence.org/2011/07/feeding-the-homeless-equals-terrorism/).


Karmic Restitution. 2011. “Karmic Restitution Award – June 2011 – Orlando Food Not Bombs,” Retrieved July 23, 2023. (https://karmicrestitutiondotcom.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/karmic-restitution-award-june-2011-orlando-food-not-bombs/).

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