Keywords : Work, hunger, poverty, Industrial farming, Permaculture, autonomy

From the text: The defense rhetoric for unlimited economic growth uses as argument the need to create new jobs in order to increase life quality. We are in Brazil, the sixth world economy in 2011. The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) celebrates the reduction of poverty in the country and thanks its “impressive economic growth” for that. A sixth of world ’ s population is undernourished, although the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) affirms that actual food production could easily feed all. We verify the same scenario in Brazil - one of the largest producers and exporters of food (grains, fruits and meat), one of greatest biodiversity and freshwater reserve of the planet has 6% of its population undernourished and 8,5% in extreme poverty. In terms of employment in rural areas, agribusiness employs in the country only 15% of the Economically Active Population (PEA), against the remaining 85% that works in family farming.

Contribution to the 3rd International Degrowth Conference for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity in Venice in 2012. - no full paper available