Food Sovereignty and Racial Justice
Consider: Food justice, food sovereignty, food apartheid, and soul food.
Food sovereignty
the right of peoples to healthy and culturally-appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations.
WATCH
The Atlantic's How Black Americans Were Robbed of Their Land
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Leah Penniman – Farming While Black: Uprooting Racism and Seeding Sovereignty
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Anim Steele's Food Justice: A Vision Deeper than the Problem
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LaDonna Redman's Food + Justice = Democracy
ACTION
Please continue to get comfortable in your vulnerability as we reflect upon and answer the following questions:
- What are your thoughts and feelings after reviewing the materials? What surprised you? What did you learn?
- Reflect upon where you get your fresh food. Consider journaling the food you consume in one day.
- Explore how redlining and racial segregation created the urban landscape. Food apartheid is an outgrowth of systemic racism. Explore whether there are urban farm sites in your community to address food apartheid?
- How is local government addressing food access? Explore the policies – consider issues of equity. Is there a commitment to provide access to healthy and culturally-appropriate foods to economically-disadvantaged people?
- Reflect upon the fact that the agricultural system of this county is built upon the labor of enslaved people. Consider that farm management is predominantly white while farm labor is predominantly black and brown.
- Recall Issue 24 and cultural appropriation. Reflect upon Adrian Miller’s statement: “soul food remains stigmatized . . . The stigma is so pervasive that when soul food dishes such as Nashville Chicken go mainstream, African American cooks are not credited.” Examine who is appreciating African American food culture and who is appropriating it. What actions can you take to correct the narrative by giving credit to African American food culture and acknowledging the source?
