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Fighting all systemic inequities
“Many young people in my community need to survive, so there are two options 1) migration (the majority illegal) or 2) work like a slave in big agribusiness, avocado, blueberry, or mango.”
“I prefer the term food apartheid over food desert because it makes it clear that these are systemically constructed communities, in the way that food is distributed across the city and the way that people experience food.”
Within our exchange between generations and cultures, we recognize the complex relationships among all historically marginalized groups who challenge systemic inequities. Food activists are also engaged in intersectional struggles against racism, classism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia, and discrimination based on religious beliefs (even though our materials don’t touch on all of them). Food sovereignty movements are part of larger movements for environmental and social justice, in both the Global North and the Global South. While the personal stories we share are grounded in very specific local contexts, we locate these experiences within a systemic analysis of unequal power relations that shape our daily lives.
We have to acknowledge the many contradictions within each story shared here, because these multiple inequities are present and need to be challenged.
“Definitely the debate is how accessible is organic food. In the city it can be extremely expensive and before you know it your pockets are empty and you don’t have that much to show for it. It seems like organic food is only accessible to people who either have a lot of money or put a lot of importance on what they’re eating.”
