The following is a transcript of the video above, from our webinar on “Remaking the Economy: Organizing for Black Food Sovereignty.” View the full webinar here.
I’ll say that the causes of food insecurity, and the causes of not having food sovereignty, are the same causes that we have of police brutality and police murder, the same reasons that we have poor education in Black and Brown communities, the same reasons that we see disparities and wealth. These things are not separate from the general struggle for justice and equality. And, as has been pointed out by many people, we need an intersectional approach to solving these problems, because they all have the same root causes. So, I would say in terms of what are some of the key elements of a healthy food system, one would be fair and just policy. Policy that promotes and incentivizes the production and distribution of nutrient-dense food and promotes that by small-scale farming, not by industrial farming. And also, easy access to those foods by people, regardless of their so-called race, income, or zip code. And policy that halts the predatory and extractive practices of corporations and wealthy individuals.
Secondly, a healthy food system would have a farming philosophy and practice that honors the earth—and is both sustainable and regenerative… Practices that honor, respect, protect, and fairly pay workers within the food system at all levels. Cooperatively owned ownership of grocery stores is, I think, a very important element of a fair and just food system. And finally, a food system that is fair and just would honor the cultural traditions of Africans, Indigenous people, and others, whose cultural knowledge has been suppressed by the system of white supremacy.
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