Food Justice is a holistic and structural view of the food system that treats real, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food as a human right and addresses structural barriers to that right. Social movements for food justice are typically led by the communities most directly impacted, particularly low-income communities of color. Food justice includes issues like ownership and control of land, the rights of farmworkers and food service laborers, the kinds of food traditions that are valued, and the environmental impacts of food production.
Unpack questions like:
- What is the history of how our food system came to be?
- What are the legacies of colonialism and enslavement on our current system?
- How does power operate in the food system?
- Who benefits and who is excluded?
- What are the strategies of social movements working to transform the food system?
- How are movements for food justice connected to broader efforts for social, racial, and economic justice (such as to movements for justice in housing, the prison system, immigration, climate change, workers' rights, the solidarity economy, and more)?
Hands-on learning is an integral part of this field. Design projects such as a cooperatively-run campus kitchen and pursue internships with community partners including local farms, food cooperatives, and other organizations working for food justice.
| Title | Expertise |
|---|---|
| Lal, Prita | Food justice, social movements, race/gender/class inequality, Black studies |
| Rosemeyer, Martha | Agricultural ecology, food systems |