Whose harvest? Decolonizing the food justice movement
The pandemic has once again exposed how unsustainable and inequitable the current food system is. In April of 2020, for example, while millions of Canadians faced financial insecurity and food insecurity, the Dairy Farmers of Ontario—the provincial organization that sets milk production quotas—began ordering farmers to dump their “surplus” milk. News agencies across North America reported the surpluses of dairy, eggs and produce caused by the closures of hotels and restaurants being dumped, crushed and otherwise destroyed.
Our latest issue of the Monitor pulls back the curtain on the unseen labour and politics behind our food. We asked organizers and writers: what would decolonizing the food justice movement mean? And this is what they told us. From community-led kitchens and gardens to microbreweries run by former FARC rebels, change is taking root.
Pull up a chair. At this table, there’s room for everyone.
Here’s a sample of what you’ll find in this issue:
- Sprouting seeds of hope: How a garden united Montreal’s Chinese diaspora, from Diamond Yao
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From rebels to hipsters: Former FARC guerrillas turn to craft beer, Cruz Bonlarron Martínez details how microbrewing has helped former FARC rebels rebuild following the 2016 ceasefire in Colombia.
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The gentrification of food: A Mexican example, Jumko Ogata-Aguilar traces how chef Enrique Olvera has built a prestigious career on the appropriation of traditional Mesoamerican ingredients, making his dishes palatable to mainly white and international audiences.
- It’s time to decolonize food, writes Anishinabe chef Justine Deschenes. Decolonizing food means much more than being choosy about where you harvest and source your meats and veggies. It’s about being aware that every decision you make has an effect on everything, including what you choose to put in your body.
- Demanding justice: Can trade policy be fair? Gavin Fridell and Kate Ervine look at current trade models in the food system to assess what role international trade agreements can play in combatting climate change and closing gender gaps.
