The case for taking account of labor in sustainable food systems in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 576-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura-Anne Minkoff-Zern
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Alternative Food Movement ◽  
Labor Activism ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Food Movement ◽  
Food Workers

AbstractThis commentary argues for strengthening research and analysis of food workers' rights as part of a more comprehensive sustainable food systems approach. Starting with a broad definition of sustainability, one which includes social, as well as ecological, and economic elements, the author outlines current critiques of alternative food movement actors. She then looks at existing food labor activism and successes, providing them as examples for how sustainable food movement actors and researchers should move forward.

scholarly journals Our people, our food, our planet

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cath Conn ◽  
Radilaite Cammock ◽  
Katrina Ford ◽  
Gloria Faesen Kloet ◽  
Shoba Nayar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Dietary Practices ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Integrated Policy

Video link: Our people, our food, our planet: Sustainable food systems policy in the Pacific Pacific Island Countries and Territories are facing a health crisis with non communicable diseases (NCDs) currently accounting for more than 80% of deaths. In the 21st century, advances in health intervention and policy render this figure unacceptable. Multiple risk factors contribute to the NCD crisis; a leading driver being obesity due to changing dietary practices arising from the global food system. A system  which is dominated by processed foods high in starch and sugars. This situation is compounded by changes in the natural and built environments relating to climate change. Tackling this issue is beyond the sole domain of public health and is, therefore, more suited to a planetary health approach. This paper applies a sustainable food systems approach to analysing NCD policy developments in the Pacific region. In particular, three domains of policy which impact diets in the Pacific are examined: food production, climate change and sustainability, and trade. It is argued that countering the NCD crisis demands a global multisectoral approach, with governments leading the way, to develop integrated policy and interventions that will secure the future wellbeing and protection of our people, our food, our planet.

scholarly journals Michigan Farmers of Color and the Future of Sustainable Food Systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly N. Carr ◽  
Vanessa Garcia Polanco ◽  
Shakara Tyler
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Ethnic Disparities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Agricultural System ◽  
Racial And Ethnic Disparities ◽  
Racial Justice ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Sustainable Food System

Historically, racial and ethnic disparities in agriculture and the food system experienced by farmers of color (FoC) in the United States and in Michigan stem from an exploitative and racialized agricultural system in which white people have primarily benefited and profited. Sustainable agriculture with a strong orientation toward racial justice can serve as a medium for building more racial equity and transforming our racialized food system. Such a medium ensures that the resources to participate and contribute to a sustainable food system are accessible to everyone, not just those with significant power and resources. Although the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is in the initial phases of developing a diversity, equity, and inclusion strategic plan, there is currently no specific plan to support and target FoC. While there are several programs performing this work from grassroot organizations, civic groups, extension services, and others, there is no comprehensive statewide effort to create support systems for FoC in Michigan. To address this issue, we recommend the creation of an incentivized farm program as a way to address agrarian racial and ethnic disparities experienced by FoC and advance an equitable and just sustainable food system within the state of Michigan.

scholarly journals Community food assessments: combining community action and policy for a more just and sustainable food system

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin Charter
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Community Action ◽  
Policy Action ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Local Residents ◽  
Sustainable Food System

This paper is concerned with the conception of a solution to food insecurity in Canada. I will begin by reviewing the two dominant approaches to food security, the antipoverty approach and the sustainable food systems approach. I will argue that in order to establish a food secure Canada, community action to increase food access and address concerns about production, distribution and consumption needs to happen in conjunction with policy action that seeks to reduce inequality and to promote a more just and sustainable food system. To examine this premise, I will discuss two Canadian Community Food Assessments, which will provide insight into how the food system is playing out in two communities, and what is being done to create a more balanced food system for local residents. I will also provide a discussion of the assessments' recommendations and how they see change coming about in the food system. What needs to happen in order to create food security in Canada? And with who and where are these changes to take place?

scholarly journals Training Future Actors in the Food System: A new collaborative cross-institutional, interdisciplinary training programme for students

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 201-218
Author(s):  
Kelly Reed ◽  
Kelly Reed ◽  
Rosemary Collier ◽  
Rebecca White ◽  
Rebecca Wells ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Food System ◽  
Systems Approach ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
First Year ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
System A ◽  
Political Economic

There is an urgent need to train a cohort of professionals who can address and resolve the increasing number of fundamental failings in the global food system. The solutions to these systemic failings go far beyond the production of food, and are embedded within broad political, economic, business, social, cultural and environmental contexts. The challenge of developing efficient, socially acceptable and sustainable food systems that meet the demands of a growing global population can only be tackled through an interdisciplinary systems approach that integrates social, economic and environmental dimensions. The new cross-institutional training programme, IFSTAL (Innovative Food Systems Teaching and Learning), is designed to improve post-graduate level knowledge and understanding of food systems from a much broader interdisciplinary perspective, which can be applied to students’ own studies. Ultimately, these graduates should be equipped to apply critical interdisciplinary systems thinking in the workplace to understand how problems are connected, their root causes and where critical leverage points might be.  This article outlines the programme and presents a review of its first year (2015-2016 academic year). Note: Rosina Borrelli's surname is misspelled as 'Borelli' in the paper and should be cited by the author's correct name in all references.

scholarly journals Obesity Prevention and National Food Security: A Food Systems Approach

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lila Finney Rutten ◽  
Amy Lazarus Yaroch ◽  
Heather Patrick ◽  
Mary Story
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Food Security ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Obesity Prevention ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Improve Food Security

Interventions that cultivate sustainable food systems to promote health, prevent obesity, and improve food security have the potential for many large-scale and long-lasting benefits including improvements in social, environmental, health, and economic outcomes. We briefly summarize findings from previous research examining associations between obesity and food insecurity and discuss the need for greater synergy between food insecurity initiatives and national obesity prevention public health goals in the United States. The common ground between these two nutrition-related public health issues is explored, and the transformation needed in research and advocacy communities around the shared goal of improving population health through individual, environmental, and policy level changes to promote healthy sustainable food systems is discussed. We propose an ecological framework to simultaneously consider food insecurity and obesity that identifies levers for change to promote sustainable food systems to improve food security and prevent obesity.

scholarly journals Ecovillage foodscapes: zooming in and out of sustainable food practices

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ciska Ulug ◽  
Elen-Maarja Trell ◽  
Lummina Horlings
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Practice ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Food Practices

AbstractThis article uses foodscapes as a lens to explore the potential of ecovillages’ food practices towards enhancing sustainable food systems. Ecovillages are collective projects where members attempt to integrate sustainability principles into daily community life. In these communities, food acts, not only as an element of social life, but also as a venue through which to interact with mainstream food systems and society. Yet, how food practices at ecovillages contribute to sustainable food systems remains vague. This article proposes foodscapes, as a lens, for exploring the sustainability potential of place-based food practices in ecovillages, while also directing attention to how these practices intersect with networks at broader social and spatial scales. It asks, how can we better understand and draw from sustainable food practices, when considering these as both, place-based and relational? And what is the potential and the role of ecovillage communities to contribute to broader sustainable food system change? Drawing on ethnographic and food mapping methods, the article explores selected food practices at three ecovillage communities in the United States. Using social practice theory for “zooming in” on place-based practices and “zooming out” to examine relational networks, we investigate how these communities create internally sustainable food systems, while externally bridging themselves with broader urban and rural communities. Through viewing ecovillage food practices as place-based and relational, we develop a broader and spatially-focused understanding of food system sustainability.

Alternative to What? Agroecology, Food Sovereignty, and Cuba's Agricultural Revolution

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 7-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Reinaldo Machado
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Period ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Alternative Food Systems ◽  
Economic Framework ◽  
Agricultural Revolution ◽  
Definition Of

In Cuba, the transition from industrial agriculture towards agroecology since the Special Period of the early 1990s has provided both an incredible example for alternative, sustainable food systems elsewhere as well as its own suite of challenges and struggles. This paper reviews recent literature on the Cuban agroecological transition, especially as this work situates Cuban agroecology in practice alongside the increasingly popular political framework of food sovereignty. In particular, this paper highlights the unique synergies between agroecology and food sovereignty, as well as the unique tensions that arise in applying these frameworks to the Cuban context. By probing the question as to what the Cuban agroecological experience represents an “alternative,” a more inclusive definition of food sovereignty is developed to better accommodate not only Cuban agroecology, but alternative food systems more broadly. Rather than simply an alternative to capitalist food systems or the globalized corporate food regime, agroecology, food sovereignty and other alternatives instead represent a more fundamental critique of industrialization and modernity. Building off of the specific contours of agroecological practice within Cuban Socialism, it is argued that food sovereignty in Cuba is an expression of what James Ferguson has recently termed “distributive political economy.” By applying this distributive political economic framework to the Cuban agroecological experience, the author aims not only to address some of the underlying tensions with traditional definitions of food sovereignty, but also to provide an actionable agenda for future research in Cuba and beyond.

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