Scholar-activist perspectives on radical food geography: collaborating through food justice and food sovereignty praxis

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-304
Author(s):  
Charles Z. Levkoe ◽  
Colleen Hammelman ◽  
Kristin Reynolds ◽  
Xavier Brown ◽  
M. Jahi Chappell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
Food Studies ◽  
Food Justice ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Space And Place ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Research And Teaching

Radical geography research, teaching, and action have increasingly focused on food systems, examining the scalar, sociopolitical, and ecological dynamics of food production and harvesting, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste. While academics have contributed significantly to these debates, the success and progress of this scholarship cannot be separated from the work of practitioners and activists involved in food justice and food sovereignty movements. This paper draws together the voices of scholars and activists to explore how collaborations can productively build the evolving field of radical food geography and contribute to more equitable and sustainable food systems for all. These perspectives provide important insight but also push the boundaries of what is typically considered scholarship and the potential for impacts at the levels of theory and practice. Reflecting on the intersecting fields of radical geography and food studies scholarship and the contributions from the scholar-activists, the authors share a collective analysis through a discussion of the following three emerging themes of radical food geography: (1) a focus on historical and structural forces along with flows of power; (2) the importance of space and place in work on food justice and food sovereignty; and (3) a call to action for scholars to engage more deeply with radical food systems change within their research and teaching process but also in response to it.

scholarly journals Food Counts: Food systems report cards, food sovereignty and the politics of indicators

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 49-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Z. Levkoe ◽  
Alison Blay-Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Food Policy ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Report Card ◽  
Report Cards ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
International Panel ◽  
Using Data

The International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems recognized that "current systems will be held in place insofar as these systems continue to be measured in terms of what industrial agriculture is designed to deliver, at the expense of many other outcomes that really matter in food systems" (IPES 2016: 57). In response, they called for new food systems indicators rooted in social justice, support for local economies, ecological regeneration and democratic engagement. This paper reflects on the ways that indicators can serve as a tool to understand the current state of food systems, challenge existing approaches and (re)frame a future vision of equity and sustainability. Our analysis focuses on the development of Food Counts: A Pan-Canadian Sustainable Food Systems Report Card, a first attempt to bring together existing measures of social, environmental, and economic well-being to help researchers, policy makers, and practitioners examine food systems more comprehensively. The report card used a food sovereignty framework and an integrated systems perspective and make connections to a global movement for collective social change. Beyond its practical value, and particularly in the context of Canada's development of a national food policy, our analysis illuminates the limited kinds of data available, the privileging of scientific expertise over traditional knowledge, the assumed value of certain indicators, and the reductionist nature of using data to represent complex food systems. We argue that while report cards can make visible numerous food systems' elements, they can also obscure divers experiences, reinforcing unsustainable practices and policies.

scholarly journals Centering Justice in a Sustainable Food Systems Master's Program

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberley M. Greeson ◽  
Robin C. D. Currey
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Food System ◽  
Food Justice ◽  
Master's Program ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Master Of Science ◽  
Pedagogical Frameworks

The new Master of Science in Sustainable Food Systems (MSFS) program at Prescott College was re-envisioned as part of the preferred teach out partnership with Green Mountain College that closed in 2019. In collaboration with faculty from both colleges, the new MSFS program was developed to intentionally center social justice and offer students a Food Justice concentration. Food justice is a growing movement that seeks to shift global, industrial food systems toward more equitable, just, and sustainable foodways. Using this definition, students in the Food Justice core course uncovered how forms of institutional oppression prevent certain communities from accessing healthy and culturally appropriate food. This course was designed and taught from an anti-racist, anti-colonial, and culturally sustaining pedagogical framework. The Food Justice course frames students' investigation of the current food system and how issues of privilege, access, and identity relate to food justice throughout the MSFS program. Through experiential learning, students were asked to develop and implement a project that aligns with social justice values. In this perspective paper, we describe our experiences as sustainable food systems educators in making structural changes to the master's program. We share the values and assumptions that led to the development of the Food Justice concentration and course; detail our pedagogical frameworks; and highlight students' projects as a manifestation of the student experience.

scholarly journals An emerging signature pedagogy for sustainable food systems education

2017 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 467-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Will Valley ◽  
Hannah Wittman ◽  
Nicolas Jordan ◽  
Selena Ahmed ◽  
Ryan Galt
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Signature Pedagogy

AbstractConcerns are growing over the ability of the modern food system to simultaneously achieve food security and environmental sustainability in the face of global change. Yet, the dominant tendency within university settings to conceptualize and address diverse food system challenges as separate, disconnected issues is a key barrier to food system transformation. To address this fragmented approach, educators in North American institutes of higher education have begun new degree programs, specializations and certificates related to food systems. These programs, which we term sustainable food system education (SFSE) programs, have a common goal: to support post-secondary students across a range of disciplines in developing the knowledge, skills and dispositions to effectively address complex challenges in the food system. Graduates of these programs will be able to engage in collective action towards transforming the food system. As educators participating in flagship SFSE programs, we identify common pedagogical themes evident in SFSE programs, including our own. We then propose a signature pedagogy (SP) for sustainable food systems education. Signature pedagogies are conceptual models that identify the primary elements by which professional education in a specific field is designed, structured and implemented. On the basis of our analysis of SFSE programs, we identified systems thinking, multi-, inter- and trans-disciplinarity, use of experiential learning approaches and participation in collective action projects as central themes within a SFSE SP. By making these themes and their function explicit within a pedagogical framework, we seek to spur critical and creative thought regarding challenges of professional education in the field of sustainable food systems. Scholars and practitioners are encouraged to review, critique and implement our framework to advance the dialogue on SFSE theory and practice.

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.

scholarly journals Indigenous Community Perspectives of Food Security, Sustainable Food Systems and Strategies to Enhance Access to Local and Traditional Healthy Food for Partnering Williams Treaties First Nations (Ontario, Canada)

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4404
Author(s):  
Ashleigh Domingo ◽  
Kerry-Ann Charles ◽  
Michael Jacobs ◽  
Deborah Brooker ◽  
Rhona M. Hanning
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Local Food ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
Community Based Participatory Research ◽  
Action Planning ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food

In partnership with communities of the Williams Treaties First Nations in southern Ontario (Canada), we describe an approach to work with communities, and highlight perspectives of food security and sustainability, including priorities and opportunities to revitalize local food systems as a pathway to food security and food sovereignty. The objectives of our project were: (1) to build a shared understanding of food security and sustainability; and (2) to document community priorities, challenges and opportunities to enhance local food access. Utilizing an Indigenous methodology, the conversational method, within the framework of community-based participatory research, formative work undertaken helped to conceptualize food security and sustainability from a community perspective and solidify interests within the four participating communities to inform community-led action planning. Knowledge generated from our project will inform development of initiatives, programs or projects that promote sustainable food systems. The community-based actions identified support a path towards holistic wellbeing and, ultimately, Indigenous peoples’ right to food security and food sovereignty.

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