FOOD JUSTICE
as requested…
Food Justice (MIT Press, October 2010) addresses the enormous inequities and injustices of today’s increasingly globalized industrial food system. It tells of the increasing disconnect between food and culture; of the horrific conditions faced by farmworkers and those who work the meatpacking and poultry plants; of low income neighborhoods that lack access to fresh and healthy food but abound in fast food restaurants and liquor stores; of thousands of food products introduced each year that emphasize convenience, packaging gimmicks, and cheap food and fast food over fresh food and healthy food; and of the international reach of American fast-food franchises that has been a major contributor to an epidemic of “globesity.”
To combat these inequities and a food system that is neither clean, nor good, nor fair, a movement for food justice has emerged in recent years in the U.S. and around the world seeking to transform the food system from seed to table. Food Justice tells the story of this emerging movement. The book profiles dynamic food justice groups and organizing efforts, the emerging new politics around food, and a transformation of the language and understanding about food, from how food is grown to why eating has become a political act. It tells the story of innovators like Nuestras Raíces and its community gardens and farmer trainings in Holyoke, Massachusetts; youth empowerment with the Rethinkers in New Orleans; food sovereignty groups and struggles across the globe, from Guatemala, Ecuador, and Mexico, to South Korea and Mali; Farm to School programs across the U.S. and school food programs in other countries; and the Los Angeles school system’s elimination of sugary soft drinks from its cafeterias due to organized efforts by parents and high school students led by the Healthy School Food Coalition… and many, many more. Food Justice also highlights how food activism has succeeded at the highest level, connecting grassroots programs to impact national programs and policies.
As we travel around the country profiling the groups, organizations and issues highlighted in Food Justice, we look forward to connecting with many more of the groups, programs, and organizing work with whom we would like to highlight and collaborate.. We welcome suggestions for scheduling talks, presentations food justice dialogues through community events, campus talks, small group gatherings, or other suitable events. Our vision is to use Food Justice to describe, situate analyze and strengthen this emerging movement, as the hard work of challenging the inequities and building a clean, good and fair food system continues and intensifies.
–Robert Gottlieb and Anupama Joshi
August 2010
