Scholars as allies in the struggle for food systems transformation

Abstract

Molly Anderson’s 2020 Presidential Address for the Agriculture and Human Values Society, is a bold call to action that considers the scope and depth of the challenges facing global food systems. This call has particular relevance to scholars who are closely aligned with struggles for food justice and food sovereignty. In this discussion piece, I suggest additional nuance that builds and expands on Anderson’s three opportunities for “pushing beyond the boundaries”. First, collaborations for social and ecological change must be willing to expand predominant ideas to the varied ways that people engage with food systems (e.g., consider the role of harvesting non-domesticated foods and migrant/undocumented workers across the food chain). Second, interactions with global social movements demands grounding our work in the hearts and minds of individuals and communities while also addressing structural concerns at the levels of governance that enable and constrain food system functions. Third, food systems thinking and action must begin with our relationships to the land and its original inhabitants. The settler colonial project is integrally connected to the dominant food system that is premised on exploitation and control of land, water and people. As scholar allies, “pushing the boundaries” demands acknowledging ways that we are complicit in unjust systems and ways that we benefit from them; doing the personal work required for unlearning and relearning; being prepared to take actions that move towards more equitable and sustainable food systems; and, accepting the potential risks and material consequences that equity demands.

Transforming food systems in the Global South: a radical approach

“…Addressing diets and health, environment and climate, livelihoods and equity, governance, and resilience. Levkoe (2021) To foster equity and sustainability in food systems, it is essential to examine diverse factors contributing to inequity and understand how power operates across different regions, even when these issues may seem unrelated initially.…”

Scholar-Activism and Land Struggles

“…For example, there are bound to be variations in scholaractivist work among activist academics and political activists in the broad food system (production, circulation, exchange, and consumption spheres) in the Global North. The way that guiding principles and protocols for doing scholar-activist work are interpreted and activated will differ across communities, even when they may share norms that seem to resonate universally: 'knowledge co-production', 'transparency', 'participation', and 'solidarity', for example (Brem-Wilson, 2014;Levkoe et al, 2019;Duncan et al, 2021;Levkoe, 2021;de Wit et al 2021). The specific ways in which such guiding principles and protocols emerge and are constructed vary -for instance, between former colonial powers and the plundered colonies -and are underpinned (in that case) by colonial and postcolonial relations of power.…”