Tag Archives: justice

Systemic Thinking with Slow Food Washington

Posted on by
160

This quarter I had the pleasure of collaborating with five other students while working for the nonprofit organization Slow Food Washington. Slow Food Washington is this state’s chapter of the international organization Slow Food, a group dedicated to creating “Good, Clean, and Fair Food for All.” We were given a lot of autonomy on how we wanted to focus our project and ended up centering it around supporting the passage of Washington House Bill 2777/Senate Bill 6463. If passed, this legislation would allow permits for “Micro Enterprise Home Kitchens” where cooks can legally sell food out of their homes. We created a revisable digital media toolkit on how to best engage the Slow Food community in support of the bill.

First page of our digital media toolkit

My overall takeaway from this course is the importance of thinking systemically. We started the quarter off critiquing the individualistic solutions offered in Michael Pollen’s piece and learning about the pitfalls of reductionism. Systemic thinking is critical to unpacking historical legacies and understanding complex connections. Starting off with this literature set the tone for what followed. We were challenged to not just reform but reimagine what these systems could look like. A notable example is Monica White’s Freedom Farmers piece. This intersects food sovereignty with America’s racial history while advocating for community-led organizations that can bolster economic autonomy. These propositions are centered around creating new systems that transcend old, inherently inequitable ones. HB2777/SB6463 incorporates similar thinking. Rather than tackle the large and complex roadblocks to starting a food business (like income inequality, racial inequities, and gentrification), this bill focuses on creating economic opportunities for lower-income individuals through a new alternative. Legalizing home cooking in Washington will provide an abundance of opportunities for diverse ethnic or cultural dining throughout our state; I’m so thrilled I had the chance to contribute in a  small way.

Advocacy day in support of SB6434/HB 2777 at the state capitol (January 16th)

Systemic thinking is of course relevant to our current dialogue around policing — defunding the police (and reallocating funds to appropriate community organizations) creates new systems rather than perpetuating an institution built on racism. Falling back on old ways of thinking is easy but damaging. Challenging ourselves to build a society that offers direct solutions to social ills rather than punishing people for our systems’ shortcomings is difficult but imperative. I’m optimistic that we are at a turning point. I take with me the systemic thinking necessary to dismantling injustice.

 

A copy of our digital toolkit: SECONDDRAFTSLOWFOODDIGITALTOOLKIT

Where is Freedom, Justice, and Sovereignty in America?

Posted on by
20

During this quarter, I participated in an action project with the Community Alliance for Global Justice (CAGJ), a local non-profit who advocates for community-based movements that strengthen local economies, promote diversity and autonomy, and combat unjust trade and agricultural policies. For the project, we did email and phone outreach to ask for donations from local businesses for their annual SLEE (Strengthening Local Economies Everywhere) silent auction dinner event. We also researched extensively for the CAGJ’s new Fair Trade page on their website.

The most specific topics that stood out in the course material and connected to my action project were trade liberalization, racial justice, and food sovereignty. I was able to connect these subjects extensively with the course material through readings such as Freedom Farmers and my project research and discussion, ultimately deepening my understanding of the complex issues present in our global and local food systems.

Trade liberalization (and sometimes unfair, “Fair Trade”) in many ways, has led to the demise of developing nations and smaller local economies. While learning about how the CAGJ fights against many of the actions of the WTO, I was able to connect what I was learning about in class in terms of how the global system is currently shaped to benefit big business and big agriculture, leaving “the little guy” behind. 

In addition, the topics of food and racial justice, along with food sovereignty played into many aspects of my action project. We talked about Food Empowerment Education & Sustainability Team (FEEST), who works in South King County promoting, “healthy food access, racial justice, and youth empowerment to create food justice in low income communities of color and develop leadership for lasting change” (FEEST, pg 3). This stood out to me and made me think about how systemic racism contributes to inequitable health outcomes for POC, and currently, has contributed to increased cases of COVID-19 for the Black community who disproportionately work low paying jobs in the food industry, lack access to health care, and live disproportionately in food swamps.

While discussing racial inequity in the food system with the CAGJ and in class, it is important to consider the effects of systemic racism also in schooling, income, job access, opportunity, and health outcomes.

If there is one thing that I can walk away from this class with, it is the understanding that a nation is not truly free until its citizens stand in solidarity and fight for those who lack justice, equity, and freedom from oppression.