Tag Archives: racial disparity

Racism in the Food System

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Systematic racism is the basis of every aspect of the USA and the food system has no exception. In the 1600s, the first enslaved people were brought from Africa to America and were forced into labor. This included working on sugar, cotton, rice, and tobacco plantations. This brought on a sense of superiority to the white Americans, seeing anyone who is different from them as less than. The exploitation of many people of color were used to keep the social hierarchy going and it kept money in the white man’s pocket. This past of the United States has helped create the racist laws, actions, and institutions that are here today.

Now that forced labor is seen as immoral, even though it is still happening in the present, people have found a more covert way of keeping people of color oppressed. This is shown through wage gaps, the job market, the housing market, and so much more. A majority of minorities cannot find good-paying jobs with the only reason being simply that they are not white. Because of that, they find themselves working in factories, farms, and other jobs seen as undesirable and underpaying. This means that all the food being put on people’s tables are most likely being harvested or packed by people of color. While they are doing all of the hard labor, it is usually the white people that are in charge, gaining massive amounts of wealth.

Because of the unjust treatment of minorities, it makes it more difficult for them to support their families. It is harder to buy basic necessities, which can lead to a multitude of problems. This cycle continues on through generations because nothing is there to pass on to their children. However, most white people have the privilege and wealth to live healthy and have opportunities to pass onto generations of their families.

These disparities have magnified during the pandemic. For example, the wealthy have enough money to stop working while the poor continue to work in factories, farms or other underpaid jobs to keep food on America’s table and to keep their families afloat. Along with that, the systematic racism in the health care system keeps a lot of people of color from getting access to testing for COVID or getting treatment. 

Racism and oppression are at the very base of what America was built upon. With that, the food system cannot be ignored in this equation. It is often looked upon as a basic process of the way it gets to your fridges and pantries, but it is not that simple.

Climate Change Triple Inequalities: A Worldwide Crisis

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Cameron McElmurry’s blog post describes the locust swarms currently ravaging farms in the Horn of Africa. While reading, I recognized the injustice that many face as they experience crises caused by climate change and are forgotten while the world focuses on COVID-19. Worldwide, millions will face food insecurity and depleted agricultural incomes because of disasters such as this.

Cameron’s post reminded me of the “triple inequality” topic discussed in class. In terms of the current climate crises that are affecting the world, developing countries most often take the brunt of the short term effects. The triple inequality concept includes asymmetric impacts (follow the link for examples), responsibility (those who are most affected by climate change often have the least to do with it), and less capacity to adapt (less infrastructure and ability to rebuild or respond to disasters). 

Climate change is known to increase inequality, so, as developing countries experience more agricultural failure (droughts, pests, etc.) due to new climate disasters, they will have even less money and resources to make further changes, continuing the cycle of this triple inequality. 

Another topic we have discussed in class is the racial disparities present in the food system. A recent article describes the increased inequality of minority Americans during the COVID-19 crisis. It discusses how industrial regions of the country have high populations of minority workers and are disproportionately hit by hurricanes, fossil fuel pollution, cancer and other diseases as result of chemical and pollutant exposure, and now, coronavirus cases. This reveals the reality of triple inequality in America, where particular people groups are systematically affected by the means of production and climate changes that occur as a result of the environmental degradation supported by big business.

It is evident that at home and abroad, we must advocate for those affected by climate change and forgotten during the COVID-19 crisis.