Climate Justice: Our Food Systems
By Taku Chinogwenya
Food justice requires us to examine the risks and benefits of where, what, and how food is grown and produced; how food is transported and distributed; how food is accessed and eaten; and the implications that all these things have on members in society, especially the poor, vulnerable and marginalized. One way we can do this is by examining the dominant food systems that are in place in our countries and contexts.
A food system is a network for organizing food production and distribution. There are several types of food systems in the world, some based on equal distribution and affordability of food and others based on profits and maximizing output. In the US, the dominant food system is one based on prioritizing efficiency. The problem with such a system is that even though cheap food is produced, it is not necessarily good for the consumer, the environment, the workers, the livestock, crops, or soil. The Union of Concerned Scientists said that the dominant food system in the United States: “[is characterized by] large-scale monoculture, heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and meat production in CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations)… [as well as] its heavy emphasis on a few crops that overwhelmingly end up as animal feed, biofuels, and processed junk food ingredients.”
The main aim of this type of food system is to mass produce food and to maximize profits. Monoculture entails farming only one type of animal or crop at a time. This often results in soil degradation, low soil fertility and lower food content in foods. In order to compensate for the soil lacking fertility and nutrition, food farmers turn to fertilizer for their crops. One problem that arises from this is that of contaminated drinking water as a result of fertilizer runoffs. The use of the fertilizer results in more weeds growing and indirectly leads to insects rapidly growing and multiplying as they consume the highly nutritious plant tissue from the plants. In order to keep the weeds and insects at bay weed killers and pesticides are used which can also contaminate the food we will ingest causing disease in our bodies.When it comes to animal husbandry, antibiotics are often used to control diseases as outbreaks occur often because the animals are kept in unsanitary conditions and in large numbers in close proximity with each other. These antibiotics are given to all the animals and often result in antibiotic resistant bacteria forming. The animals are also given steroids and hormone implants to speed their growth. These food production processes have some disastrous impacts on the earth, the environment and on us the consumers.
Most of the food that is produced through the aforementioned process is highly processed junk food characterized by high fat, high sugar content, low-nutrient refined flours and highly processed meats and vegetable oils. Studies show that about 60 percent of grocery store purchases are of highly processed foods. Moore made a critical observation when it came to this issue: “That kind of food is exactly what our system is designed to produce, distribute, and market. Not because it’s what people should be eating, but because it’s shelf-stable, convenient, and profitable for the consolidated group of companies that own most of the world’s food and beverage products.”
This highly processed food is what is mostly available in food deserts where the food is affordable but low in nutrition. The more nutritious food is inaccessible and expensive. Studies show that these food deserts where access to healthy foods is limited are linked to America’s rising obesity rate. Food deserts are disproportionately found in communities that are characterized as poor, disadvantaged, marginalized and vulnerable.These communities are often those that are low-income and areas with a high number of people of color. This is an example of the interconnectedness of various social justice issues namely economic injustice, racial injustice and food injustice.
Perhaps a way of dealing with the food deserts and the food crisis would be to change the price structures such that unhealthy food choices are more expensive than healthy choices. That is the trend that I see in my home country, Zimbabwe. It is more expensive to eat junk food than healthy food and it curbs a lot of the health problems we see in communities where they can afford the pricier junk food. Perhaps a “sin tax” for junk food can be introduced.
Perhaps the answer lies in addressing the structural inequities in our societies and shifting the power back from mega farms and mega corporations to the communities. In this way the communities themselves can make decisions and determine what foods to grow and also benefit from food production processes instead of just the mega farms and mega corporations.
We can examine our own unique food systems in our communities by looking at the four different characteristics of a good food system.
Is it environmentally sound? How does it affect the environment?
Is it a humane system? Does it result in the suffering of the people, animals, and crops
Is it economically viable? Does it positively affect the stakeholders, workers, and consumers?
Is it socially just? Does the food system take into consideration people with lower socio-economic status?
After examining our food systems we need to take the initiative and to take action! If we find that the dominant food systems in our societies are not positively impacting our communities then we need to make strides to change them. We may become a part of a community garden or start our own gardens where we share our produce with those in need. We can attend a conference on small scale agriculture and start our own clean food ventures. We can support our local farmer’s market or a fundraising event for food justice, or take part in a health and nutrition fair. We can eat less meat or become a vegetarian (A significant amount of the global greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock). We can also minimize food waste in our homes (It is estimated that food waste contributes to 6.7 percent of global emissions).
A big part of it involves becoming a part of the movement that advocates for changes of policies and laws that are adversely impacting our health, our economies and our societies and causing social injustices. This can be joining advocacy groups or sponsoring their initiatives to lobby for better food related policies.
Let us remember that we have a mandate to defend the voiceless. Proverbs 31:8-9 says that we must “[s]peak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (NIV). We should also bear in mind that the voiceless also includes nature and the environment. We are stewards of the earth and we need to care for it. Let us strive to attain food justice in our communities for sake of the voiceless, the hungry, all of creation, ourselves, and ultimately God.
Bibliography
Florida R. “It's Not the Food Deserts: It's the Inequality,” Bloomberg, 2018, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-18/are-we-thinking-about-urban-food-deserts-the-wrong-way (accessed February 13, 2024)
Gottlieb Robert and Joshi Anupama, “Food Justice,” ed, MIT Press: Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England, 2013.
Hussain Grace, “What is a Food System?,” Sentient Media, (2023), https://sentientmedia.org/food-system/ (accessed February 13, 2024).
Moore Sarah, “The Roots of America’s Broken Food System,” Healthy places by design, (2019), https://healthyplacesbydesign.org/the-roots-of-americas-broken-food-system/ (accessed February 22, 2024)
Union of Concerned Scientists, “The Hidden Costs of Industrial Agriculture,” (2008), https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/hidden-costs-industrial-agriculture (accessed February 13, 2024)
University of California, “Where do greenhouse gas emissions come from?,” (2017), https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/where-do-greenhouse-gas-emissions-come (accessed February 22, 2024)