Food Justice 101
Food justice is a framework for analysis & action. It emerged in the United States along with the movement for environmental justice as primarily Black communities began organizing to expose the ways in which systemic poverty & exclusion were leaving them exposed to a corporate food system pushing cheap empty calories.
In Scotland today, people’s diets are shaped by class & race inequalities. Deprived communities often live in ‘food deserts’ only serviced by small, expensive corner shops that stock little fresh produce. On average the poorest 20% of households in the UK would need to spend 42% of their income after rent to eat a diet that meets government recommendations. For people who are cash & time poor, the cheap, ready-to-eat, energy-dense processed foods marketed by ‘big food’ become the obvious option.
Health inequalities are driven by a segregation in services & opportunities to lead healthy lives. The most deprived councils in the UK have up to five times more fast- food outlets, far fewer gyms & have suffered heavier cuts to health services than affluent councils. During the pandemic the effects of these inequalities have been made painfully clear. Some of the most common underlying health conditions which lead to severe illness & death from Covid are dietary diseases; hypertension, type 2 diabetes & heart disease.
The way we grow, process, & distribute food is overwhelmingly dictated by multinational corporations that have lobbied governments to build a food system that maximizes profits for supermarkets, grain traders & agrochemical companies whilst leaving our ecosystems scarred, the world’s peasantry exploited & consumers forced into unhealthy choices.
Food justice is about addressing these structural barriers to our human right to a healthy diet. It’s about taking back control of what & how we eat. A good diet is the basis of a good life
& is worth fighting for.
