Wednesday night, the anthropology and food and nutrition departments came together to sponsor a lecture: Dismantling Racism in the Food System. The lecture was given by Eric Holt-Gimenez, executive director of Food First, an organization focusing on ending the injustices that cause hunger in the world.
Holt-Gimenez’s lecture centered around the concept of food justice, which is characterized by dismantling racism and transforming food systems. He challenged attendees of the events to “care about people more than food.” He said this means having to ask some hard questions in a wealthy nation where 1 in 7 people go hungry.
“Racism is structured into our food system,” he said. “It’s not just about attitudes but how our system works.”
Holt-Gimenez also promoted the idea that the best way to end food injustice is when “community feeds community,” instead of capitalism dominating food production and distribution.
Holt-Gimenez led attendees through the several “global food regimes,” or revolutionary periods that shifted the way food was produced and distributed. He used the periods to show the injustice racial minorities have faced in relation to food and land access.
Holt-Gimenez went on to show that these regimes still influence food systems today and is driven by a corrupt type of agriculture that is industrial rather than civic. He told students they can be a part of facilitating a shift to a civic agriculture through participating in farmer’s markets, urban gardens and by eating a vegetarian diet. He emphasized breaking down racial, gender and economic boundaries in order to provide a sustainable food system for all, not just some.
David Meek, a professor in the anthropology department who organized the lecture, said he respects Holt-Gimenez and was thankful to give students the opportunity to listen to his work.
“Holt-Gimenez is a model of an engaged scholar and founder of many grassroots movements,” he said.
Meek bases his teachings on many of Holt-Gimenez’s principles.
“The opportunity to hear Dr. Holt-Gimenez speak was not only exciting but eye opening,” said Julie Buzzard, a sophomore majoring in food and nutrition. “The discrepancy between how much food there is and how many hungry people there are in the United States surprised me.”
Kendall Gulliver, a sophomore majoring in food and nutrition, said she agreed with Buzzard and that her eyes were opened to the fact that injustice exists everywhere, even regarding food.
Holt-Gimenez will hold a second lecture building on this subject, Converging in Diversity: Building a Food System in Tuscaloosa, Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Lloyd Hall.
