Food Justice in a Flawed Food System - Hallie Bereday
Every system in our lives is impacted by structural racism--the racially based inequalities perpetuated by social structures and institutions; this includes our food system. Food systems were designed to function in line with the values of a capitalist society. A privileged minority at the top reaps benefits and passes off externalities onto those at lower tiers, which is usually low-income people of color. This structural racism has significant impacts on the fairness and sustainability, or lack thereof, in our current food systems. The structural racism perpetuated by other institutions in society means that minorities are disproportionately burdened in all spheres, not just by the food system. As a result, interdisciplinary, multifaceted solutions are required in order to promote real, lasting change within this flawed system. The rapid urbanization facing society is shaping food systems significantly and continuing to disproportionately impact minorities; this must be taken into account when generating solutions.
A Rapidly Evolving Food System in the Modern World
The speed of urbanization in the modern era is unprecedented and is transforming all aspects of the food system. This transformation challenges food security in the urban food system. Food production needs to increase in both quantity and diversity to meet the increased demand of the growing urban population. It also needs to account for environmental needs and avoid resource depletion and the exacerbation of climate change. The current speed of urbanization coupled with the systematic oppression through structural racism presents significant challenges for sustainable development. Urban agriculture has the potential to remedy at least some negative consequences of this process.
Urbanization, Gentrification, and Food Deserts in DC
A serious issue in DC that has occurred as a result of urbanization and structural racism is gentrification. Gentrification occurs when a neighborhood is developed in order to promote better living conditions. As a result, higher income individuals move in, and property values skyrocket, making the neighborhood unaffordable to the low-income individuals residing there. As a result, the lower income population is forced to relocate to a more affordable part of the city. Two of the wards in DC that have seen an increase in low-income population concentration coupled with economic decline are wards 7 and 8, located just across the Anacostia river; in these areas, the poor are just getting poorer. The Ward 7 population is more than 92% Black, and the median household income is just below $41,000 compared to the district wide median of $91,000. Furthermore, over 25% of families in Ward 7 are impoverished (compared to the DC average of 13.5%). Ward 8 tells a similar story-- it is 92% black, with a median income of just under $37,000, and nearly 31% of families living below the poverty line. As a result of these extreme concentrations of low-income families, Wards 7 and 8 have extremely high rates of food insecurity and constitute what is known as a food desert, or an area with very few places that sell fresh produce. In fact, Ward 7 has only two grocery stores for all 70,000 residents. Ward 8 presents an even bleaker picture with only one grocery store for all 80,000 residents. While there is sufficient interest for healthy produce, policymakers do not force cities to enable greater access to healthy foods in low-income neighborhoods. This is a direct result of the systematic oppression certain groups face in both in the food and legislative systems. This issue is further complicated because accelerated development of food infrastructure often leads to gentrification. Wards 7 and 8 consist mostly of carryout and corner stores which are cheap to operate but produce nutritionally inadequate foods.
Urban Agriculture: A Multifaceted Solution
Structural racism, urbanization & population growth, and resulting gentrification increase the need for sustainability and create more incentives for urban agriculture in places like Ward 7 and 8. Urban agriculture conserves waste, food, energy, and natural resources, thus reducing costs and creating a fairer, more robust local economy. Urban agriculture is particularly useful when employed to combat food insecurity in smaller locales and can transform areas into sustainable and healthier places to live. The local growing and selling of food reduces cost, strengthens the local economy, and does not contribute to gentrification.
A major benefit of urban agriculture is its conservation of resources. Growing food locally saves energy and money by limiting transportation and storage costs. Crops cultivated, grown, and sold in a city cost less and yield more. This efficiency also makes food more affordable for poorer households. Overall, urban agriculture improves health, nutrition, and the quality of the living environment. Urban agriculture also leads to increased entrepreneurship and equality, and further alleviates poverty, food insecurity, malnutrition, and pollution. DC Urban Greens is an organization that aims to improve access and affordability to healthy foods through urban agriculture, among other initiatives, in Wards 7 and 8. Their project is extremely unique in that it employs a fully mobile concept due to the lack of space available in the continuously growing wards. As a result, urban agriculture can take place in any temporarily accessible space. DC Urban Greens utilizes self-contained grow boxes which weigh only eighty pounds, enabling relocation of the plots at a moment’s notice if the existing land becomes unavailable. Furthermore, the grow boxes can be placed on paved surfaces which increases the amount of space that can be utilized for such initiatives. Currently, there are two mid-sized mobile farms, one in each ward. The food is sold at an affordable price to community residents. DC Urban Greens also does home delivery for the produce, but only within the zip codes of Wards 7 and 8. This not only helps to increase the food security of the community, but also increases economic opportunity in the neighborhood by providing several jobs in the area. The surplus is sold to a local restaurant, or given to several community partners, strengthening community ties. Moreover, DC Urban Greens currently has an ongoing call to continue growing their midsize mobile farm plots, and anyone can request one through the form on their website. DC Urban Greens is just one example of an organization that is creating innovative, multifaceted solutions to help overcome the systemic oppression perpetuated by our food systems and capitalist societal structure.
Future Implications
Because our food system suffers from structural racism, multifaceted solutions are needed in order to promote long-lasting equitable change. Urban agriculture, especially in the mobile model that DC Urban Greens has developed, is an innovative solution that at least begins to take on the problems of systemic inequality and oppression perpetuated by our food systems. By supplying fresh produce to the local community without causing mass development, there is no further gentrification. DC Urban Greens should continue to expand in order to satisfy demand for the entirety of Wards 7 and 8. However, DC Urban Greens cannot solve the issues within the food system in Wards 7 and 8 all on their own. Other local organizations must come in who can help meet the fresh produce needs for a small local community without driving further development and subsequent gentrification. The DC Urban Greens project should serve as an example for other neighborhoods when trying to develop innovative solutions that will aid the health, wellbeing, and sustainability of a community without encouraging negative development.