Confronting Anti-Black, Anti-Indigenous, and Anti-Asian Racisms in Food Systems in Canada

Abstract

The impetus for this themed section came out of the broader reckoning that touched off in the summer of 2020 in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. The Canadian Association for Food Studies board, like so many organizations struggling to respond to such brazen violence, released a statement on racialized police violence and systemic racism. In the statement the CAFS board commits to more deliberately centering the work of anti-racism in our association̶­ —and this included two shorter-term projects. Curating and publishing an open access resource list on food and racism in so-called Canada, and publishing a themed section on racism in the food system. The CFP for the special issue was released the following May, 2021, and read in part “As we reckon with the ways white supremacy, capitalism, patriarchy and colonization has shaped food systems, we must also reflect on and redress dominant modes of thought and approaches that reproduce inequity within the academy (e.g., research and teaching) and society at large. As such, we welcome submissions that centre diverse ways of knowing and methods of knowledge production.”  

Over the past nearly two years, we (the special issue guest editor, Ama, and collaboration assistant, Michael) have met virtually many times to discuss the CFP, the process, the articles, and the broader backdrop of white supremacy, colonialism, and capitalism. And as we reflected on how we wanted to write this editorial, it occurred to us that our own approach to collaboration on this project has been relational, conversational. So, rather than writing a conventional editorial, we once again met virtually to reflect on some key themes that (re)emerged over the past couple of years. What follows is part of that conversation, edited for clarity and brevity. We hope this special issue contributes to keeping the conversations (and action) focused on structural change going.