EARTHSYS 37Q: Food Justice Now! Power and Politics in the Ways We Eat

Course Description

Where does the food you eat come from? How does it get to your plate? Where does it go when you don’t finish it? And why are those particular items on your plate in the first place? How and what we eat is a vastly overlooked part of everyday life, and yet comes with huge personal, societal, and environmental effects, both positive and (quite often) negative. But this isn’t indicative of personal moral failings or ignorance—rather, the food system was designed this way. And it leaves many of us without choice or consent around what we put into our bodies and how our actions impact those around us, thereby exacerbating social and health inequities.

This class will uncover the secret workings of the global food system and introduce students to movements and efforts towards creating a more just food future for all. We will center on the concept of “food justice,” which includes all ideas and practices that strive to eliminate exploitation and oppression within and beyond the food system. This trajectory will take us through understandings of economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological life, both now and in the past, providing students with a unique opportunity to gain interdisciplinary knowledge of food systems. For instance, we will learn about how historical and modern-day activists and scholars draw on movements for economic, gender, racial, climate, and environmental justice, and explore the possibilities for both reformative and transformative food politics. Finally, because food production, consumption, and activism are all highly tangible practices, the class will engage in field trips to the Stanford O’Donohue Family Farm, Stanford Food Institute’s Teaching Kitchen, Stanford School of Medicine’s Teaching Kitchen, and a local Bay Area farm to get hands-on experience with what it means to eat more ethically.