BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S.

FOOD SYSTEMS 1

The Empowerment of Black, Indigenous, Women of Color

through Food Systems in the United States

Hannah Rose Méndez (she/her)

Long Island University Global College

GNYC 401: Senior Thesis I

Jocelyn Lieu

December 6th, 2020

BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 2

Abstract

The United States has a long history of neoliberal food policies which have shaped the current

social, economic, and cultural state of food systems for the country. Many of these policies have

been structurally exclusionary towards people of color, marginalizing communities and creating

food insecurity. Through this three-month-long qualitative case study, I aimed to learn how

Black1, Indigenous1, women of color are empowered through food systems and how this

empowerment informs the ways in which they fight food insecurity for marginalized

communities in the United States. COVID-19 has set in motion a new wave of women and

women of color returning to the land through food production and environmental protection to

find community and healing. This research, through an Ecowomanist and Indigenist framework,

assesses the attitudes of female food workers of color around the U.S. surrounding the country’s

current food systems and finding empowerment and a sense of self in the work they do. To do

this, I conducted six semi-structured interviews and remote participant observation via online

webinars and research. The outcome of this case study finds that in highlighting BIWOC’s

unique knowledge and roles surrounding food systems, individuals can heal and marginalized

communities can be lifted from food insecurity rather than rely on the government to shift its

policies.

Keywords: Ecowomanism, Indigenist, Women, Food System, United States, BIPOC, food

insecurity, food security, community wellbeing

1.
For this research, Black and Indigenous are being capitalized throughout the paper. Black
is an identity, race, and group of people as opposed to the color black. Indigenous also
refers to the identity and group of people made up of many cultures.
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 3

Introduction

In the United States, a history of neoliberal food policies has valued commodities over

communities and capital over the individual. These policies have shaped the social, economic,

and cultural state of food systems for the country today, setting in motion a wave of movements

centered around food security, justice, and sovereignty. Many investigations into these systems

have revealed the systemic oppression and marginalization of communities of color, the effects

of which remain overtly prevalent today. More specifically, the oppression of Black, Indigenous

women of color (BIWOC) via structural racism in the U.S. food system has created

intergenerational trauma and food insecurity for marginalized communities of color

(Holt-Giménez, 2018). This trauma, caused by years of land sequestration, slavery, mass

genocide, and forced labor has greatly affected women’s connection to the land, sense of identity,

nutritional health, and overall physical and mental well-being. Yet, representation of BIWOC

falls flat under an industry built on white supremacy. Women whose cultural and ancestral food

knowledge, which shaped the many foundations of U.S. food systems we know today, endured

the plight from Africa with seeds of rice braided into their hair (something which they are rarely

credited for). These women helped to build the rice empire of South Carolina. For this reason,

BIWOC’s work in food production and navigating issues of representation, funding, white

supremacy, and structural racism is seen as a strategy to exercise self-determination and political

agency while working towards a more just foodscape and the alleviation of the food crisis.

Although President Jimmy Carter signed Article 11 of the International Covenant on

Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in 1977 declaring food to be a human right, it was never

actually ratified in the United States (Esterik, 1999a). The lack of commitment in declaring food

as a human right contributed to creating a new corporate food regime, a system with
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 4

monopolistic control of production where control is held by the top 1%, meant food was

completely governed by multilateral organizations and nation-states in the global North, leaving

a system which was unable to meet the needs of the poor communities (in most cases, of color)

sustainably. Furthermore, neoliberal subjectivity gave the market influence over communities,

making them believe in the illusion of choice, which was essentially corporate manipulation

(Alkon & Mares, 2012). Under the current dominant food system “there is no true democratic

process in the selection of your food—you have given that responsibility over to someone else

because you no longer control the process of production and really have limited choices'' (Juarez,

2010, p. 5). Anuradha Mittal (2010) defines the problem with our food system in the United

States as “large corporate industrial agriculture farms, where machines have replaced farmers,

where corporate agribusiness has replaced family farms. What we see is the result of a

disconnection between us and food, where we have been reduced to consumers” (as cited in

Juarez, p. 3). Institutionally racist policies within this system, which allowed for the

appropriation of Native lands, discrimination against Black farmers, and the denial of labor

rights to Latino/a immigrants, incited high rates of food insecurity for communities of color

across the country and made it more difficult for them to achieve autonomy (Alkon & Mares, p.

4). Additionally, monopolistic practices symbolize whitewashing, masculinization of agriculture,

and the erasure of the Indigenous and African knowledge brought by women which helped shape

U.S. food structures (Shiva, 2009).

In her creation of the Freedom Farm Cooperative (FFC), Fanny Lou Hamer set a new

precedent for Black women in food agriculture, and arguably all women of color. It is argued that

“FFC developed a model of community resilience and collective agency as a foundation for

political action that speaks to those who live in food-insecure communities,'' offering “a new way
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 5

for those who have historically been excluded to build sustainable communities'' (White, 2018, p.

87). According to White (2011) today “food [has become] a point of entry for discussing how

African Americans might gain control over other aspects of their lives, including access to

affordable housing, clean water, community policing, and decent public education” (p. 19). This

sentiment not only applies to African Americans but all marginalized communities of color

facing food insecurity.

As people who have a deep understanding of the importance of food, family, and

community, BIWOC fight food insecurity via farming as a form of intergenerational survival

(White, 2018). The goal of this case study is to demonstrate that bringing BIWOC representation

and knowledge into more active roles in the agricultural food industry would mean bringing back

biodiversity to farms, and food freedom for all peoples (Shiva, 2009). Agricultural systems

shaped by women are overwhelmingly regenerative, focusing on organic farming practices and

the conservation of natural resources (Shiva). Additionally, many women shape food systems

collaboratively and communally, ensuring all individual needs are met. Paradoxically, the very

people who are most affected and discriminated against by the food system are also the ones

needed to combat food insecurity the most.

This research is centered around BIWOC food justice activists/ advocates and producers

who in the face of institutional oppression, continue to seek food sovereignty for themselves and

their communities, while also promoting well-being and sustainability. The term “food

sovereignty” was introduced at the World Food Summit in 1996 as the right to be self-sufficient

and autonomous in deciding where your food comes from for both yourself and your community

(Juarez, 2010). Many believe that the development of a food system created by marginalized

communities is key to achieving true food sovereignty (Alkon & Mares, 2012). In this case
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 6

study, I dive deeper into how by directly taking BIWOC into account and acknowledging their

lack of representation and disempowerment in U.S. food systems, women can begin to chip away

at institutional and cultural constraints to empower themselves and in turn, all communities of

color for collective healing, liberation, and an equal share of benefits and authority over food and

resources.

Methodology

This ethnographic case study was conducted via qualitative research methods over the

three months of August to December 2020 using a de-colonial, ecowomanist framework. The

three strategies I used were participant observations, online research, and semi-structured

interviews. Participant observation included taking “part in daily events while observing” any

possible online events related to the research subject (Bailey, 2007, p. 80). The ecowomanist aim

is similar to that of the ecofeminist aim which is to explore “conceptual and cultural connections

between women and nature, and [apply] feminist power analysis to problems in environmental

philosophy” and protection (Plumwood, 2004, p. 43). However, ecowomanism critically reflects

on environmental justice from the perspective of women of African descent. The term

‘womanism/womanist’ was coined by renowned African American writer Alice Walker in

response to the exclusionary white feminist movement of the ‘60s and ‘70s in the United States.

As Melanie Harris (2016) explains “the approach links a social justice agenda with earth justice

recognizing the similar logic of domination at work in parallel oppressions suffered by women

and the earth” (p. 6). The de-colonial, Indigenist framework serves to acknowledge the fact that

the “production of knowledge, new knowledge, and transformed ‘old’ knowledge, ideas about

the nature of knowledge and the validity of specific forms of knowledge, became as much

commodities of colonial exploitation as other natural resources'' (Smith, 2012). I use the term
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 7

‘decolonization’ as the repatriation of Indigenous land and life, as it “offers a different

perspective to human and civil rights based approaches to justice” (Tuck & Yang, 2012 as cited

in Lemke & Delormier, 2017, p. 5). This framework will work to address the colonial food

system, the role it plays in entrenching gender divisions, and how decolonial ecowomanist

strategies can work to reverse those effects by empowering women and improving long-term

environmental and community sustainability in the United States.

Certain ethics need to be taken into account when conducting qualitative research.

According to the Belmont Report, the three basic ethical principles are respect for persons,

beneficence, and justice. These three principles serve to protect the rights of research participants

while conserving the integrity of the research itself. Respect for persons is the “recognition that

people are autonomous and entitled to their own opinions and choices, unless detrimental to

others” and includes the fact that not everyone is capable of self-determination, and may require

protection (Czubaruk, 2019, pp. 3). Beneficence recognizes that people are treated ethically by

respecting their decisions and “protecting them from harm” (Czubaruk, pp. 4). Last but not least,

justice ensures that research does not target certain classes of vulnerable people, specifically the

“economically disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minorities, or persons confined to institutions”

(Czubaruk, pp. 5). Every facet of my research was carried out with these three ethical principles

in mind. Additionally, all research was conducted online and included document and webinar

analysis. To ensure adherence to these ethical principles, I only analyzed public social media

pages, and webinars which were made available to anyone either via registration or YouTube

link, and in one case emailed the organization hosting the webinar beforehand to verify

permission to use the content for research purposes.

BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 8

Methods also included six semi-structured interviews with BIWOC food growers. The

interviews were scheduled in advance and involved eleven questions which allowed for a loose

dialogue with the participant in which the “flow of the interview, rather than the order in a guide,

[determined] when and how a question [was] asked” (Bailey, 2007, p. 78). Questions remained

the same for each interviewee. My key interviewees were Clarisa James, co-founder of DIVAS

for Social Justice and the Garden of Resilience in New York, NY, Leslie Wiser of Radical Family

Farms in Sebastopol, CA, Isa Jamira of Oko Farms in Brooklyn, NY, Jaqueline Pilati of Reclaim

Seed, NYC, Gabrielle Lawrence of McRorie Community Garden in Gainesville, FL, and

Verónica Mazariegos-Anastassiou of Brisa Ranch in Pescadero, CA. All interviews were

conducted over ZOOM, recorded, and transcribed via Otter, then safely stored on Google Drive.

Informed consent, the fundamental ethical principle of scientific research involving human

populations, played a key role in my research (Bailey, 2007). To carry out informed consent, I

made all participants aware of certain information, such as the purpose of the research, research

procedures, risks, and benefits, the voluntary nature of the research participants, their right to

stop their participation in the research at any time, confidentiality, their right to have all

questions answered at any time, what is required of them, and that refusal to participate will have

no consequences (Bailey, p. 17). To decolonize my research practices, I asked every participant if

they were comfortable with simply giving verbal consent to participate in the research and be

recorded, if not I also gave the option of a formal consent form for them to sign. Only one

participant opted for the consent form. Extensive field notes of all my observations were taken

and coded and then analyzed to create my findings. Unfortunately, the three-month time

limitation only allowed for me to reach a certain level of depth in my research. Additionally,

conducting this research remotely disabled me from being able to conduct participatory
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 9

observation in the field, once again only allowing me to reach a certain depth of understanding.

Once the case study was completed, I shared my findings with all research participants via email

and requested any edits or amendments for continuing consent. Once all participants approved

the final draft, I submitted the paper.

Literature Review

Neoliberalism and Food Insecurity

When it comes to food, Penny Van Esterik (1999b) believes that women “are both

vulnerable and powerful, victimized and empowered” (p. 230). The food system in the United

States has worked for years to disempower and marginalize food workers of color, communities

of color, and women of color, making them particularly vulnerable to food insecurity and poor

mental health and well-being (Imam, 2020; Alkon, 2007). Recent literature has found that poor

women with children, and especially poor women of color, are at increased risk of food

insufficiency (Holt-Giménez, 2018; Siefert, et al., 2001). The poor, Blacks and Hispanics, and

single-mother families are disproportionately represented among households whose members do

not get enough to eat” (Siefert, et al., pp. 160-161). Additionally, it has been found that among

724 cases in which women reported most often not having enough food to eat in their household,

56% were African American and 44% were non-white Hispanics (Siefert et al., p. 167).

Indigenous communities also have some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country, as

it has been found that one in four Indigenous people are food insecure (Imam).

Juarez (2010), an Indigenous Latina based in California, brings a more localized

perspective to the issue, noting that several food policies being implemented by the U.S.

government are not prioritizing individuals driving the “millions of women and men farmers to

abandon their traditional agricultural practices, forcing them into rural exodus or migration” (p.
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 10

4). This recognizes that communities of color have not only been denied access to healthy food

but have also been denied the accessibility and land to grow their food. At South Central Farm,

350 farming families were evicted by the LA Regional Food Bank and told to “discontinue

growing and distributing healthy traditional and culturally specific foods to extremely poor local

families” with no other explanation except for simply stating that their “gardening program” had

ended (Juarez, p. 1), threatening a local historical social justice movement. Additionally, the

language used by the LA Regional Food Bank referring to the community as jardineros

(gardeners), while South Central Farm defined themselves as campesinos (farmers), invalidated

the importance of their work in the food system and the well-being of the poor community

(Juarez). These families had been working at cultivating the space into a community farm for

over 12 years when they were suddenly forced to halt their work entirely. Chicanos, Indigenous

peoples, and BIPOC, in general, have become dependent on someone else for food (white

corporations) (Juarez).

This corporate takeover of agricultural lands has forced families “to flee to local and

international urban areas, where they transform from a self-reliant, highly skilled agricultural

society, into [a] poor and politically vulnerable substrata of urban society” (Juarez, 2010, p. 6).

They become financially:

dependent on low wages for unskilled labor, men, women, and children lose their

relationships, roles, ancestral knowledge, and practices of self-sufficiency. Their lack of

economic resources makes them dependent on cheap poor-quality food produced by the

corporations, which displaced them in the first place. Coupled with the lack of health

education and basic health care they are highly defenseless to long-term diseases like

obesity, diabetes, cancer, and asthma. (Juarez, p. 6)

BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 11

Furthermore, land dispossession caused by interference from state and corporate actors has been

a central issue for Indigenous peoples, whose livelihoods, security, health, and cultural and

spiritual heritage are tied to the land “violating their right to adequate food and nutrition”

(Lemke & Delormier, 2017, p. 3). Indigenous communities are essentially “paying for their own

oppression” (Juarez, p. 6). In the case of the South Central Farm, the 14-acre space “represented

the only connection these formerly and historically land-based peoples had to the land, Mother

Earth” (Juarez, p. 2). Their right to grow culturally appropriate food was “required for spiritual

and cultural survival” (Juarez, p. 2).

Most food work is women’s work, “from food production and acquisition through

processing, preparation, and serving in homes and factories” (Esterik, 1999b, p. 225). Women are

the ones who most often “carry out the tasks to ensure that families are fed culturally acceptable

meals” (Esterik, 1999b, p. 226). However, they are also most often fed last and least, something

which is not being taken into consideration by national and international food regimes.

Additionally, “vulnerability to malnutrition is greater for girls and women who may be

discriminated against in access to food and health care” (Esterik, 1999b, p. 228). Women are

most often at risk because they lack the proper nutrition education needed to promote food

knowledge (Esterik, 1999b). Even in nutrition literature, any mention of women solely places

them as “a risk group or a target group for needed interventions, rather than as gatekeepers of

family health,”, this is especially true for women of color (Esterik, 1999b, p. 228). Daily, it's

women who are most likely to be responsible for feeding families, yet they are “least likely to be

involved in shaping the policies that determine the food system they must access” (Esterik,

1999b, p. 231; Siefert, et.al., 2014). Their food experiences are “ignored by national and

international food regimes because of the dichotomization of public and private, formal and
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 12

informal economies, production and reproduction” (Esterik, 1999b, p. 231). It is argued that “in

order to realize global food security, women’s food experiences need to inform both food policy

and global food regimes” (Esterik, 1999b, p. 231).

Lack of representation is not the only barrier women of color (and women in general)

face within the food system. Financial barriers are overwhelmingly present as well. In Seattle,

Latina women are facing significant barriers entering into the urban community gardenscape.

They “discussed the relatively high costs associated with utilizing urban agricultural markets”,

making them less accessible (Alkon & Mares, 2012, p. 10). These barriers tend to alter women’s

sense of self, as some researchers argue that this is based on her ability to feed her family “as the

basis of her self-identity; this right may become even more important to women under conditions

of rapid social change” (Esterik, 1999b, p. 229). Women’s source of power through food is lost

with their inability to feed their families, increasing food insecurity, and loss of access to land

(Esterik, 1999b).

Oppression and Disempowerment

The lack of BIWOC representation in food systems both systemically and even in

women’s communities is unequivocal. Misrepresentations in research and communities

surrounding BIWOC’s roles and knowledge in food systems lead to a series of false narratives,

which then unbeknownst to them, force communities to relinquish individual power and conform

to supremacist hierarchical structures reinforcing gender, class, and race norms. When women of

color relinquish their power, they become more at risk of being exposed to sexism and

gender-based violence (Juarez, 2010; Lemke & Delormier, 2017). Physical threats to their bodies

are one thing Latina female activists from South Central Farm faced in California. As Juarez

explains, these are not only threats to their persons, but also their spirits. The lack of
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 13

acknowledgment and representation in colonial systems lowers BIWOC’s social status, creating

a toxic image of women of color through crude stereotypes (Imam, 2020). As Indigenous women

held positions of power and respect in their communities, original colonists who came over to the

United States in the 15th century believed that to conquer Indigenous communities meant to

subjugate Indigenous women (Imam, p. 25). The same can be argued for women of color all

around the United States, and the most impactful way to do this is through their plates, their

food, and their ability to provide for themselves, their families, and their communities.

The effects of BIWOC disempowerment through food are direly serious to communities

and the women themselves. It has been made clear that Indigenous communities are affected

when Indigenous women are marginalized through horizontal oppression, where a process

negatively affects both women and the wider community and therefore impacts food, nutrition

security, health, income, and livelihood, also known as trickle-down patriarchy (Lemke &

Delormier, 2017). Esterick (1999b) argues that “until women have full equality, then whoever

depends on women for food will be vulnerable to manipulation through food, and could exert

pressure on women through food” (p. 230). Food insufficiency is a “significant predictor of

major depression” (Siefert et al., 2001, p. 170). This is because womens’ and BIWOCs’ mental

health are heavily reliant on their social environment (Lemke & Delormier, 2017). For

Indigenous women, nutritional health is closely linked “to the health of the social collectivities

around them, both through the biology of reproduction and lactation and through their

socio‐cultural‐based labours and nutritional well‐being of their families and communities''

(Bellows & Jenderedjian, 2016 as cited in Lemke & Delormier, p. 4). For this reason, authors

argue that “this highlights the need to identify the health-enhancing resources'' within

communities of color “that may be protective of mental health” (Siefert et al., p. 172).
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 14

Empowerment, Resistance, and Food Sovereignty

BIWOC are, however, finding ways to not only fight food insecurity, but fight colonial

oppression, disempowerment, poor mental health, and false narratives through food. Food work

is helping women of color reconnect with their heritage, culture, ancestors, and communities

through neighborhood beautification, access to clean and healthy food, creation of green spaces,

and the creation of healing and safe spaces (Nettles et al., 2015; White, 2011; Cohen, 2018). This

source of power can create a rage which “leaves women hungry for food and justice” (Esterik,

1999a, p. 158). For Indigenous women “land, territories, and natural resources are the

fundamental basis of [their] existence, given that [they] develop a spiritual and sacred

relationship that entails a holistic connection between ‘being’ and nature” (Juarez, 2010, p. 5).

For BIWOC, gardening, food work, food provisioning, and farming demonstrate self-reliance

and self-determination and therefore is considered to be a liberatory act of resistance (Cohen;

Alkon, 2007; White, 2018). Through farming/gardening, women can control food, which

therefore controls people and contributes to taking back control of their communities (White,

2011). Food, therefore, can be seen as a “weapon for decolonization of youth and communities”

(Juarez, p. 8).

Through cooking, feeding others, and eating, BIWOC create relationships between

people, most of which “are reciprocal, in that they benefit both the giver and the receiver of

food” (Esterik, 1999a, p. 160). Just in the daily routine of feeding people, women are “the

transmitters of cultural codes pertaining to food and eating” (Esterik, 1999a, p. 157). Community

gardens are serving as spaces in which individuals are put in charge of their adjustment to

economic restructuring and social dislocation through self-help technologies centered on

personal contact with nature (Alkon & Mares, 2012). Urban gardening for example, “functions
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 15

as protest, one where their energies not only feed their families and their communities healthy

food but also feed their need to be the change agent in their community” (White, 2011, p. 24).

Through farming, women activists “can produce their own food, invest in their communities, and

assist community members to learn much-needed survival skills and impact the quality of life

through improving the quality of food” (White, p. 22). White explains that “the farm operates as

a space where they are able to work and relieve the stressors of their everyday lives and create a

food system that is community-based, environmentally responsible, and an example of the

potential transformation from rustbelts to greenbelts” (p. 24). She describes the community

garden as an “earthen sanctuary,” a space for conversation, learning, healing, and teaching which

turns powerlessness into empowerment (White, p. 22).

For Black women, working in the gardens can be a stress reliever, and farms can be a

cathartic space as well as a place to teach and learn the act of resistance (White, 2011; Cohen,

2018). Healthy food is healing and a form of resistance to the systems that turn Black women

into yet another unhealthy statistic. Food systems provide alternative forms of resistance as

opposed to “traditional” socially accepted forms of activism. According to White (2011), these

farms are seen as “an easily accessible, outdoor, living classroom” (p. 23) serving as “resistance

against the social structures that have perpetuated inequality in terms of healthy food access” (p.

18).

White (2011) argues that “if food is life, as these women activists suggest, then the ability

to control the quality of food and increase access to healthy food… is an essential aspect of the

struggle for self-determination and self-reliance” (p. 19). Furthermore, this radical act serves as a

tool for decolonization and food sovereignty (Grey & Patel, 2015). The cases of community

gardening, changing food policies, and regional food systems are serving as “the seeds of the
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 16

food sovereignty movement” (Carney, 2010, p. 9). The work that Black, Indigenous, women of

color do towards food sovereignty serves as a threat for disrupting “the norms of securing food

contracts from mega-corporations in the food industry” (Juarez, 2010, p. 5). Not only this, but

through the creation of ‘alternative’ food markets, food sovereignty movements address an array

of social problems such as environmental degradation, poverty, and income inequality (Alkon &

Mares, 2012). Food sovereignty moves beyond issues of local food to social justice issues as:

supporters of food sovereignty advocate for the dismantling of the monopoly power of

the corporate food regime in favor of democratically controlled, regionally-based food

systems in which peasant agriculture can create a greater distribution of wealth while

relinking agriculture, citizenship, and nature. (Alkon & Mares, p. 3)

It transcends local boundaries, demanding consideration of industrial systems which affect local

food economies everywhere. Additionally, food sovereignty works towards infusing new

knowledge and solutions to local food systems, making them more meaningful to marginalized

communities. However, within a framework of food sovereignty, it is emphasized that “it is of

central importance that food sources are consistent with cultural identities and embedded in

community networks” (Alkon & Mares, p. 12). For this reason, when Black, Indigenous, women

of color use their knowledge of food production to empower themselves and their communities

to fight food insecurity, they are actively combatting colonialism and therefore threatening the

very foundation of neoliberalism, resisting the intergenerational trauma and oppression which

follows in tow.

Findings

In my three months conducting this qualitative research, I found recurring themes of

cultural connection to ancestry, healing, community organizing, education, land regeneration,

BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 17

and representation. Across the board, I found that for BIWOC, working with the land gives them

hope, and as a principle, they find various methods of giving back to the community they are

working within (City Market, 2020). For Sunny Vazquez (as cited in Gore, 2020), being in green

spaces “and growing food… knowing that the seed [she’s] planting is going to feed someone,

later on, is so powerful” (pp. 8). BIWOC feel generally empowered by working in food systems,

both in knowing they can feed themselves and in having the ability to feed others. As Gabrielle

Lawrence, a community food grower in Florida believes, they “carry out the needs [of a

community] in a way that is least harmful, and [are] the most capable of enriching that process

without wanting to profit off of it” (personal communication, November 6, 2020).

Cultural/ Traditional Connection to Ancestry

When Leah Penniman (2019) opened their presentation on Farming while Black: African

Diasporic Wisdom for Farming and Food Justice at Williams College, they began with a quote

by Marvis Garvey which stated “a people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and

culture is like a tree without roots” (3:42). The idea of ancestry and cultural connection is

multifaceted and varying for women of different cultural backgrounds, however, one defining

feature was found across BIPOC women working in food systems in the U.S. concerning

ancestry, which was that working with food, seeds, and soil serves as an intergenerational

pathway connecting them to those who came before them. This can be done through simply

working in food systems, the perpetuation of traditional food growing methods, and/or the

continuation of growing heritage foods as a way to maintain cultural identity and connection.

Amyrose Foll (as cited in Seed Rematriation, 2020), an Indigenous food grower based in

Virginia, believes that “traditional foodways are the medicine we need to heal ourselves” (2:34),

as said in a webinar series hosted by A Growing Culture called INDIGENIZE! In the same
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 18

webinar series, Spring Alaska Shreiner (as cited in Tribal Food Production, 2020), another

Indigenous food grower based in Oregon refers to Indigenous foods as “spirit food,” and

expressed that by sharing native seeds and tribal foods “we’re sharing our ancestral pathways”

(10:49). For Leslie Wiser, a food grower based in California, growing Asian and Chinese

heritage (mixed heritage) vegetables, means exploring and “reclaiming [their]

Chinese-Taiwanese side” (personal communication, October 16, 2020). For many BIWOC, the

ancestral wisdom and spiritual connection comes through inherently in working with food,

Jacqueline Pilati of Reclaim Seed, NYC sees this process of cultural “reverence and respect for

plants, animals, water and soil” as one of “returning and remembering,” built in “deference to

elders” (personal communication, October 22, 2020).

There’s an overarching understanding that in working with the land, BIWOC are

continuing a cultural legacy (Jacqueline Pilati, personal interview, October 22nd, 2020). Karen

Washington (as cited in Social Justice, 2020) of Rise and Root Farm believes that “land is

legacy, it’s history” (4:33) she considers the work giving back to the ancestors: “we brought the

seeds in our hair, the foundation of food in this country” (3:19). Food work in the U.S. to

BIWOC is “how we keep our culture alive in white spaces” (Verónica Mazariegos-Anastassiou,

personal interview, November 3rd, 2020). Additionally, Indigenous and Black women especially,

see their ancestors’ blood in the soil in which they work (City Market, 2020). Samantha Foxx, a

Black food grower and beekeeper explains “that's the food that we eat, the flowers that the bees

go to spray pollen, it's our history, our roots, it's everything to us, that’s where we come from, a

lot of what we’re made of, what we were returned to” (as cited in Tawkin, B., 2020, February

25). Jacqueline Pilati believes that:

BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 19

having those moments where people are reconnecting to their culture, and [therefore]

their ancestors, through food and seed, is so beautiful. And it's so much fun. It's so nice to

be part of that because I know what that feels like when you can connect back and touch

these elders, right through growing and eating these things. (personal communication,

October 22, 2020)

Nkoula Badila (September 29th, 2020), a Black food grower and founder of Grow Black Hudson,

believes that “by slowing down and honoring our elders we are blessed with golden lessons that

strengthen our stories keeping the legacies alive!”, feeling more connected with her people than

ever before. To Ariella Riapos, a food grower based in New York City “farming is a sacred

practice in the process of decolonization”, a way for their ancestors to speak to them, and a way

to reclaim “all of the ancestral traditions that [they’ve] lost” (as cited in Gore, 2020, pp. 12).

Black Farmer Stories, a collective for storytelling run by Black women, is uplifting and

amplifying the voices of Black farmers and ranchers in the U.S. to “preserve their legacies,

agricultural knowledge, and cultural heritage” (Black farmer stories, n.d.). In this day and age,

BIWOC food workers are pushing the narrative that it is not enough to simply acknowledge the

work of their ancestors, but imperative to preserve it, perpetuate it, and honor it. In wrapping up

the 20th episode of Ask a Sista Farmer hosted by Soul Fire Farm, Alison Espinosa expressed that

“just from you being here, you are honoring our ancestors” (Soul Fire Farm, 2020). The work

has continued, keeping in mind that for centuries these stories have been repressed in U.S.

communities of color, further marginalizing them from their own culture. However, through

ancestral food work and traditional food production, these women are saying no more.
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 20

Healing & Community Organizing

Working with food, and therefore, connecting to ancestors and culture, is a healing

process for BIWOC food workers, and one which they want to share with their communities.

Karen Washington (as cited in Social Justice, 2020) believes there are not enough healing spaces

in the agricultural and farming world in the United States, and for that reason considers Rise and

Root Farm to be “a healing farm. It goes beyond just growing food. We are growing community”

(12:47). Farming and food work for Black, Indigenous, women of color is a way to reestablish

their relationships with the land and be rooted in healing and liberation, relationships which

historically in the U.S. are rooted in trauma. Zymora Davinci (as cited in City Market, 2020), a

food grower based in Vermont, knows that “this wasn’t [her] ancestors' relationship to land”

(41:43). Clarisa James’ journey into working in the food system also began with healing, through

her backyard garden (personal communication, October 19, 2020). Jaqueline Pilati sees this as

the “therapeutic aspect” of returning to land, and she wants her work to “be a platform, a starting

point for people who are interested in food… [to] come to the conversation… [and] be able to

find community” (personal communication, October 22, 2020). Additionally, Gabrielle

Lawrence, a community garden worker in Gainesville, Florida finds that working with and

connecting to other communities of color helps in “combating this feeling of isolation and

loneliness” (personal communication, November 6, 2020). As Iye Bako (as cited in Chow, 2020)

explains in an episode of The Everyday Activist Podcast “we interrupt the system by working

together collaboratively,” emphasizing collaboration and the need to lean further into mutual aid

and community grassroots activism. Lorrie Clevenger (2017) understands that growing food is

“an act of resistance, a form of participatory democracy and a tool for community organizing”

(pp. 20). As a founding member of Black Urban Growers, growing her food made Clevenger

feel free… “I’d be happy just gardening, but what we’re trying to do is build space for people
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 21

like myself, for people who have experienced oppression and violence to feel safe with the land”

(pp. 29), wanting to create a business where everyone equally contributes to the “common cause

of supporting [themselves], each other, and the communities that need it most” (pp. 25).

Similarly, Amyrose Foll (as cited in Seed Rematriation, 2020) works to live out the values of

collectivism and community to ensure those around her are fed. As Jaqueline Pilati sees it, the

ultimate goal is to build a community of like-minded people “that care about food, that care

about who's producing their food… people who are thinking more critically about the choices

that they're making… that's really what's at the heart of all of it” (personal communication,

October 22, 2020). She sees community gardens as being all about “community building…

bringing these people together” (personal communication). Through her work at Brisa de Año

Ranch, Verónica Mazariegos-Anastassiou wants to create “a safe space for people to feel that

they can engage with the work of farming” (personal communication, November 3, 2020). What

makes these spaces feel safe is escaping the scrutiny of the white gaze many BIPOC peoples are

subjected to daily (Davinci as cited in City Market, 2020). When asked why they were

participating in a webinar on Navigating Vermont’s Food System, most panelists expressed their

need for a safe space and community as well (City Market). BIWOC food growers and producers

recognize that neoliberal, capitalist, and supremacist policies have disempowered communities

of color towards food. For this reason, they actively cultivate spaces of healing and community

in every facet of the work they do to resist said policies, engage in activism, and ultimately

deconstruct oppression by re-empowering people of color’s relationship with the land one

community at a time. Ariella Riapos (as cited in Gore, 2020) describes this as “guerilla

gardening” (pp. 14).

BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 22

Education
In bringing healing and ancestral connection to their communities, BIWOC food workers

also want to bring knowledge. From Karen Washington’s perspective (as cited in Social Justice,

2020), having food knowledge is powerful. Knowing the fact that you can grow your food makes

you powerful. Leslie Wiser recognizes that today, especially in the wake of the COVID-19

pandemic, “people are more interested in knowing where their food comes from, who's touching

their food… how it's grown when it is harvested… [they] think it's very important” (personal

communication, October 16, 2020). Accordingly, Black, Indigenous, women of color are using

food spaces to educate future generations and marginalized communities. DIVAS for Social

Justice’s Garden of Resilience in New York City was initially started to garner food and provide

different community members with garden beds, but as Clarisa James sees it, this is an

opportunity for much more. She sees The Garden of Resilience as “a great outlet for teachers to

come and do STEM-based activities in the space,” but another goal is “to ensure that the people

of [her] community, the young people and the intergenerational community, understand the

importance of civic engagement, and what role they play in that” (personal communication,

October 19, 2020). She wants them to see what civic engagement can look like, explaining that

“it's not just politicians, it's the people in the neighborhood. And that's the primary example, to

try and get more people activated, and also to educate young people” (personal communication).

Amyrose Foll (as cited in Seed Rematriation, 2020) finds satisfaction in teaching youth how to

forage, and treasures teaching ethnobotany to children, emphasizing seed conservation and

cultural conservation to be synonymous. Gabrielle Lawrence has thought about how in the long

term one can better build education into underserved communities, considering “local cooking

classes that teach you how to use vegetables,” emphasizing the need to embed “programs into

our education system in underserved communities that specifically fit the context of those
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 23

communities” (personal communication, November 6, 2020). Isa Jamira has taken her work one

step further through her YouTube page and original educational video content, to show anyone

interested, her work in farming, aquaponics, and environmental justice (Jamira, n.d.). However,

Samantha Foxx, Black food grower and “farm mother” of Mother’s Finest Urban Farm, also

stresses the importance of garden education on a personal, individual level when discussing

home-schooling her daughter in their garden. She explains:

you’re having a normal organic conversation, but that conversation is about science. And

then, as we’re talking about that we’re talking about why I grow and what I grow and

where that came from so now we’re talking about family and traditions and why those are

important, and that turns into nutrition, why growing your own is so important, and that

turns into self-determination and why that is so important. (as cited in Tawkin, B., 2020,

January 21)

Through a simple conversation with her daughter in the garden, Samantha has demonstrated how

food work can cover a spectrum of educational lessons.

BIWOC working in food systems in the U.S. have also shown that in their line of work,

they can be both the teacher and the student. For Lorrie Clevenger (2017) “learning to tend [her]

own little plot of land, and tasting the fruits of [her] own labor were all key in helping [her] break

the slavery narrative” (pp. 19). As Jaqueline Pilati learns from her community “what are the

things that they want to eat, it's really given [her] a good sense of what needs to be in [her] seed

library” (personal communication, October 22, 2020). Although, agricultural food knowledge is

not the only thing BIWOC food workers gain from what they do. As Gabrielle Lawrence sees it

“trying to grow herbs and things here and there… as you integrate things like that in your life,
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 24

you start to become more cognizant of the larger systems and how you play a role in them. So all

of that… encourages conscious decision making” (personal communication, November 6, 2020).

Land Regeneration

In becoming more cognizant of the larger systems and their role in them, Black,

Indigenous, women of color who work in food systems embody the concept of afroecology. The

National Black Food and Justice Alliance define afroecology as a process of “social and

ecological transformation that involves the re-evaluation of our sacred relationships with the

land, water, air, seeds, and food,” recognizing that humans are an integral part of the planet’s life

support systems. Afroecology values:

the Afro-Indigenous experience of reality and ways of knowing; [visualizing] the

importance of women and feminine energies as vital to our collective liberation;

[cherishing] ancestral and communal forms of knowledge… rooted in the agrarian

traditions, legacies, and struggles of the Black experience in the Americas.” (National

Black Food and Justice Alliance)

BIWOC food workers recognize that colonization and ecofascism are greatly damaging not only

communities of color, but also the land. As Alice Walker (as cited in Wilson, 2019) once said,

“while the Earth is poisoned, everything it supports is poisoned. While the Earth is enslaved,

none of us is free" (pp. 14). In Leah Penniman’s (2019) presentation on Farming while Black,

they explained that within one generation of settlers opening up the great plains, 50% of the

organic matter was burned up out of the soil through plowing, and the matter went from 8-10%

organic to 4-5% organic. As Naomi Doe Moody (as cited in City Market, 2020) sees it “the land

is the victim, like [them]… the land also needs healing” (32:40). For this reason, BIWOC food
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 25

producers work on directly improving their surroundings holistically by creating more green

spaces, using harvesting methods that maximize the contribution of ecosystems, and improving

environmental resilience via regenerative farming methods. Isa Jamira believes that green spaces

“elevate people's moods and make them happier” (personal communication, October 21, 2020),

and sees taking care of the planet as synonymous with taking care of herself (Jamira as cited in

Gore, 2020).

Representation
Above all, the most prominent theme I’ve found across the board among Black,

Indigenous female food workers of color, is their need and want to be the representation of food

workers for future generations, filling a void and changing a narrative many of them saw

growing up. Leslie Wiser explains, “I just never saw anyone that looked like myself farming…

and I just didn't think it could be a viable career path for someone like me…until last year, when

I started this farm” (in reference to her farm in California, Radical Family Farms)(personal

communication, October 16, 2020). Gabrielle Lawrence has noticed that when “you have no

people of color in the room… then you don't know how to talk to them, you don't know how to

market to them, you don't even consider them” (personal communication, November 6, 2020).

Lorrie Clevenger (2017) wanted for there to be people who look like her farming, and she

believes that if she can grow food, she can do anything:

Black people, Brown people, and Native American people—we need to see ourselves

growing our food, especially food that was Indigenous to us, to heal that relationship with

the land and the food… seeing people who look like us growing healthy food, having a

spiritual relationship with the land, rather than one of oppressive entrapment and

violence, is healing. (pp. 22)

BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 26

Samantha Foxx, an educator in addition to being a food worker, has already seen the effects of

representation in her classroom. When speaking about the fact that her grandmother expressed

that she was the first Black beekeeper she’d ever met, Samantha said:

That tells you a lot about breaking that mold and giving other young ladies… an

opportunity to be able to see a Black woman who is a beekeeper, and representation is so

important because a lot of them at the end of a class… say ‘I want to be a beekeeper like

you Ms. Samantha’, and they can see themselves in me. (as cited in Tawkin, B., 2020,

February, 25)

Spring Alaska Shreiner’s (as cited in Tribal food production, 2020) motivations are wanting to

specifically show young girls and women “if I can do it then they can do it too”, going on to say,

“it’s great to see other women farming too, we need more of us out there” (21:34). Isa Jamira

learned from other Black women while figuring out her place in the environmental justice

movement, believing that it's important to be able to imagine yourself “because it allows you

to… dream… different possibilities for yourself besides things that have been presented to you”

(personal communication, October 21st, 2020). Nkoula Badila first met a Black Farmer when she

was 11 years old, and it sparked the belief and excitement in her that she could do farming too.

She wants to keep Grow Black Hudson primarily a Black and Brown organization “to make sure

that people see themselves in it… little girls are looking up at me and they see themselves, they

see ‘that can be me in the future... it needs to happen” (June 15th, 2020). Representation needs to

stay in the communities so communities can find the power to educate and represent themselves.

She hopes to continue to inspire anyone else interested in food systems. As Jacqueline Pilati

(October 22nd, 2020) sees it, people coming together will provide a resource “that will feed us,
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 27

that will reflect us, that will represent us. And that is the most essential piece of [a] project in [a]

community” (personal communication).

Additionally, BIWOC food workers are wanting to change the narrative that farm work is

slave work. Karen Washington (as cited in Social Justice, 2020) explained that growing up in the

USA, the narrative surrounding Black people farming was that of slave labor and that farming

was always closely associated with white men, who hold most of the power in the field.

However, globally, most farmers are women, and the reality of the situation is that enslaved

Africans were brought to the Americas for their rich agricultural knowledge (Washington as cited

in Social Justice). Jacqueline Pilati has encountered an issue working with children in the garden

stating “the biggest thing for me was the kids being like, Miss, why are you doing this?... this is

some slave stuff, our people got away from this” (personal communication). She goes on to

explain that “we have this incredible trauma of what it is to be a person of color interacting with

land… so I’m having to find ways to disrupt and interrupt that to provide opportunities for

reconciliation” (personal communication, October 22nd, 2020). As Samantha Foxx sees it:

It sometimes takes the power of one person to recentralize the way that we think about

these things and stop being so scared of everything... if we don’t want to do it, we’re

afraid of it, we’re ashamed, then [that] battle… we’ve already lost… we don’t have to

start our history at being a slave. (as cited in Tawkin, B., 2020, February 25)

Verónica Mazariegos-Anastassiou had an image of mostly white men farmers and farm-owners

growing up. For this reason, she is empowering and promoting women entering agriculture

(personal communication, November 3rd, 2020). Clarisa James wants to “change the narrative of

what people think Black neighborhoods are” through her work at DIVAS for Social Justice and

the Garden of Resilience, and Lorrie Clevenger (2017) wants to change the misconceptions that
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 28

growing food is a strictly lower-class job. Through food work, BIWOC are showing and

inspiring future generations of color what they can do and what their communities can look like.

Discussion
In the United States, the perpetuation of systemic racism and oppression in the food

system has led to a lack of representation and cultural disconnection for Black, Indigenous,

female food workers of color (White, 2011; Juarez, 2010; Lemke & Delormier, 2017).

Additionally, along with historical ties to land and food production via slavery, genocide, and

forced labor, neoliberal food policies have created an environment of fear and disempowerment

for communities of color in regards to food work leading to food insecurity and poor mental

health (Imam, 2020; Alkon, 2007). Through this case study, I found that BIWOC are empowered

through food work via cultural and traditional connection to ancestry, intergenerational trauma

healing, colonial resistance, and shifting the narrative of food work for communities of color.

This empowerment leads to women focusing on education, creating safe spaces for community,

and land regeneration to combat food insecurity. As an Indigenous woman, Juarez envisions a

food system that “starts with the fundamental principle that we cannot separate the environment

from Mother Earth, traditional knowledge from technological advances, the right to eat from the

right to grow your traditional food, and autonomy from community self-governance of land and

water” (p. 5). By focusing on land regeneration, BIWOC not only directly improve the state of

the soil and the quality of food in a particular space, but in turn contribute to combating the

climate crisis via holistic and organic approaches to farming and food production, making the

system more sustainable in the long term (Shiva, 2009). In focusing on education, BIWOC

directly contribute to knowledge distribution, ensuring a food secure future for future generations

of color and the continuation of cultural and traditional food practices. Finally, in creating spaces
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 29

for community organizing, BIWOC food workers help communities of color find security and

safety in their communities, directly improving overall mental health and therefore combating

oppression. Just as communities are affected by female marginalization via horizontal

oppression, they are also positively impacted by women’s empowerment via what I would like to

coin as horizontal freedom (mental, physical, and cultural). This concept of horizontal freedom

emphasizes that when Black, Indigenous, women of color thrive, all communities of color and

the environment thrive.

Conclusion
By directly taking BIWOC into account and acknowledging their lack of representation

and re-empowering them in U.S. food systems, communities of color can find collective healing,

liberation, and an equal share of benefits and authority over food and resources. Because of the

powerful structural factors shaping the diet of poor and marginalized communities of color in the

United States, altering social conditions begins with directly improving the conditions and

representation of the women. In supporting women of color and therefore encouraging

community connection, the industrial food system can take further decolonizing steps towards

deconstructing food racism and insecurity in the United States. To truly understand the exact

effect that female food workers of color have on society and communities, I suggest it would be

key to conduct further long-term research on specific communities where BIWOC play large

roles in food work and production to better comprehend the effects of their roles, and investigate

exactly how far and wide their reach is. Additionally, the implementation of gendered food

programs would serve to benefit all communities around the United States. These programs

should amplify all-female food workers of color’s voices to better understand what they feel is

needed in their communities to improve food security. Furthermore, cultural and traditional
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 30

ecological knowledge needs to be taken into account in the industrial food system to diversify

food work around the U.S. In understanding the effect that female food workers of color have on

society, more financial compensation needs to be implemented both as a form of economic

reparations and livelihood improvement for all communities of color. By preserving the cultural

and food systems knowledge women of color hold, food insecurity and environmental

degradation could be improved all around the United States. As Naima Penniman (2020), a

Black food worker for Soul Fire Farm believes, “every seed saved will set us free, hold on tight

to the source, we have all that we need” (as cited in Wake Up Walk Towards).
BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 31

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Appendix

Interview Questions

1. Why/ How did you begin to work in the food system?

2. Are there any institutional barriers that you personally experience in the work you do?

a. What institutional barriers does the community you work within face?

b. What needs to change in these institutions to support these new food systems

3. Are there some key challenges you have faced as a woman of color working in food

systems and environmental sustainability?

4. What unique knowledge do you feel you bring to the work that you do as a woman of

color?

5. Can you define the community that you work in?

BIWOC EMPOWERMENT IN U.S. FOOD SYSTEMS 36

a. How does this community benefit either financially, socially, or environmentally

through the work you are doing?

6. Do you feel it is important for women of color to have key roles in food systems and

conservation? Why or why not?

7. How has COVID impacted your work?

8. What is your long-term vision for your work?

a. 5 years

b. 10 years

9. What other grassroots organizations are you in partnership with?

10. How do you promote yourselves and gain support at the community level?