Toward a radical food geography praxis: integrating theory, action, and geographic analysis in pursuit of more equitable and sustainable food systems

Abstract

Radical geographies scholarship has evolved over the past decades in pursuit of transforming spatial, political-economic, social, and ecological engagements within oppressive structures. Similarly, food systems scholarship demonstrates increasing interest in the scalar, sociopolitical, and ecological dynamics of food systems, often with an applied or action-oriented focus. Building on these connected, yet divergent, traditions of scholarship and action, we propose a radical food geography praxis that is rooted in the intersections of active resistance to structures that (re)produce power inequity and oppression in food systems in specific places and across spaces, and an ongoing process of critical and theoretical reflection about these structures and geographies. The radical food geography praxis we propose consists of three primary and interconnected elements: (1) theoretical engagements with power and structures of oppression both inside and outside the academy; (2) action through academic, social movement, and civil society collaborations; and (3) analysis through a broadly defined geographic lens. Through bringing together radical geographies and food systems scholarship, a radical food geography praxis reveals the interconnectivity between places and movements, relationality between land and people, the flows of people, environmental resources, ideas, and culture, and the diverse approaches to achieving justice-oriented objectives. In order to build more equitable and sustainable food systems, it is essential to engage with these geographic realities in deeply theoretical and action-oriented ways.

“Because they are connected”: Linking structural inequalities in farmworker organizing

“…Mares, 2019;Minkoff-Zern, 2019;Reese, 2019;Reynolds and Cohen, 2016;Sbicca, 2018;White, 2018), as scholars we need to continually interrogate our personal blind spots so that, as we conduct research, we remain open to nuances and particularities that offer new opportunities for radical food praxis (c.f. Hammelman et al, 2020;Reynolds et al, 2020). As we have shown in this article, this means, at a minimum, attending to the ways that white supremacy, xenophobia, patriarchy, and capitalism structure the food system and how they face resistance across their many different axes of oppression.…”

Scholar-activist perspectives on radical food geography: collaborating through food justice and food sovereignty praxis

“…see Alkon and Agyeman, 2011; Alkon and Guthman, 2017). Bringing together radical geography and food systems scholarship, Hammelman et al (2020a, 2020b) propose a radical food geography framework that aims to identify the ways that scholars and activists (and scholar-activists and activist-scholars) apply academic and social movement praxis to concerns about food systems. In particular, this praxis works both inside and outside the academy, engages theoretically with the structural production of injustices in the food system from a geographical lens while also going beyond theoretical contributions to create tangible change.…”

“…As an evolving approach, radical food geography is rooted in praxis. This involves theory, action, and critical reflection about political, social, economic, and environmental resistance to dominant corporate industrial food systems along with racist, patriarchal, and settler-colonial logics (Hammelman et al, 2020a, 2020b; cf. Kepkiewicz et al, 2015; Reese, 2019; Reynolds et al, 2018, 2020).…”

“…Radical geography research, teaching, and action have increasingly focused on food systems, examining the scalar, sociopolitical, and ecological dynamics of food production and harvesting, processing, distribution, consumption, and waste (e.g. see Block et al, 2012; Hammelman et al, 2020a, 2020b; Heynen, 2006; Levkoe and Offeh-Gyimah, 2020; Minkoff-Zern, 2019; Reese, 2019; Reynolds, 2015). Academics have contributed significantly to these debates through adopting creative and engaged theoretical and methodological approaches.…”

Guest editors’ introduction: Building a radical food geography praxis

“…The guest editors then solicited submissions to this special issue from scholars, scholaractivists, activist-scholars, and activists who had presented or participated at the workshop and/or whose work was influential for that day's discussions. Instead of issuing a broad call for papers, we intentionally sought authors working from a variety of standpoints, projects, and ideas in order to expand the diversity of scholarship that, we argue, contributes to nascent ideas of radical food geography praxis (see Hammelman et al, 2020). We sought to include authors whose work on food systems aligns with or directly engages radical geographies, by exploring issues important to marginalized communities (including Black, Indigenous, and Latinx geographies), and centers diverse ways of knowing, while also being actively involved in socially relevant efforts for change.…”