Many activists today want to grow their own food or teach others to grow their own food as a way to achieve social justice in the food system. While “getting your hands dirty in the soil” undoubtedly affords certain pleasures, the question is whether this approach is enough to radically transform how food is produced, distributed and consumed. This talk will reflect on what excites people about farming and gardening, but also consider what a more capacious approach to food justice might entail.
Julie Guthman is a geographer and professor of social sciences at the University of California at Santa Cruz where she teaches courses primarily in global political economy and the politics of food and agriculture. She has published extensively on contemporary efforts to transform the way food is produced, distributed, and consumed, with a particular focus on voluntary food labels, community food security, farm-to-school programs, and the race and class politics of “alternative food.” Her publications include two multi-award winning books: Agrarian Dreams: the Paradox of Organic Farming in California and Weighing In: Obesity, Food Justice, and the Limits of Capitalism. Her newest research is examining how new knowledge of the intergenerational effects of toxic pesticides is shaping grower adoption of and farmworker perspectives on alternatives to methyl bromide in California’s strawberry industry. She is also interested in the production and practice of nutritional science.