Martin Luther King Jr. Day Prompts Questions Of Food Equality (Video)
Written by Vegetarian Star on January 17th, 2011 in Authors, Farming, Food & Drink, Videos.
The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is usually a reflection on racial equality and the gains this activist (who’s family embraced a veg diet) made in schools and other aspects of public access.
Equality is not just restricted to being able to eat at a restaurant, but also the ability to access quality, affordable food at supermarkets. Some might argue that we haven’t reached equal opportunity in this area.
Bryant Terry, vegan chef, author and food justice activist, gave his thoughts about how access to wholesome food may be connected to institutional racism at culinate.com:
Bryant Terry
“The first thing that comes up for me when I hear that question is the fact that just one percent of farmers in the United States are African-American, and that since the 19th century African-Americans have been systematically denied access to land.”
“This denial of land started when America reneged on its promise to give formerly enslaved African-Americans 40 acres and a mule, and continues with African-American farmers losing significant amounts of land and potential farm income as a result of discrimination by the USDA.”
Terry also thinks too much emphasis is being placed on corporate supermarkets and that urban communities should push toward creating other outlets for food sources, such as community gardens, urban farms and independently owned grocery stores.
“To me, food justice also connotes that creating more access to healthy food is crucial to building broader movements for social justice. It is clear that there is quasi-apartheid in the food system that needs to be addressed.”
There have been payments made to African-American farmers who claimed the USDA discriminated against them, the most recent law being signed by president Obama, benefiting almost 100,000 African-Americans who attempted to farm between 1981-1996.
In 1999, $1 billion was awarded to 15,640 black farmers who claimed the USDA failed to provide them with federally subsidized farm loans.
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