Food Sovereignty: Questioning the Justice of What’s In Front of Us
In an interview with the Mellon Foundation, Linda Goode Bryant, founder of Project EATS, was asked how she viewed urban spaces void of greenery as fertile ground for creation and partnership. Goode Bryant responded that , “We have to see what’s in front of us, but we’re socialized not to see what’s in front of us: we are socialized to respond to the distractions” (Wroten). She directly challenged the hidden assumptions, histories, and power structures that govern our relationships with land and food. Food sovereignty invites us similarly to question: what beliefs about labor, farming, and food have we accepted without question? And, how can we reimagine these current systems as equitable, sustainable, and culturally rooted for all?
Food sovereignty is the “right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems” (Food Sovereignty). The term was formally coined by La Via Campesina during the Declaration of Nyeleni, the first global forum on food sovereignty in Mali in 2007 (Food Sovereignty). However, food sovereignty emerged during the late 1980s and 1990s when a few corporations dominated food production, which fueled the dependence on cheap, unpaid, and underpaid labor. As rural communities became increasingly marginalized, peasant workers and Indigenous communities recognized the importance of food sovereignty in mobilizing and reclaiming control over their food systems (Food sovereignty, a manifesto). Rather than prioritizing the demands of markets and corporations, food sovereignty emphasizes the aspirations and needs of the people who grow, distribute, and consume food at the center of decision-making and food systems. Food sovereignty looks beyond food security, which focuses on access yet treats food as a traded commodity and hunger as the result of insufficient production. Food sovereignty recognizes food as a human right (Food sovereignty, a manifesto).
To reimagine food systems, we must first understand the historical roots that have shaped the systems in front of us.
The History of What We’re Socialized Not to See
Food has been historically weaponized through colonialism and imperialism, which has limited access to nutritious and culturally appropriate food for disenfranchised groups (Frank). During the nineteenth century, for example, European colonists burned corn stores and exterminated bison (Libguides: Bison/ Buffalo) to deprive Indigenous peoples of their food supplies. These actions pressured nations onto reservations that replaced many Indigenous lands with predominantly monoculture lands for plantations (Robinson). Colonial monocultures restricted both Indigenous traditions and crop diversity. In fact, before 1942, over 4,000 varieties of maize thrived across North America, but less than a quarter of the estimated varieties remain today (Robinson). Additionally, pineapple is native to South Africa, but it has been globally dispersed and imposed through Portuguese and Spanish colonialism. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, pineapple was the primary cash crop on large plantations in Africa, India, and Hawaii (Blakely). These plantations simultaneously became locations of exploited labor and decreasing biodiversity.
Given the deeply intertwined histories between food and colonialism, food apartheid refers to how systems of racism and segregation limit access to healthy food. Food sovereignty presents a framework that challenges us to directly confront these histories (Sevilla).
Food as Resistance: Confronting What’s In Front of Us
Food can also be a powerful tool of community resistance and resurgence. Food allows individuals to reclaim land, protect traditions, and eliminate support for extractive agricultural practices. In Palestine, for example, Palestinians developed agricultural cooperatives and victory gardens, which are grassroots initiatives providing food to local communities in the face of violence. These cooperatives enable Palestinians to cultivate their land under rubble, grow olive trees despite ongoing violence, and maintain food practices that connect them to their lands and heritage (Nimer). Furthermore, the Black Yield Institute in Baltimore is a Pan-African organization that unites Black institutions and Black-owned businesses to define and govern their food systems. They currently operate a small urban farm, lead educational and coalition-building efforts and are working to open a cooperative grocery store (Cultivating Self-Determination). These communities challenge the norm of depending on states and large corporations for nourishment. Instead, they demonstrate that food sovereignty is nourished through community, culture, and identity.
TrickyH. A family of Palestinian farmers harvesting olives using traditional methods in the Jenin area. 8 Mar. 2016. Wikimedia Commons, Wikipedia, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palestinian_farmers_harvesting_olives,_November_2015.jpg. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.
Particularly, local organizations prove that large institutions are not the only systems that can feed communities. Linda Goode Bryant shows the endless possibilities of spaces we overlook through Project EATS, a New York City-based organization that uses art, urban agriculture, and social enterprise to produce and distribute plant-based food to marginalized communities. Project EATS transforms vacant lots and empty spaces into vibrant farms and leads youth farming initiatives (About). Similarly, Food Issues Group (FIG) is a multiracial, multi-gender grassroots collective of food and hospitality workers transforming their local food system through mutual aid and knowledge sharing. They have partnered with organizations to deliver weekly groceries and prepare meals according to local sustainable and cultural traditions (Varela). Both organizations demonstrate the creative and beneficial outcomes of recognizing the land, skills, creativity, and cultures in mobilizing them for food sovereignty.
Food sovereignty is not only a framework for agricultural reform; it is also a framework to view the world differently. It invites us to recognize the colonialist and racist roots of food systems while simultaneously empowering the cultures, communities, and local lands in front of us. With this mindset, we can begin to redefine food systems as rooted in culture, community, and justice.
Works Cited
“About.” Project EATS, www.projecteats.org/about. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.
Blakely, Julia. “The Prickly Meanings of the Pineapple.” Smithsonian Libraries and Archives, blog.library.si.edu/blog/2021/01/28/the-prickly-meanings-of-the-pineapple/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.
“Food Sovereignty, a Manifesto for the Future of Our Planet: La via Campesina.” La Via Campesina - EN, 23 July 2025, viacampesina.org/en/2021/10/food-sovereignty-a-manifesto-for-the-future-of-our-planet-la-via-campesina/.
“Food Sovereignty.” USFSA, usfoodsovereigntyalliance.org/what-is-food-sovereignty/. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.
Frank, Lois Ellen. “How Native American Diets Shifted after Colonization.” History.Com, A&E Television Networks, 29 Sept. 2025, www.history.com/articles/native-american-food-shifts.
“Libguides: Bison/Buffalo: Bison Genocide.” Bison Genocide - Bison/Buffalo - LibGuides at South Dakota State University, libguides.sdstate.edu/c.php?g=1358402&p=10030696. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.
Nimer, Fathi. “Food Sovereignty in a Palestinian Economy of Resistance: Al-Shabaka.” Al-Shabaka, 27 Aug. 2024, al-shabaka.org/briefs/food-sovereignty-in-a-palestinian-economy-of-resistance/.
Robinson, Bill. “Maize, Genocide and Climate Change: A Cautionary Tale.” Episcopal Diocese of Arizona, 23 Jan. 2023, azdiocese.org/2023/01/maize-genocide-and-climate-change/.
Sevilla, Nina. “Food Apartheid: Racialized Access to Healthy Affordable Food .” NRDC, 2 Apr. 2021, www.nrdc.org/bio/nina-sevilla/food-apartheid-racialized-access-healthy-affordable-food.
Varela , Vicky Brown. “NYC-Based Grassroots Collective Uses Food as a Tool of Resistance.” Food Tank, 17 June 2022, foodtank.com/news/2022/06/nyc-based-grassroots-collective-uses-food-as-a-tool-of-resistance/.
Wroten, Timothy. “Artist Linda Goode Bryant on Creating Food Sovereignty with New York Communities: "Let’s Find the ‘can’ in ‘Can’t’ ".” Mellon Foundation, 23 Feb. 2023, www.mellon.org/grant-story/artist-linda-goode-bryant-on-creating-food-sovereignty-with-new-york-communities.
“‘Cultivating Self-Determination Through Black Land & Food Sovereignty’ .” Black Yield Institute, 1 Oct. 2025, blackyieldinstitute.org/.
