Challenging power relations in food systems governance. A conversation about moving from inclusion to decolonization

Session on Participatory Food Systems Governance at the 2021 Global Food Governance Conference.

This reflective essay explores power relations, with a particular focus on racialization, that flow through dominant forms of food systems governance, with an aim to create more participatory governance models. Four of the authors asked a group of five scholars, activists, and practitioners (also authors) who identify as Black, Indigenous or People of Color (BIPOC) to discuss during a conference session issues of Indigenous food sovereignty, decolonization, Whiteness, and inclusivity in food systems governance. This paper presents and analyzes the content of the session, part of the 2021 Global Food Governance Conference. We reflect on common themes from the session and put forth recommendations: encouraging greater inclusion in existing forms of food systems governance, achieving decolonization through creating diverse new governance models, and addressing the deeper power structures that underpin the dominant food system itself. We also suggest a research agenda, with the “what” of the agenda unfolding from a process of agenda development that centers BIPOC scholarship. The frameworks offered by the panelists are a starting point, as more work is needed to move towards decolonizing food systems governance research. Finally, a collaborative agenda must attend to the inextricable links of food systems governance to other fundamental issues, such as the emerging field of planetary health

This article was published in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development Vol. 13 No. 2 (2024) (link below)