ASFS Statement Against Anti-Black Racism

We collectively abhor the most recent murders of Black Americans as well as the violent reactions to protests, which are symptomatic of structural racism and systemic violence rooted in white supremacy, racialized heteropatriarchy, racial capitalism, colonialism, and militarism. The ongoing and historical state-based violence includes, among other things, the normalization of hunger and unemployment and disinvestment in poor communities, and the very real risks to Black and Brown service and agricultural workers who, for lack of protective equipment and public health priorities, are sacrificing their well-being to support company profits and political agendas. Meanwhile, the pandemic heightens existing fissures, exacerbating power, and equity issues around food, racism, and ethnocentrism all over the world.

As scholars of and practitioners in the food system and food cultures, we are keenly aware of how the basic resources of survival and sustenance — air, food, and water — are enmeshed in global systems of inequality and entitlement. As we both reflect and act on these issues within our organization and in our own research, teaching, activism, and daily lives, we recognize that we as an organization must do much, much more to call attention to these issues and take clear steps to address the deep historical roots of structural racism across the United States and within academia. This statement itself reflects the structural dimensions of the board and the sub-group drafting it: both are groups of mostly white people speaking about racism. We acknowledge and own the need to attend to our own participation in destructive racist institutions and seek awareness of how we, both as academics and as an organization, have benefitted from white privilege. While past efforts have been made to diversify the membership, the conference, and the board, it has often only achieved minimal representation and structural change. Black food and agriculture scholars have rightfully expressed frustration with ASFS. While only a start, and with all credit to local organizers, the 2023 conference in Athens, Georgia was slated to address some of that historical marginalization.

Going forward, we will prioritize practices of equity and justice in our organization, to amplify the voices of BIPOC scholars, activists, and practitioners, and to prioritize BIPOC representation in ASFS decision-making bodies.

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As such:

1. We are immediately creating a fund to support scholarships for BIPOC food scholars.
2. We will commit to keynote speakers, local activities during conferences, and featured panels that amplify voices of BIPOC and center questions of justice and equity
3. Given that the ASFS board has long been predominately white and given that Black and Brown scholars are often recruited for unpaid positions in the name of diversity, the ASFS board commits to compensating BIPOC experts for consulting on effective ways for the group to fight structural racism in our food systems, in academia, in food studies, in our membership, and on our board.
4. On our website, we offer a reading list to encourage members to center questions of race, power, and structural violence in their research and teaching as well as curricular resources for both K-12 and college students.
5. We also encourage members to look at the work of the following organizations: Museum of Food and Drink, NY <http://www.mofad.org/>; Cooperative Food Empowerment Directive <http://www.cofed.coop/>; the Detroit Food Commons <http://www.facebook.com/detroitpeoplesfoodcoop/, D-Town Farm <http://www.d-townfarm.com/>, and the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network ,十大加速器排名.; Restaurantworkerscf.org; Rocunited.org; Theokraproject.com; Black Urban Growers http://www.blackurbangrowers.org, PlantingJustice.org; Black Dirt Farm Collective <http://www.facebook.com/blackdirtfarmcollective/>; Farmworkerjustice.org; and Twenty Food Podcasts by Black Women <http://soulphoodie.com/2023/05/27/20-food-podcasts-by-black-women/>
6. We will publish and share a link to an ongoing updated national list of black-owned farm and food businesses and commit to supporting as many as possible when we host in-person events: http://docs.google.com/document/d/19uM-DEU7urJp9_150AZvbI0frgP9VfvN_8NCdwn-t6Y/edit?mc_cid=69baaadeea&mc_eid=22c1318fd6

-The Board of the Association for the Study of Food and Society

June 18, 2023

The Graduate Association for Food Studies

As of January 1, 2017, the Graduate Association for Food Studies (GAFS) is now the student caucus of the ASFS! All ASFS members who are students will automatically be part of the student caucus. For more information on the GAFS, please visit their website.