From the CT Food System Alliance
People of Color are at Greater Risk of COVID-19. Systemic Racism in the Food System Plays a Role. - Civil Eats, May 5, 2020
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has found that African Americans account for 33 percent of COVID hospitalizations, largely because Black people have high rates of chronic health conditions—called comorbidities—that weaken the immune system and make them more vulnerable to the virus. But much less discussed is how food, class, and race have intersected in ways that perpetuate the health disparities and social inequities unfolding today. 'Outside of being Black, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension have been identified as the comorbidities that make coronavirus more deadly amongst anyone worldwide,' said Daphene Altema-Johnson, the food communities and public health program officer at John Hopkins University’s Center for a Livable Future. 'When you look at the United States, Blacks have higher rates of these chronic conditions and the reasons they have those comorbidities are … driven by poverty and by food insecurity.'" BLM funds/petitions/actionables - Changing Womxn Collective "We stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement & protestors/protectors across the country. To our Black community members: We hear you. We see you. We will fight with you. For non-Black folx, it is imperative to recognize and call out anti-Blackness in yourselves and your communities. Dismantling white supremacy begins with acknowledging your own implicit biases and choosing to act against the oppressor-- your silence is compliance with the structure of white supremacy."
changing womxn collective was founded by 19-year-old Diné (Nat’oh Dine’é Tachiini) poet Kinsale Hueston to create a digital space where womxn of color, especially Indigenous womxn, could share their art, writing, and stories on their own terms. Farming While Black - Sylvanaqua Farms, August 23, 2017 "Back in May, I was on the farm watering a group of pigs in a great big field of chickory. In one hand was a black plastic tube pouring water into a 100-gallon trough. In the other hand was my cellphone, which I was using to relieve the boredom of watching the muddy water rise around the pigs’ noses. I flipped through a newsfeed peppered with a half-dozen of the President’s daily outrages, eventually happening across an article titled something to the effect of 'Charlottesville Confronts Racism.'"
We don't farm because it's trendy; we farm as resistance, for healing and sovereignty - Environmental Health News, May 27, 2020
"For more than 150 years, from the rural South to northern cities, Black people have used farming to build self-determined communities and resist oppressive structures that tear them down.
Today, agriculture still serves an important role in the lives of Black people, which is why we see urban agriculture projects and programs in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Washington D.C. and other cities across the United States. In all of these cities, there are Black-led organizations cultivating food and land sovereignty by helping individuals and communities regain agency and ownership over their food system.
My journey in food and land work began long before I was born. My ancestors were enslaved Africans forced to farm under abhorrent conditions in South Carolina, Texas, and Georgia. In 2012, I started my first professional job working at a food justice and nutrition education non-profit in Philadelphia. I worked with youth from across West Philly to explore connections between food, agriculture, culture, sustainability, and leadership."
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** Any views described above do not necessarily reflect policy positions of the Connecticut Food System Alliance, and this space is instead intended to share current reporting, research, and public discourse on local, national, and global food and farm systems. **