Five practical strategies for those who work for food systems change

In 2021, I completed my Ph.D. dissertation research on Californian food movements (Roman-Alcalá, 2021b).[1] That participatory research process deepened my preexisting engagement in these movements as an organizer, urban farmer, policy advocate, educator, and writer. You can find the 400 pages of details online, but the main thrust of the research concerned how various subsectors of food movements describe and manifest “emancipatory” politics, and how they do and do not work across various lines of difference. Secondarily, it concerned how food movements oppose—but also potentially intersect with—resurgent right-wing politics. Converging across differences is an essential challenge and task in order to fundamentally transform the food system, push back right-wing gains, and achieve a broader emancipatory political agenda. In this short commentary, I offer some insights on these topics from the research and my over 18 years of involvement in emancipatory (food) politics. . . .