Food and Social Injustices’ Impact on Climate Change
This week’s post is a bit of a heavy hitter. As you can see, there are three very prevalent issues mentioned in this title. They are all so big on their own and are SO very much interconnected.
It’s said that you vote with your dollar and I think it is true, but did you know you can also vote with your food choices? In my opinion, there needs to be better awareness of the correlation of these issues; an understanding that in order to fix the climate crisis we need to simultaneously fix socio-economic injustices. Continue reading to learn more about these injustices, who they affect, and how they impact climate change.
Food insecurity
We all LOVE food, am I right? Not only do we need it to survive, but humans use food as an expression of cultural identity, artistry, wellness, community, and connection.
While these are all wonderful things — there are some not so pretty truths about food accessibility you should be aware of. For starters…
What is food insecurity?
noun
the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. "more than 800 million people live every day with hunger or food insecurity as their constant companion"
This can be presented as delayed, or disruption of food intake due to one or more of the following reasons: income, inaccessibility, education, employment, or disability. Those who experience food insecurity often have to choose between food and other necessities.
Food insecurity leads to health problems. We know that veggies and fruits are the way to a healthier lifestyle. It is good to try to stay healthy, by eating plant-centric but we are all aware that it can be hard (and expensive!). Especially for marginalized and underdeveloped communities where they are either not accessible or too expensive.
Food insecurity takes a very big toll on the physical and mental health of many, engendering significant costs to the health care system. The way I look at eating mostly veggies and fruits is: I am making society a service by not needing to see a doctor, by not needing to buy pills, or ending up in a hospital but I recognize my privilege.
Here is some information on food insecurity you should know.
Who is MOST affected by food insecurity?
Marginalized, minority, and ethnic communities
Seniors
Households with children
1. Marginalized, minority, and ethnic communities
It is so odd to me how in some parts of the world people overconsume meat, dairy, and eggs and in other parts, over 25,000 people die every day from hunger-related diseases every day.
In the study “Disparities in food insecurity at the intersection of race and sexual orientation”, the facts presented validated the correlation of food insecurity and marginalize minority and ethnic communities such as non-Hispanic Black adults (Nam et al., 2015).
In 2018, 21.2% of non-Hispanic Black households were food insecure and 9.1% were severely food insecure (vs. 8.1% and 3.1% of non-Hispanic White households, respectively) (Coleman-Jensen et al., 2019a). Although food insecurity is lowering for many communities, there remains a gap where 14.2% more Black households than White households, continue to experience food insecurity (McDonough et al., 2019).
2. Seniors
Poverty and food insecurity have been linked to poor health and morbidity, especially in older adults. Thankfully here in Canada, the risk of food insecurity for seniors is cut by half when they become eligible for the social support services: Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement. Unfortunately, that doesn’t translate across the rest of the world… especially in light of the recent (and continuing) pandemic.
On average, the Food Research and Action Centre reports 1 in 5 food-insecure households include an older adult ≥ 65 years old. Aging populations across the world suffering from malnourishment combined with compromising disease can accelerate the risk of premature mortality. As Meals on Wheels America describes it, “older adults cope with food insecurity in ways that adversely affect their nutrient intake, health, and ability to remain at home.” (Lloyd, J. L. (2016)
3. Households with children
It’s a harsh reality that there are plenty of children here in Canada and around the world who go hungry daily. According to Statistics Canada, food insecurity affects one in six (total of 1.15 million) children under the age of eighteen. That number has been on the rise since 2007.
Despite the current social programs and aid in this country, household insecurity is strongly linked to poverty. The simple answer is that families working low-wage jobs simply can’t earn enough to put good food on the table. It’s a broken system, that has a waterfall effect on other socio-economic and climate issues that hold us back from living truly sustainably. You can read my definition of sustainability here.
What can you do?
Advocate for those in need
Reduce your own consumption
Inform yourself and others on the matter
Donate to food banks and shelters
Food security will exist “when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”
Social injustice
What is social injustice?
Social justice happens when human rights are respected; on the contrary, social injustice occurs in situations where equals are treated unequally — trampling on the rights of select groups based on arbitrary biases. Not only is this cruel and hateful, these ridged attitudes towards others impact our society’s ability for flexible thinking and the evolution of more inclusive practices. Which as we have all witnessed in politics over the last few years, can be detrimental to helping climate change.
Who is affected by social injustice?
Marginalized, minority, and ethnic communities
Immigrants
Children
Women
Social injustice for marginalized, minority, and ethnic communities
Did you know that most of the time, companies and farms do “money business” in the low-income communities of colour and poor neighborhoods?
What I mean is that sometimes farms choose to locate their factory farms in low-income communities. It is easier as economic and racial class influences “power” in our capitalistic society. These production facilities lead to low-wage jobs, lower property value, exposure to toxic fumes, and an overall negative effect on the community’s lives and health. Marginalized areas can fall victim to further health complications, develop asthma, cancers, food-related illnesses, and in some cases provoke birth defects. All for the greater wealth of higher status, more socially acceptable individuals.
Another social injustice food provokes is among immigrants
Slaughterhouses and restaurants usually hire immigrants for demanding jobs and don't offer much for their safety.
From doing repetitive moves for a long period of time to working in unsanitary conditions, immigrants can develop chronic pains from such efforts.
Let's not talk about the psychological impact this work has on an individual. I know immigrants who were basically overworked to the point of exhaustion and taken advantage of because they wanted to be part of that country. Also, who wants to watch animals being killed and skinned every day. NOBODY. That's why companies take advantage of immigrants, especially if they are undocumented.
Social injustice for Children
Another demographic affected by social injustice caused by food is children in poor countries. You will think twice before buying chocolate and cocoa. In Africa, children are exploited and asked to work crazy hours in hazardous conditions to pick up cocoa. The children are paid $1 per day and they are exposed to hard labour, pesticides, sharp tools, and had weather conditions, while not wearing any protective equipment.
Social injustice for women
From women not being able to go to school because of poverty, violence, and marriage to being paid less, injustice for women is still a thing even today. UN Women identifies six major issues of women’s inequality of today as:
Violence against women and girls
Gender Pay Gap
Digital Gender Divide
Informal Work and Instability
Period Poverty and Stigma
Underrepresentation as Leaders
What can you do?
Advocate for those in need
Support other women
Learn how to avoid food waste
Volunteer your time
Eat local food that can actually be grown in your area.
Climate Emergency
Here we are at the bridge of this post — how the food and social injustices’ listed above affect climate changes, and more specifically our current climate emergency.
What actually is a climate emergency?
noun
a situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it. "millions of people around the world took part in protests against inaction on the climate emergency"
97 percent of scientists agree that global warming is happening and that human activity is the primary cause. Scientists agree that global warming is caused mainly by human activity.
Relevant human contributions:
Oil Use — burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas
Foreign Trade Pollution — namely the food we eat
Social Economic Injustice — capitalism, consumerism, and classism
The World Health Organization drafted a discussion titled “The Social Dimensions of Climate Change” in the writing there is a multitude of great research and rationale behind the correlation of social policy changes and the climate crisis.
Transformative social policy that addresses aspects of redistribution, enhances productive capacity and social cohesion, and reshapes institutions in line with the principles of good governance, equity and empowerment can significantly reduce vulnerability to climate change.
Basically, in order to save the planet, we also need to band together to save one another. The solutions are one in the same. Developing better social infrastructure and eliminating poverty is proven as an effective rights-based strategy to approach and ultimately reverse the dire effects humans have had on the planet.
Try starting to look at your own social constructs, values, and belief systems that could by proxy be contributing to harmful practices of food and social injustices. Food for thought.
Until next week,
— Claudia