IN CONVERSATION: FOOD & COLONIZATION

So... I have been working on something really special over the past few months & I am very excited to share that Bronx Eats has graciously asked me to virtually host a conversation on the intersections between food, colonialism & capitalism. These are areas and systems that I have been very passionate about for a long time.

Those who have been following me for a while know, I recently went back to school to receive a second B.A. in Africana / Puerto Rican Latin Studies; with a focus on deeply understanding the tremendous impacts of Colonialism and Slavery across the globe. Typically the conversation around colonialism and slavery follows the same tune of, “Get over it, it happened over 400 years ago”. However, as we all know, the systems of colonialism and slavery never went away. These systems were just transformed into what we now call Capitalism and Systematic Injustice; w/ no route (or plan) to any form of accountability or repair.

Over the past year, I have turned my focus towards how these systems have colonized us through our food. When I began studying these violent systems through the lens of food, I realized that one of the primary reasons White Europeans began to sail the Atlantic seas was to find direct routes to India for spices & other resources. However, they ended up on the opposite end of the world. Once they saw the extractive and land grabbing opportunities in the Americas, there was no turning back, at the horrendous expense of decimating Indigenous & African communities and Mother Earth. Fast forward to the 20th & 21st centuries… and we continue to see modern versions of colonizing lands & harming indigenous peoples for industrial (& toxic) farming and trade across the globe.

So… how do our current food systems / food ways connect to the origins of White European Colonialism & Slavery? And how do we go about finding possible (local & global) solutions to these outdated systems?

I think we can all agree that every human being on earth has a right to non-toxic, affordable, & healthy food. Is it possible to build sustainable communities rooted in food & land sovereignty for all?

Join us: Thurs. Nov. 18th @ 6:30pm EST! Link is below | FREE!

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This will be one of many conversations to come. I hope to see you all there.

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To learn more about Bronx Eats and their incredible work: https://www.bronxeats.org/about-us