Florida Food Forum - March's Topic:
Food is Not a Human Right: Issues in Food Democracy
Join us online from 12-1pm (EST) on Friday, March 26th, for the Florida Food Forum on "Food is Not a Human Right: Issues in Food Democracy." Will Schanbacher, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida and Lana Chehabeddine, Behavioral Research Lead with the nonprofit Ruminate, will present on this important topic. Following the presentation will be a discussion and Q&A session.
Description: Founded upon discrimination and exploitation, the US food system carries a legacy that upholds the notion that food is not a human right. Marginalized communities face a plethora of challenges to obtaining healthy and sustainably grown food, especially when considering the social constructs of race, class, and gender. These challenges and complete absence of food as a human right are felt through other generalized terms such as poverty and food insecurity—both of which are pointed out as social issues but never fully addressed and rectified.
It is the original and truest form of democracy that enables diverse individuals and belief systems to be present at the table and openly debate topics of concern whilst addressing social injustices. Yet, we do not have the pillars of democracy embedded in our food system. In fact, we have a system that thrives in a phrase simply put by bell hooks: “a white supremacist capitalist patriarchy”.
Several social movements have charged the ‘good food’ movement across the US, but have not fully embraced the idea of the right to food. In this forum, we discuss why this is the case, what steps are needed to get there, and how empathy may play a role in this process.
We will then delve into potential policies that tie these ideas together and the application of food democracy on a local level.
If you haven't registered yet, please do so using the link below. We hope to see you there!
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+1 941-306-1146 United States, Sarasota (Toll);
Conference ID: 842 038 980#
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Guest Presenter Information:
Will Schanbacher is Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at the University of South Florida. His research interests concentrate on religious and social ethics with a focus on the global food system and globalization and poverty. He is the author of The Human Right to Food: Combating Global Hunger and Forging a Path to Food Sovereignty (Prager, 2019), The Politics of Food: The Global Conflict between Food Security and Food Sovereignty(Praeger, 2010), an editor of The Global Food System: Issues and Solutions, Ed. (Praeger, 2014). He is currently working with local religious organizations on projects to build gardens in the Tampa area. His forthcoming book, “Food Insecurity: A Reference Handbook (ABC-CLIO, forthcoming, 2022) addresses the history of food insecurity in the United States. He is the director of the department’s Global Citizen Project and member of the steering committee for USF’s Urban Food Sovereignty Policy Group.
Lana Chehabeddine is currently a Behavioral Research Lead with Ruminate, a nonprofit innovation lab focused on leveraging behavioral science to inspire social change within the food system. Lana is a recent graduate from Oregon Health and Science University’s MSc program in Food Systems and Society, where she focused her thesis on the relationship between the nationwide empathy deficit and the tolerance for structural injustice within the US food system. Lana has a Bachelors in Exercise Physiology from the University of Miami, and a certification in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University. Her professional experiences involve marketing, research, and public health roles within both for-profit and non-profit sectors of the food industry. She is a Lebanese-American, plant-based home cook and artist, who aspires to tackle and shed light on large systemic issues and foster replicable solutions to help build a more equitable and empathetic society.
Forum Host: Dell deChant is the Associate Chair of the Religious Studies Department at the University of South Florida and a member of the Board of Directors at the Florida Food Policy Council.
The Florida Food Forum is a free event and a recording will be made available to the public after the webinar. To support our work, please consider becoming a member or making a donation.
For questions or more information, contact us at: info@flfpc.org.
Disclaimer: The views of the presenters do not represent the views of the Florida Food Policy Council. We are a forum for the offering and sharing of information and encourage diversity and communication within the food system.