How Faith Communities Are Involved in Food Systems Work
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The Practitioner Landscape: How Faith Communities Are Involved in Food Systems Work April 2021 Bridging to Better Policy Food & Faith - 1 This report was prepared by the Duke World Food Policy Center. Table of Contents Authors 4 Glossary 7 Executive Summary Alexandra Treyz, Emma Lietz Bilecky, Sarah 11 Introduction & Methods Zoubek, Deborah Hill, Jennifer Zuckerman 12 Academic Research Has Not Kept Pace With Faith-guided Food Practices Corresponding Author 13 Food and Agriculture Have Common Theological Grounding Across Faith Jennifer Zuckerman Traditions [email protected] 16 The Landscape of Practitioners is Highly Multi-sector and Goes Beyond Traditional Faith-based Institutions World Food Policy Center 18 Food Assistance from Faith Communities Functions as a Second Social The World Food Policy Center is a research, Safety Net education, and convening organization within 18 Emergency Food Assistance and Communities of Faith Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy. Its mission is to advance connected 20 Expanding the Practitioner Toolkit from Charitable Approaches to Justice-based and inclusive food system policy and practice Approaches in support of equity and resilience of local and 20 Addressing the Root Causes of Unjust Food Systems global food systems. WFPC work centers on 22 The Landscape of Food and Faith Justice-based Interventions economic development through food justice; root causes and narratives of racial inequity 22 Health Justice Interventions: Chronic Hunger and Diet-related in the food system; moving aid from charity Disease to capacity building; governance in support of 25 Economic Justice Interventions: Economic Opportunity and Food equity in power and benefit; local food system Sovereignty analysis; and public health and nutrition. The 28 Land Justice Interventions: Access, Preservation, and Healing conclusions and recommendations of any World Connection Food Policy publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the 31 Barriers to Success in Food & Faith Work Duke University or its other scholars. 32 Recommendations & Conclusion Acknowledgments A heartfelt thank you to the many faith practitioners who lent their time in interviews and focus groups for this report. Christopher 34 Appendix A: Expanded Commentary - Food & Faith Themes Across Faith Traditions Carter, Aaron Gross, Zahara Jamal, Darriel 37 Appendix B: Works Cited Harris, Adae Romero-Briones, and Norman 46 Appendix C: Interview Guides Wirzba each graciously reviewed this report and provided valuable feedback in its revision. 14 Table 1: Food Themes with Examples Across Multiple Faith Traditions 17 Table 2: Entities at work in the food and faith space Benjamin Wirzba and Emma Lietz Bilecky also 21 Table 3: Comparing charitable faith work to justice-based work contributed research support. 2 - The Practitioner Landscape Food & Faith - 3 Glossary In Islam, the Quranic term for justice or divine justice, referring to a balanced, or just A term coined by food justice activist Karen Washington, it requires we take into ‘Adl [Arabic] approach, to all things for which one is held accountable on the Day of Judgment. account the systemic racism permeating America’s food system when considering Food apartheid a location’s food environment. The term “food desert” takes into account only the Al musharakah “The law of sharing,” which mandates that Muslim farmers share food they grow, presence and location of food stores/healthy food access in an area, as opposed to [Arabic] cost-free, with those who cannot afford to buy it. the systems and policies that disadvantaged BIPOC communities. Quranic term for ‘trusteeship’ or ‘guardianship’ referring to the obligation of Muslims to Food justice aims to “institutionalize equity in and control over the food system” and Amanah (pl. behave justly with that which has been entrusted to them by God (e.g. all of creation, requires “a transformation of the current food system, including but not limited to amanat) [Arabic] including land, animals, body/mind/soul, community, time, knowledge, etc.) or by eliminating disparities and inequities”. The food justice movement is rooted in social others (e.g. secrets, promises, financial responsibility, rulership). justice and arose from a failure of dominant food movements to address social justice BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, People of Color. BIPOC recognizes that Black, issues in the food system (Cadieux and Slocum 2015). This movement also overlaps Black, Food justice Indigenous and people of color are severely impacted by systemic racial injustices in with the community food security movement, but is more progressive. Food justice Indigenous, and the US. It calls out Black and Indigenous peoples specifically as a way of recognizing aims to address the ways low-income communities of color are negatively impacted people of color their different experience under colonialism than other peoples within the US (via by the industrial food system. Specifically, food justice frames its conversation on (BIPOC) chattel slavery and conflict-related violence). food security in the “context of institutional racism, racial formation, and racialized geographies” and works to confront and address structural racism in the food system A relationship with God’s creation and a ministry of caring for and healing the earth. Creation care (Holt-Giménez and Wang 2011). Creation care is a form of faith-based environmentalism. Food A food production and/or distribution enterprise organized, owned, and managed “Leverage community residents’ expertise and resources, as an alternative to cooperatives collectively amongst members as opposed to privately or publicly. Community- ‘community-based’ organizations that can marginalize community voice, limit capacity rooted building, and neglect the underlying causes of community conditions” (Smith et al. A community’s right to healthy, culturally appropriate food produced sustainably, the 2020). Food sovereignty power of self-determination, and the ability to decide what to grow and how to grow it (Alkon and Agyeman 2011). Equitable As defined by the EFOD Collaborative, “a model that dismantles the social and Food-Oriented One of the most broadly accepted definitions is from the World Food Summit in financial systems that perpetuate poverty, racism, and poor health that prevent the Development 1996, defined as having “physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, development of local and inclusive food economies.” (EFOD Collaborative, 2019) (EFOD) and nutritious food that meets food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy lifestyle”. Food security is typically measured via a number of indicators within Initiatives whose mission, vision, and values are explicitly framed by theological, Food security Faith-based the categories of availability, access, utilization, and stability. Several scales or tools ethical, or spiritual beliefs. are used to assess the severity of food security for an individual. The FAO uses the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, utilizing a spectrum from food secure/mild food Initiatives taking place on the grounds of a faith community or faith-based insecurity, to moderate food insecurity, to severe food insecurity (the last category Faith-placed organization, but whose mission, vision, and values are not explicitly framed by indicative of no food for a day or more). theological, ethical, or spiritual beliefs. The ecosystem of relationships responsible for the food we eat, including its Initiatives whose mission, vision, and values are framed explicitly by theological, Faith-based and production, processing, packaging, transportation, distribution, consumption, food ethical, or spiritual beliefs; initiatives take place on the grounds of a faith community/ Food system faith-placed law, economics and policy. Food systems promote individual, community, and faith-based organization (D. Harris 2018). environmental health to varying degrees. Faith-based non- A 501©3 organization whose mission, values, and work are grounded in spiritual/ That which is permissible or lawful according to the Quran, this includes permissible profit religious beliefs and/or practices. Halal [Arabic] foods and food preparation methods. An individual whose mission, values, and work are grounded in spiritual/religious Faith-based For many Indigenous peoples in the US and their spirituality, this refers to “right beliefs and/or practices; may establish a non-profit or for-profit organization to house The Harmony Way practitioner living”, or living in balance and harmony with all creation. his or her work. [Hebrew] Jewish laws describing permissible foods and food preparation methods. The eating habits, culinary practices, and food-related economic practices of a Kashrut Foodways people, region, or historical period. In Islam, living in balance or in harmony with all creation; accountability for one’s Mizan [Arabic] earthly deeds measured against Quranic requirements occurs on the Day of Judgment. 4 - The Practitioner Landscape Food & Faith - 5 A Jewish law mandating that Jewish farmers leave the corners of their fields Pe’ah [Hebrew] Executive Summary unharvested so the hungry might take and eat what was grown, cost-free. People of faith, houses of worship, and faith-based nonprofit “Regenerative agriculture farming principles and practices increases biodiversity, institutions play a significant role in promoting the health and enriches soils, improves watersheds, and enhances ecosystem