Spaces Between Theory and Praxis: Exploring Action and Actors in Toronto’S Food Justice Movement
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Spaces Between Theory and Praxis: Exploring Action and Actors in Toronto’s Food Justice Movement By Maya Fromstein A thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography Guelph, Ontario, Canada © Maya Fromstein, May, 2017 ABSTRACT Spaces Between Theory and Praxis: Exploring Action and Actors in a Movement Maya Fromstein Advisor: University of Guelph, 2017 Dr. John Smithers The Food Justice Movement has positioned itself as a response to the Alternative Food Movement’s alleged failure to address systemic injustices characterizing the conventional food system. Despite being rooted in a theory of justice and equity, there is uncertainty as to what the movement stands for, and how goals, values, and meanings can be translated into practice (Slocum & Cadieux, 2015; Slocum, et. al., 2016). Guided by a conceptual framework, this research combines content analysis of published materials and the distillation of semi-structured interviews with 21 representatives from 16 organizations to investigate programs, perceptions, and possibilities in the evolving Toronto food justice landscape. The study characterizes features of these organizations; explores individuals’ understandings of food justice; and makes connections between individual and systemic influences on their work. Employing prefigurative politics and emotional geographies, this study unpacks tacit theories within food justice literature that may expand the spaces food justice occupies. iii Acknowledgements I did not write this thesis alone. There are so many people to whom I owe endless thanks, hugs, and probably a drink or two for all the support, wisdom, laughter, and love they have given me that went into shaping this final product. I can never thank you all properly, but I will do my best here. I would like to begin by expressing gratitude to the participants who shared with me their excitement, dedication, and passion for their work, and entrusted me with the responsibility to retell it here. Thank you. To my advisor, John, thank you for your enthusiasm and support throughout this project. I am grateful for your patient responses to chaotic emails, unending belief that it’s ‘just straight shooting from here,’ and seeing the finish line when I did not. I also owe gratitude to my two committee members, Kate and Belinda. Thank you for always seeing the potential in my work, and providing much appreciated encouragement and critical insight as you helped me realize it. Thank you, Roberta, for your thoughtful questions and feedback that made my work stronger. Thank you to my parents for always modeling the values of education, hard work, compassion, and animal youtube videos (in no particular order). My accomplishments are yours to share. Thank you to my brother for your humour and love. To Tyler, thank you for being my rock throughout this whole shpiel. Thanks for sticking with me through it all, and still being there after it all. To the best Hutt family a girl could ask for, how lucky was I to meet all of you (so lucky!). My research and life are much richer for it. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Special love and thanks to Olive, Sarah, Carly, Trudi, and Kelly for giving me ladies to look up to, and believing the same of me. Thank you. iv Table of Contents ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ vi List of Boxes .............................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables .............................................................................................................................. vi Chapter One Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Locating Food through a Justice Lens................................................................................... 1 1.2 Geographic Context: Food insecurity within Canada ........................................................... 1 1.3 Research Gap......................................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Research Aims and Objectives .............................................................................................. 3 Chapter 2 Literature Review ........................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Critiques of the Alternative Food Movement ....................................................................... 5 2.2 An Anatomy of Food Justice ................................................................................................. 8 2.2.1 Historically and Conceptually Bordering Movements ................................................... 8 2.2.2 Features of Food Justice ............................................................................................... 13 2.3 “Doing” Food Justice .......................................................................................................... 14 2.3.1 Branches of Food Justice Work .................................................................................... 14 2.3.2 Food Justice Processes.................................................................................................. 16 2.4 Conclusion and Research Gap............................................................................................. 18 2.5 Conceptual Framework of a Food Justice Organization ..................................................... 20 Chapter 3 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 23 3.1 Research Approach ............................................................................................................. 23 3.2 Positionality ......................................................................................................................... 26 3.3 Study Area ........................................................................................................................... 28 3.4 Sampling Strategy and Sample Profiles .............................................................................. 31 3.5 Analytic Approach .............................................................................................................. 36 Chapter 4 Characterizing Food Justice Initiatives in Toronto ...................................................... 37 4.1 Medium for Food Justice Work: Space and Scale .............................................................. 38 4.1.1 Spaces of Food Justice .................................................................................................. 38 4.1.2 Scales of Food Justice................................................................................................... 40 4.2 Implementations of Food Justice: Programs and policies ................................................... 43 4.2.1 Programmatic Underlying Objectives .......................................................................... 43 v 4.2.2 Policies.......................................................................................................................... 45 4.3 Understandings of Food Justice and Motivations for Engagement: Structure and Mandate ................................................................................................................................................... 48 4.3.1 Missions and founding principles: ................................................................................ 48 4.3.2 Conveyed use and interpretation of ‘food justice’........................................................ 54 4.3.3 Types of organizations .................................................................................................. 56 4.4 Pathways for Food Justice Work: Nature of Engagement .................................................. 57 4.5 Linkages and networks ........................................................................................................ 58 4.6 Summary ............................................................................................................................. 60 Chapter 5 Means and Meanings of Food Justice .......................................................................... 63 5.1 Understandings of Food Justice .......................................................................................... 63 5.1.1 Understanding Food Justice as Societal State .............................................................. 63 5.1.2 Understanding Food Justice as a Tool .......................................................................... 71 5.2 Experiences of Food Justice ................................................................................................ 73 5.2.1 Conditions for Success ................................................................................................. 73 5.2.2: Perceived Obstacles for Food Justice Work(ers)