What right to food? The absence of food justice in Johannesburg

The Society, Work and Politics Institute (SWOP) will host this breakfast seminar by Brittany Kesselman, a postdoctoral research fellow at SWOP.

Her research is on food sovereignty, food justice and decolonising the food system. This seminar examines the current unhealthy, unjust and unsustainable South African food system and looks to decolonisation as a pathway to transform it. Despite the right to food being included in the constitution, it is largely unknown amongst South Africans and has not been a site of mobilisation in the same way as other socio-economic rights, such as water, education or housing. The combined effects of colonialism, apartheid and industrialisation have normalised the current system to such an extent that it is rarely challenged, despite the fact that it generates high levels of food insecurity, malnutrition, non-communicable diseases and environmental devastation. Drawing on research conducted with urban farmers and unemployed consumers in Johannesburg, the seminar will highlight the importance of decolonial, feminist research methods in challenging the existing food system and highlighting alternatives. Finally, the seminar will consider what decolonisation of the food system entails, and how it might contribute to better health, social justice and ecological sustainability.

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