Food Policy Councils: Everyone Deserves an Equal Chance to be Heard

Hello everyone,

I would like to share an interesting journal article with you that I found concerning Food Policy Councils (FPCs). If you are interested in issues concerning food policy, I hope you will be able to find some time to read the article too! The author, Danielle M. Purifoy, does a decent job expanding on some problems that current FPCs should tackle. Her article, “Food Policy Councils: integrating food justice and environmental justice,” is admirable in the way Purifoy vividly demonstrates that social justice is interconnected with the food goals FPCs work to achieve. Her proposition rests on the idea that in order for FPCs to operate sufficiently, they must permit an extension of their food concerns to also include matters of environmental justice and food justice. Essentially, environmental justice, equity in how environmental benefits are distributed and environmental burdens are prevented for all communities, and food justice, equitable access and distribution of healthy and culturally appropriate food to all communities, should always be kept in mind when handling and discussing matters that are central to food policy. FPCs have the potential to do really well but only if the council members are willing to listen to and incorporate the concerns of minority groups and members of low-income communities in the decision-making process. Unfortunately, it is the minority groups and members of low-income communities that are often the most vulnerable to environmental and political mistreatment. To eliminate such vulnerability, it is crucial that all members within a FPC accept and appreciate the representation of a multitude of voices that come from different walks of life. The message we can take with us here is that the most successful FPCs will work to integrate all members of a community and ensure individuals from all walks of life are secured the right for equal representation.

Thanks for reading, everyone! 🙂 Below I will attach the citation for the article in case anyone is interested in reading it:

Purifoy, Danielle M. “Food policy councils: integrating food justice and environmental justice.” Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum Spring 2014: 375+. Academic OneFile. Web. 12 July 2015.

“I do not ask the wounded person how he feels, I myself become the wounded person.” -Walt Whitman