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Abstract

My research addresses colonization and decolonization in the food system because I want to learn how food movements challenge or perpetuate colonial discourses and material practices. My hope is that readers will come to understand the effects of colonialism so that alternative food movements can become spaces and places of critical reflection, decolonization and renewed relationship. In order to address the problem of colonialism in the food system I answer two research questions: How have food movements, as explained in academic literature, addressed or ignored colonialism in the food system? And, how do settler expressions of food movements in North America engage decolonization in practice? I provide background to my questions by reviewing the connections between the colonization of North America, agriculture, and food movements, and by outlining a methodology and method of decolonization. To answer my first question I examine the goals, engagements and critiques of the food justice and food sovereignty movements as they pertain to colonization and decolonization. My second question is answered by examining the publically available documents of the BC Food Systems Network as an example of how settlers are beginning to engage decolonization in practice. I argue that as settlers working to create equitable and sustainable food systems we must recognize complicity in colonialism, engage Indigenous perspectives and narratives, and work to support Indigenous communities seeking Indigenous food sovereignty and self-determination. To do so requires creating alliances based on learning about our differences from and with each other, and embracing settler discomfort as a motivation for change.

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