Politics of Food

The Politics of Food

• KINE 1000: Socio-Cultural Perspectives in Kinesiology

The Complexities of Food

• Food serves as a complex site of personal, social, political, and cultural meanings.

• Modern eaters face contradictions: if we are what we eat and how we eat, then who are we?

• There is an obsession with healthy eating, yet this has not necessarily improved health outcomes.

Gender and Dieting

• Restricted Diets among Women vs. Men:

  • Women's restricted diets often viewed as disordered eating.

  • Men's restricted diets are seen as performance-enhancing.

• Counting Calories: Ethical implications of calorie counting are debated.

• As dieting becomes female-coded, men may engage in biohacking, manipulating food for performance enhancement.

Contradictions Around Food

• Food serves multiple purposes: celebration, affection, comfort, yet it can also be policed or denied.

• Food Waste:

  • 60% of food produced in Canada is thrown away, with over 30% still edible (11.2 million tonnes).

  • Annually, $49.6 billion of food is wasted in Canada, leading to 56.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions.

Love Food Hate Waste

Wasted Food in Canadian Households

• Food Waste Breakdown:

  • 30% Vegetables

  • 15% Fruit

  • 20% Other (including snacks and staples)

  • 13% Leftovers

  • 9% Bakery

  • 6% Meat

  • 7% Dairy/Eggs

Choice vs Access

• Addressing affordability and access to organic food options, especially for families on tight budgets.

Normative Expectations of Good Mothering

• Cairns et al. (2013): Good mothering linked to providing safe and clean food, often through the lens of health and ethics.

• A focus on the organic child as the gold standard of good mothering is prevalent.

• Emotional Struggles:

  • Balancing societal expectations, perceptions, financial costs, and the physical and mental effort involved in food work.

Ethical Food Discourse

• Ethical eating constructs consumers as agents of change, particularly mothers, who feel responsible for their children’s health and the environment.

• There is a limitation on actual potential for transforming food systems when actions are confined to market-based solutions.

Food Security Definition

• According to the 1996 WHO World Food Summit, food security exists when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy life.

• This includes physical and economic access to food that meets dietary needs and preferences.

Hunger in Toronto

Daily Bread 2024 Who’s Hungry Report

• Total client visits to food banks: 3.49 million over the past year, marking a 273% increase since pre-pandemic.

• Over 10% of Toronto’s population relies on food banks, with a stark increase in new clients (36%).

• Demographics of Clients:

  • A significant percentage are children/youth and adults with disabilities.

  • Many clients are working or educated, and still face food insecurity.

Financial Strain

• Food is often sacrificed to cover fixed expenses, resulting in financial strain for clients reliant on social assistance.

• Many clients live in unaffordable housing; spending over 30% of their income on rent leads to high risks of homelessness.

Remaining Daily Budget

• After paying for essential living costs, clients have approximately $7.78 left for all other necessities.

Canada’s Food Guide

• Encourages a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and whole grains, promotes cooking at home, and emphasizes being mindful of eating habits.

• Stresses the importance of enjoying meals and eating with others.

Student Food Insecurity

• Growing food insecurity among students calls for innovative solutions beyond traditional food banks.

Sociological Imagination

• Evaluate options for accessing food: distance to grocery stores, availability of public transport, and proximity to convenience stores vs fast food.

Food Deserts

• Areas with poor access to affordable, healthy food, often impacting low socioeconomic status individuals who face mobility restrictions.

• Increased rates of reliance on higher-priced convenience stores lead to unhealthy food choices.

Food Swamps

• Suggests that the term "food desert" can be misleading as low-income neighborhoods often have an abundance of unhealthy options rather than a lack of food.

Municipal Development Strategies

• Must prioritize accessibility to healthy food, the importance of farmland preservation, and the impact of corporate control over food systems.

Community Initiatives

• Promote local food production through community gardens and urban agriculture efforts.

• Examples include community events and educational workshops.

Food Sovereignty

• The right to healthy, culturally appropriate food produced sustainably.

• Focuses on community control over food systems rather than corporate dominance.

Activism in Food Sovereignty

• Highlights Black Food Sovereignty Toronto and Indigenous Food Sovereignty as movements to counter food insecurity through community-led initiatives.

Food Justice

• Emphasizes addressing systemic power imbalances in food access and production.

• Urges consideration of historical factors like colonialism that affect current food systems.

Conclusion: Importance of Collective Health

• Reinforces the need for collective support for health beyond individual-focused approaches, spanning community well-being.