Confronting Entrenched Viewpoints to Overcome Polarity and Prompt Social Change in the Food System

Abstract

First paragraphs: In a year defined by political turmoil and policy surprises, food justice activists are emerging from a new phase of strategic visioning for broader growth and deeper impact. The recent political shift at the federal level (and its exposure of latent, persistent cultural and political polarization) has catapulted food systems strategizing into a new mode of thinking—thinking that probes more existential, root-cause issues. My inbox has been filled with indications of the food movement’s soul searching, with such questions as: “How can we shift what’s politically feasible and get at deeper root-cause issues?”; “How can we mobilize more young people than ever before into the fight for food justice and broader resistance?”; and “How can we help massively shift consciousness in urban and rural communities around issues of corporate control and white supremacy in our food system?” (H. Weinronk, Real Food Challenge, personal communication, May 23, 2017). Laura Titzer’s timely handbook, No Table Too Small: Engaging in the Art and Attitude of Social Change, may not have all the answers to these big ques­tions, but it provides tools for digging deeper into critical issues, bridging divisions across sociocul­tural and political groups, and co-creating a vision for a broader, more inclusive food movement....

Keywords

• Social Change
• Food Justice
• Group Facilitation
• Systems Thinking