Using the Interconnections and Complexities of Food Systems to Teach About Human Diversity and White Privilege

Abstract

How can diversity courses at land-grant universities be shaped to better prepare the next generation of food systems practitioners, educators, and researchers? This is the question I approach in a discussion of the first undergraduate diversity requirement course in a college of agriculture focusing on domestic issues of race, gender, ethnicity, class, and equity in the development of U.S. food systems. I discuss the benefits I found of using food systems studies as a framework for learning about diversity by highlighting the interconnections among people through discussions of issues every student can appreciate: food and eating.

Keywords

• Diversity Training
• Food Systems
• Sustainable Agriculture
• Community Engagement
• Land-Grant Universities
• White Privilege