On this edition of Your Call One Planet Series, Professor Andrea Freeman discusses her new book, Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: America’s Politics of Food, from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch.
Professor Freeman traces US food policy from colonization and slavery to the Americanization of immigrant food cultures, the commodities supplied to Native reservations, and the long-standing alliance between government and the food industry.
She writes, "Since its earliest days, the United States has used food as a tool of social and ideological control. From colonization, enslavement, and mass immigration to the corporate capture of government, food law and policy have furthered political and economic goals instead of meeting people’s needs. This link between food and oppression is invisible to most people even though government officials and corporate representatives determine almost every aspect of food consumption. Their decisions shape the quality of our lives and reflect the racism and classism that stratify our society."
Guest:
Andrea Freeman, professor of law at Southwestern Law School, and author of Ruin Their Crops on the Ground: The Politics of Food in the United States from the Trail of Tears to School Lunch
Resources:
The Conversation: Frybread: Comfort food or colonial byproduct?
The Guardian: Orange, edible and in a block: a short history of US ‘guv’ment’ cheese
Grist: The climate contradictions in MAHA’s new food pyramid
The New York Times: Trump Signs Bill Allowing Schools to Serve Whole Milk Again
The Guardian: Some experts say the new US dietary guidelines have ‘conflicting messaging’. Here’s who will be affected most
