As we made our way to one of the underground rooms at Union Station and found seats in the crowded area, I waited for the start of this workshop with anticipation. Food Heals was a panel of distinguished members of the Slow Food community, all offering different perspectives on the topic at hand. They started us off with a documentary by Lara Lee, that focused on the transformation of AK47s into gun guitars. One of the panelists had a similar idea; melting guns into shovels. These shovels would then be used to plant trees; specifically fruit orchards that would produce food in the future for the surrounding community. Since humanity and the food system is broken, Kyle stressed the importance of addressing these issues via moral change and the other spiritual aspects of change.
Another panelist started off by stating that trauma lives on in us on a molecular level and that we should honor the indigenous lands we grow food on (specifically by recognizing and stating the indigenous names for these lands). She also discussed how working with food is associated with the idea of enslavement, so we need to focus on healing our relationship with the land.
Environmental racism exists in the fact that marginalized communities are feeling the worst effects of climate change so far; it is important to think about how we can disrupt these patterns of oppression by changing the community and taking action ourselves.
Kevin, another member of the panel, discussed how he exposed people to some truths about food and enslaved people by cooking at a remake of a historical (almost) post-slavery dinner. He was able to recreate and reconcile that time and space in order to show participants a blip in time and the importance of historical dinners. Food essentially nurtures principles of social justice.
They ended with some final notes including that we should ‘compost our grief” and maintain patience during this long struggle was face ahead of us.