More than once, I have been in situations where I have looked at the myriad problems in the world, from the consumption of animals to the treatment of workers and how in general more importance is placed on property and wealth than on life.

I have wondered how we got here and if it is possible to undo some of these issues. When I would start pulling on these threads I would see how connected everything is, so we have to look beyond the US and to the world as a whole.

Last year, the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, gave an incredibly powerful speech in which she called for a “reset.”

Although the United Nations has a negative reputation, its headquarters in New York City is a place where many from the Global South have a platform to speak their truths and, more often than not, many speak on behalf of the most vulnerable, including those from other countries.

I was really fascinated by the power of what Prime Minister Mottley was advocating for and whom and wondered, why has something like this never happened before? And can we do this? What would it be like for the Global South to have an equal voice especially on some issues that are impacting everyone from climate change to poverty?

She went on to say…

Why did this impact me so much?

It was such a fantastic concept and one that could have a huge impact on the lives of so many! So original and a way of looking at how we can work together for a better world. It helped to remind me that we have the ability to create change by thinking differently than we have before – again, looking beyond ourselves at a way we can advocate for one another, especially the most vulnerable.

To think in different ways is to think in ways that might seem impossible, but as the head of an organization, company, etc., you have the ability to make it happen. To imagine another world is possible (I attribute this saying to the World Social Forum I attended in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2006).

We need leaders of every form and those who are in positions of power to take a leap, to take a stand for something – for justice and compassion for all (leaving no one behind).

Demand more of leaders – whether that be heads of government, corporations, or non-profit organizations.

Make sure they can hear you.

At a time when most of us are feeling helpless about all of the destruction being created by humans due to the election results from last November or the impact of the climate crisis, food is still an area where we have tremendous power. 

I have always seen food as a tool for social change—that is why I founded Food Empowerment Project (F.E.P.).

I launched F.E.P. in 2007 when I had a full-time job at another nonprofit. I am very grateful that so many people helped me to start F.E.P. A friend who co-founded Dandies (a vegan marshmallow company) bought me a book on how to create an NGO from scratch. One of the suggestions was about the URL for the website and that it should represent what the organization is about, which is why I chose FoodIsPower. I truly believe it is.

When I got involved in activism, I was introduced to a book called Shopping for a Better World (I got my own copy in 1989!). The book taught me that I could oppose the apartheid regime by learning about certain companies’ statuses on animal testing, the environment, and more. As a teenager opposed to war, the death penalty, and apartheid, I didn’t feel I had much power. But this book allowed me the ability to protest these abuses with my food choices.

In fact, that is the main reason I went vegan (and I do include cosmetic testing, wearing animal products, etc.), as I love animals and that was the best way to remove myself from the cruelty inflicted upon them.

I could say that I was doing something to stop baby chicks from having the tips of their beaks cut off and mama and baby cows from being separated for the dairy industry. I could look at myself and know I was trying to live a life doing the least harm. I could promote kindness that included everyone and not decide some were more worthy of my compassion than others.

And now as I enter my 37th year of being vegan, I am grateful for all of the horrific animal cruelty I have not directly contributed to. 

I love devouring information about social justice movements and revolutions around the globe no matter what time period. Eventually, I began grasping at the idea of how much power food has. That is why during these times, I am hopeful that people will take this opportunity to relish the ability to have some power.

In a very tiny nutshell, here are some ways that food choices contributed to change. I want to make sure everyone keeps in mind the power we have with our food choices:

Sugar Boycott* – In the 1790s, as a way to speak out against the enslavement of people and the English government’s support of it, people in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England boycotted sugar. The majority were women who did not have the right to vote, but instead used this as a way to make their voices  heard. This effort, started by the Quakers, was incredibly effective by significantly dropping sugar sales. It also allowed abolitionists the ability to speak in opposition to it in Parlament showing the public would support the end of slavery.

A way that food was used without voting that spoke volumes.

Slavery was legally abolished in 1807 in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England and later in the U.S. in 1865.

Grape Boycott – In 1965, Filipino farm workers, led by Larry Itliong, started a strike against grape growers in Delano, California, to demand an increase in pay.

In December of that year, a formal boycott of grapes was called and eventually joined by what would become the United Farm Workers union, started by Cesar Chavez (who later became a vegan) and notable farm worker activist Dolores Huerta. Activists and customers around the country participated in the boycott and held pickets in front of grocery stores. 

The boycott was successful in getting union contracts for table grape growers that included better pay and protections.

As you know, farm worker rights have yet to be accomplished, but I highlight this as a transformative effort that brought critical protections to farm workers.

Anti-Apartheid boycott of foods/drinks — In 1959, a boycott was called on all South African products that supported the apartheid government. In the 1980s, a boycott was called of Coca-Cola and their investment in South Africa by the American Friends Service Committee.

The regime fell in 1994.

Coors Boycott (1970s) – The beer company had a history of discriminatory and homophobic hiring practices, but a series of campaigns nationwide helped overturn these practices. One of these was a boycott started in the Bay Area by queer activists and supported by LGBT community organizer Harvey Milk, who later became the first publicly gay elected official in the United States. Advocacy groups like Bay Area Gay Liberation convinced local bar owners to stop selling Coors beer. Demonstrations against Coors became so aligned with the gay rights movement that pride events were often filled with signs protesting the company right beside folks speaking out against racism, sexism, and other injustices. The boycott led to a 90 percent reduction in sales of Coors beer throughout the region.

Personally, I think boycotts for worker rights should only be followed and led by the workers, as boycotts should never be taken lightly. I have achieved some changes without ever needing to call a boycott.

As you can see, many of these took consistent pressure, determination, hope, creativity, and patience.  

They didn’t happen in a vacuum. And it wasn’t just a matter of one person; it was lots of individuals using their collective voices, as we must unite with all the power that we have to demand a better way of life for all.

One of the most beautiful, powerful, and positive ways in which food has created a legacy of inspiration is the Free Breakfast Program launched by the Black Panther Party in 1969. I wrote about it a number of years ago, and it continues to  show how beautifully we can support one another and how community helps community.

Even when they were being vilified by the government, the Black Panther Party provided for the community by providing free breakfasts for kids before they went to school. They knew that food served as a powerful tool to ensure that their students did well in school and reminded the students that they were important. Again, the government was so threatened by their work that it created its own free breakfast program. 

Clearly, there are numerous issues that cannot be impacted by our food choices; however, our food choices do have an impact.

When you are feeling powerless, why not take the power that you have and use it to represent the world you want to see—of empathy, compassion, and promotion of kindness and justice?

For those of us with privilege who eat more than once a day, why not take a stand with one another? We have the power.

*Boycott is a term coined by the Irish during the Irish Land War against an English Land “owner,” Charles Boycott.  The 1916 Rising for Irish Independence in Dublin is also a source of great inspiration, as are the writings of and about Steve Biko in South Africa.

Some might think that an organization like Food Empowerment Project (F.E.P.) would be applauding the creation of lab-grown chocolate as it would not only be better for the environment but also would not (as far as we know) involve enslaved adults or children. Since its inception 18 years ago, F.E.P. has worked to inform people about the atrocities taking place in the chocolate industry. It led us to create our Chocolate List and free app to help consumers who want to eat their ethics and not support slavery or child labor. And, of course, because F.E.P. is a vegan organization, each company on the list has to make at least one vegan chocolate.

When I look at lab-grown chocolate as being a “solution,” I find it really heartbreaking for so many reasons.

For starters, that means companies are putting time, money, and other resources into a test tube solution instead of a human one. Instead of giving the farmers a living income and tools they need to succeed and treat them with the dignity they deserve, companies look to science to solve this injustice.

Instead of working toward a way to grow cacao that is in harmony with nature, they go to the laboratory.

Of course, the reality is if this succeeds, it will cost the livelihoods of the farmers who have harvested cacao for decades—especially in Western Africa, where the majority of cacao comes from—as well as Latin American farmers, who have been doing it for thousands of years.

This is a bypass from learning, growing, and protecting workers and the land. This isn’t a solution; it’s a cop out rather than doing the right thing. 

As always, the responsibility of this short-sightedness lies with the corporations, as they will always be more interested in pleasing their shareholders than being good caretakers of the Earth or benevolent toward those they share the planet with.

Where are the scientists who are working to create kindness and empathy in a lab?

For my reference:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/soaring-cocoa-prices-force-oreo-cookies-cadbury-and-other-chocolate-giants-into-extraordinary-move/ar-AA1wRkQB?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=7ce06f6bbd994510b4f0d5ec6d9650f5&ei=24