welcome to my food justice. 

this project was also made in an effort to combat sinophobia, or the fear or dislike of chinese people, which has been escalating in the united states since the onset of covid-19. the culture that i grew up with is beautiful and i wanted to share not only its beauty, but the ways that my culture intersects with environmentalism as well. 

click below to learn more about the intersections of organic farming and health outcomes in upstate new york. 

they now form part of the food sovereignty movement, aiming to increase access to producing, consuming, and preserving cultural ties to vegetables and fruits.

while little research exists on the qtbipoc community specifically, separate data shows that 19% of the lgbt population and 16% of the latinx community in washington d.c was experiencing food insecurity in 2019. meanwhile, the average cost of a meal was $4.09, almost a dollar above the national average. the pandemic has only perpetuated existing structural problems, and the qtbipoc community lacks access to resources like food banks. in addition, these communities often experience discrimination, housing insecurity, and malnutrition, affecting their access to produce and consume healthy foods. 

“it’s not that we didn’t exist. it’s that misgendering happens. the cycle of violence promoted in urban agricultural spaces is rampant. we were just mad, and i said let’s do something about it,” niaupari explained. 

plantita power addresses food insecurity by providing resources and knowledge to grow microgreens. these sustainable plants thrive in urban areas and have small production needs, making them accessible for individuals experiencing housing insecurity or fearing discrimination in community gardens.

however, niaupari and the plantita power team face obstacles like access to soil and space. but they are motivated to empower and alleviate the barriers their community endures, so they create innovative ways to distribute seedlings and grow their presence.

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editor’s note: this short film was produced as part of the planet forward-comcast nbcuniversal sustainable storytelling fellowship. 

i began this project when i traveled to the ithaca farmers market to learn more about farming in new york. there, i was able to connect with justin jordan, owner of jordan farms in southern new york. justin was very kind to teach me about the barriers and difficulties of farming that have stemmed from overwhelming industrial farming. through this project, i learned about some of the ways that small-scale farmers are financially disenfranchised.

this video is intended to be a transparent example of what it takes to transform a living animal into a cooked chicken breast. through this artistic production, we are able to acknowledge at least some of the complexity of chicken processing. although graphic, the scenes are surprisingly beautiful and shocking as we are exposed to the vivid colors and textures of slaughter. there is also an underlying theme of zero-waste, throughout the video we see various ways to use the entire bird. feet and all! 

on nov. 12, planet forward wrapped up the series with a conversation between scholars and storytellers: “champions of climate justice: where do we go from here?” the panel focused on the climate justice movement and how to report stories on sustainability that captures a range of diverse voices and perspectives. 

dr. imani cheers, award-winning digital storyteller and associate professor at gw’s school of media and public affairs, led the discussion. joining her in conversation were dr. lemir teron, associate professor at the planet forward pillar school suny-esf; matt scott from project drawdown; and lexi hernandez, planet 世界杯欧洲预选赛免费直播 and senior at pillar school chapman university. the panel shared tips, perspectives, and best practices on how to keep climate justice as a central part of how we adapt to a changing environment. you can watch the complete discussion above, or over on our youtube channel.

you can see the videos from other fall events on our salon page.

washington d.c. is one such city in the midst of a sustainable transformation. key to the story of d.c.’s food landscape is its legacy of racial oppression and segregation. today, wards 7 and 8 hold a concentrated population of low-income black residents experiencing food insecurity and challenges affording other basic necessities. other types of systemic inequity and oppression are co-contributors to food insecurity, such as a lack of affordable housing, disproportionate travel times for basic commuting and grocery store access, higher rates of unemployment, and less access to financial building resources. dr. sabine o’hara, program director at the university of dc’s causes, concluded that the city’s failure to move away from supply-side solutions has hindered substantive change in these areas, and must be something urban agriculture projects are attentive to as they develop plans for d.c in order to avoid perpetuating harmful systems.

amid increasing policy action supporting urban agriculture, local organizations are rising to specifically ensure that their black communities have access to healthy and fresh produce through innovative methods of farming. dmv urbangreens is a nonprofit production farm located in ward 7 which also runs a mobile planter pilot program in conjunction with dc urbangreens, another urban farm. these transportable planter boxes on wheels enable users to make use of small paved spaces and grow in otherwise impossible locations. their goal is to create a scalable growing model that eventually goes beyond the local community and allows more people to grow food.

for those living in areas without affordable fresh produce options, the opportunity to use the mobile planters offers one way to have a secure source of food. taboris robinson, manager of dmv urbangreens, highlighted the additional goal to shift the culture around food production in the district. he said, “you can kind of put these boxes anywhere, and move them at any time so we’re trying to prove that you know that could be done [anywhere].” his beliefs harken to ideas of black self-reliance seen in scholarship from authors like ashantee reese and historic farms like fannie lou hammer’s freedom farm collective, where black communities took it upon themselves to build networks to care for one another. dmv urbangreens is the latest innovation of self-reliance.

the dmv urbangreens mobile planter boxes also seek to remove middlemen distributors entirely and enable people to grow their own food. black communities have significantly less access to affordable and quality grocery stores making the d.c. food supply chain unreliable for these communities. the mobile planter boxes and garden simultaneously fill the immediate gap in the d.c. food system while providing an alternative to the failing system. in addition to access, the creation of the organization works toward altering the economic landscape to allow the low-income minority community the opportunity to purchase affordable produce. their presence also disrupts consumer purchase patterns, instead of spending money at major chain grocery stores disconnected from the local community, when consumers purchase from mr. robinson they are supporting local business and keeping their money in the community.

the mobile planter boxes are an impressive innovation which are already positively impacting ward 7, but goes beyond just providing food. they offer a vision of a future where d.c. residents aren’t reliant solely on a food system that has failed them. through the scalable model, dmv urbangreens is taking necessary steps toward a just and equitable system for their community and demonstrates that social innovation cannot be separated from technological cultivation innovations. dmv urbangreens is forever changing the food and social landscape of washington d.c.