Diversity And Inclusiveness: Article Analysis

In their work, Felipe and Montalvo discuss situations in which food justice organizations want to improve “diversity” and/or “inclusiveness” of their program. They authors quickly points out that the need to improve diversity reveals that the program currently lacks diversity and is most likely, a predominantly white and heteropatriarchal space. The author’s point that something cannot exist without its opposite reminded me of the philosophical concept of “unity of opposite.” Many consider that one out of the pair is stronger than the other and will eventually dominate. Interestingly, when both of the terms are in balance, there is stasis. This makes me wonder what exactly a “balanced,” or “inclusive” environment would be defined as. Furthermore, the authors explain that presence of privilege throughout food justice movement. …show more content…
As I read, I realized that the very push for this idea comes from a privilege perspective. In order to be able to prepare a meal, a mother needs: financial means to purchase the food, free time to cook the food, clean and able space to prep, and the desire to cook. Instead of piling all the pressure on the mother to prepare a meal for her family, we could encourage family preparation of meals or neighborhood cookouts.
As I read Guthman’s article, I noticed the same theme of these movements stemming from an inherently privileged position. Guthman describes that many of the community members simply wanted a Safeway instead of a farmer’s market or a local garden. Although this initially seemed surprising, the people trying to implement the food justice project are those who do not live in a food desert and therefore, can enjoy the privilege of having a grocery store AND an alternative