Oral

Environmental, occupational, and social injustices thread throughout our food system, emerging from and further amplifying existing injustices in society. This session weaves together four presentations covering different parts of the food system and different approaches to understanding and addressing injustice and inequitable risk. Two of the four presentations examine people’s experiences, one using community based participatory research to understand wage and working conditions among Chinatown restaurant workers, the other making use of existing survey data to understand community members’ experiences of their food environment, and how these relate to diet patterns. Two presentations focus on intervention. One involves using a promotora strategy to educate farmworker families about pesticides. The last presentation focuses on developing a social justice labeling program for sustainable agriculture. Common themes emerge: of immigrant status in the food production workforce; of the benefit of community-based approaches for understanding and challenging existing conditions; of class and race as determinants; and of recognizing connections between the injustices in food production (even sustainable food production) and those in food service and food consumption. Both public health professionals and food consumers have an opportunity to work with affected communities to support change. The presentations will be followed by a moderated discussion.

Session Objectives: 1. Explain interconnections between environmental, occupational and social injustices in the food system. 2. Identify at least three approaches to making change. 3. Discuss the role of public health in addressing these problems.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)