"The good food movement—also known as eco-food, slow food, real food, local food or the sustainable..."

The good food movement—also known as eco-food, slow food, real food, local food or the sustainable food movement—is a reaction to the world food system. It’s driven largely by the middle class, nostalgic for a preindustrial mode of food production, who demand organic food grown locally by independent farmers. The roots of this tradition stem from Thomas Jefferson, who believed that a nation of small farmers would be morally virtuous, economically independent and the citizenry of an equitable republic. However, Jefferson’s vision ignored or glossed over the slave labor that powered agrarian economies, the history of colonization and the displacement of people of color from their lands.

The overarching desire is for a sustainable food system—for the earth, consumers, and the family farmers. Consumers vote with their purchases, favoring produce sold in a farmer’s market over a chain supermarket, supporting an urban farm in a community of color by subscribing to a monthly box of vegetables and fruits, or redistributing fruit foraged from backyards to the community.

However, the food chain provides employment for millions of workers in other sectors, some unseen to the eye of the consumer, such as processing and distribution. A movement based on a holistic understanding of food justice needs to encompass the chain of food production that connects seeds to mouths. The food chain includes the workers that help to plant the seeds, harvest the crops, package the food, deliver the product and serve the meal to consumers. The future of good food must not ignore these workers and their livelihoods. Food justice must involve increasing their wages and improving their working conditions, so that they too can enjoy healthy and sustainable lives.