I think after spending a lot of time reading articles from this class, we can all agree that race and racism has always been a factor in agriculture any way you look at. While I agree that there could be farmers markets that may reflect a level of whiteness that is off putting, I'm still not sure if we can apply this idea of whiteness to all farmers markets. With most of the research we’ve seen being done in California it’s difficult to grasp the full scope of an idea like this. If I’m being honest this idea seems like it was more prevalent in the past and large majorities of the Western world no longer live that way or thing that way. The idea of whiteness is a much deeper hole I don’t feel we really need to get into. The study done in Davis and North Berkeley showed that large numbers of vendors and customers were white. As well as what they called, social/cultural norms being a majority white. I think farmers markets in different areas can portray different images, in this case these areas were focused on the “small scale white farmer” most white people would think of. This leads to the true workforce, a large majority being Hispanic. Once an area has a set up of “cultural norms” it's very hard to change that. This change at smaller scales is easier and could be possible in places that need to be more “welcoming” for all.
Pricing has always been an issue to deter people away, while everywhere around the world in all cultures people struggle with money, we see patterns here. With food being labeled “organic” or “gourmet” this statistically pushes away those of low income, and in the studied area this was people of color. While areas may seem inclusive and may even promote diversity there are unspoken barriers keeping people away. Ways we have seen change or could see change come with simple education and inclusion of those who want it. In Berkeley the Farm Fresh Choice program is a way people of color have been getting assistance in this area as well. While being brought fresh and organic produce they can also be educated on where it comes from and a new interest could be sparked. In Davis they started a little campus market which again is another step in the right direction in terms of education and publicity. These are so many options to help fight back against this idea and completely eliminate it. To me “Whiteness” was a new term that I hadn’t heard before and I believe it’s because no one around me has ever thought like this. It’s so simple to be accepting and want the best for others when they want the best for you. I think the harsh reality of whiteness is that there are shitty people out there who won’t change their minds, and racism will always plague the way they think.
Referring to the historical context of whiteness, this concept has been formed through a dark history in which a lot of our country was built on. While it’s a terrible thing to say, this idea of whiteness went from the control over slaves, to the legal control over immigrants in the US. We spoke last week about the effects of policies and laws that have made it a struggle for many Hispanic people and in essence we see the idea of whiteness, and the power or control that comes with it. I don’t know if the word whiteness is any different than the word racism to me, over time as Europeans (British, Irish, Baltic region) became known as white the concept just shifted adding to the number of people who could be called out for “whiteness”. I’m not saying this isn’t a real problem but to be it’s racism and no racism should be tolerated from anyone from any race towards anyone else.
1 comment:
I absolutely agree that race and racism is an issue in our current agricultural system. Given the rasist history of the United States, it is undeliable that these issues effect many of our societal systems. However, exactly like you said, racism in our agricultural system as a whole seems to be more of an issue in places like California. At least from my perspective, many of the social issues talked about in the articles do not seem as prevalent in our area - the only thing that I have noticed is that there is just a general lack of diversity in the farming population of this area. I think it can be hard to imagine and think about these rasist issues when we have never really experienced that ourselves.
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