Doctoral Dissertation Research: Food Sovereignty and Social Justice in Post-Katrina New Orleans

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This doctoral dissertation research will examine how marginalized communities perceive and assert their rights over access to adequate food in the city of New Orleans. Racial and economic disparities in access to nutritious food have become prominent concerns in U.S. cities, including New Orleans, especially after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina exposed the city's pervasive racial and class inequalities. Despite greater attention to these inequalities, low-income residents of New Orleans continue to struggle to obtain sufficient fresh food, and the impacts of racism are pronounced. Movements that are concerned about disparities in access to food have combined with those interested in working toward a food system that is environmentally sustainable and transparent, and from this has emerged a "food sovereignty" movement that is activist and democratically controlled. This project will examine food sovereignty activism in the city of New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina and how it is perceived and understood by both community members and activists. The theoretical basis of this research is a combination of urban geography, critical race studies, and agro-food studies and the project will examine how food activism both constructs and contests race in an urban context. The methods used in this project include interviews, participant observation, and focus groups. The research will situate food sovereignty activism in New Orleans within a broader national context to better understand how ideologies of justice and racial equality within the food system are translated, interpreted, and enacted at the local level within New Orleans.This project will draw crucial linkages between theories of urban space, racial and socioeconomic disparities, and the food system. Additionally, this study will add to the growing body of research on post-Katrina New Orleans Findings from the research in New Orleans will offer insight into the potential for racially-sensitive food activism in other U.S. cities. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.