Learning Democracy Through Food Justice Movements

Charles Levkoe ()

Agriculture and Human Values, 2006, vol. 23, issue 1, 89-98

Abstract: Over time, the corporate food economy has led to the increased separation of people from the sources of their food and nutrition. This paper explores the opportunity for grassroots, food-based organizations, as part of larger food justice movements, to act as valuable sites for countering the tendency to identify and value a person only as a consumer and to serve as places for actively learning democratic citizenship. Using The Stop Community Food Centre’s urban agriculture program as a case in point, the paper describes how participation can be a powerful site for transformative adult learning. Through participation in this Toronto-based, community organization, people were able to develop strong civic virtues and critical perspectives. These, in turn, allowed them to influence policy makers; to increase their level of political efficacy, knowledge, and skill; and to directly challenge anti-democratic forces of control. Copyright Springer 2006

Keywords: Canada; Community gardens; Democracy; Food justice; Grassroots organizations; Poverty; Social movements; Toronto; Transformative learning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (27)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10460-005-5871-5

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