Food (In)Justice from Palestine to Turtle Island
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Non-white settlers on Indigenous land occupy a complex position, as they are often survivors of colonial violence while simultaneously living on stolen land. Their roles in food justice movements should focus on solidarity, decolonial praxis, and supporting Indigenous sovereignty. This involves actively participating in dismantling colonial systems that commodify and exploit land and labor while ensuring their own practices do not replicate these dynamics. Non-white settlers must also take accountability for their positionality by grappling with the layered histories of colonization, migration, and displacement that inform their presence on Indigenous land. Their participation in food justice requires cultural humility and collaboration, prioritizing the protection and amplification of Indigenous agricultural and culinary practices rather than appropriating them. Building kinship with the earth means respecting Indigenous cosmologies and aligning with calls for land back and ecological stewardship.
The ongoing colonization of Palestinian cuisine by Israelis parallels these dynamics, illustrating how food becomes a site of cultural erasure and resistance. Israeli appropriation of Palestinian dishes like hummus, falafel, and maqlouba reflects a broader colonial project that seeks to assert dominance and rewrite history. By stealing Palestinian food, Israeli narratives construct a false indigeneity, erasing the Palestinian presence while asserting a fabricated connection to the land. Palestinian food, deeply tied to land and cultivation, represents more than sustenance—it is a living archive of resistance, memory, and belonging. This culinary theft mirrors the broader theft of Palestinian land, water, and resources, reinforcing the settler-colonial project.
To resist these forms of appropriation, food justice movements must center decolonial resistance by reclaiming and protecting foodways, challenging colonial narratives, practicing ethical consumption, and building transnational solidarity. Supporting Indigenous and Palestinian farmers and chefs in reclaiming their food systems while ensuring their knowledge is protected from commodification is critical. Additionally, actively contesting myths of settler indigeneity and the depoliticization of food through education, art, and advocacy reinforces these efforts. Non-white settlers and allies can also reject complicity in settler-colonial food systems by prioritizing local, Indigenous, and ethically produced foods, recognizing the histories tied to these practices. Food justice is deeply intertwined with cultural and ecological resistance, offering opportunities for transnational solidarity between Palestinians and Indigenous peoples globally. Food is not merely sustenance but a profound site of memory, identity, and liberation, making its protection essential in resisting colonial theft and honoring the sovereignty of the communities to whom it belongs.