Food Studies Matter, Meaning, Movement Creative Food System Blues, Faris Ahmed and Tommy Wall

CREATIVE FOOD SYSTEM BLUES AHMED AND TOMMY WALL FRACTURED FOOD SYSTEM BLUES A BLUES IN FIVE VOICES Ahmed has been working on food , farming , and mental issues in Canada and internationally for more than 20 years . He is an consultant and policy researcher , specializing in ecosystems , biodiversity , climate resilience , and human rights . He has played leadership roles in international civil society networks , policy processes , and advocacy campaigns on these issues . has a Master degree in International Development from the University of and has worked as a writer and documentary photographer in Asia . He dabbles with music in his spare time . 456 FOOD SYSTEM BLUES

Tommy Wall is an environmental communicator and researcher with professional interests in public education , engagement , research and writing on nature , ecology , environment , and mate change in everyday life . He currently works as a strategic communications advisor for domestic climate change policy at Environment and Climate Change Canada , consulting with eral on how to communicate to the public about subjects ranging from carbon pricing to climate change tion . He still figuring out the best ways to get his fellow humans to understand the so what , who cares of global problems . FRACTURED FOOD SYSTEM BLUES In 2016 , researchers from the Food Locally Embedded , Globally Engaged ( FLEdGE ) partnership published Nourishing ties From Fractured Food to Transformative . The book documents many years of collaborative work focused on building towards more sustainable and more just food . In November 2017 , University Faculty of Public Affairs hosted an event bringing together academics , activists , and others focused on the same issues . Several people provided commentaries on Nourishing Communities , including Ahmed , who gave his response to the book in the form of a ken word piece . This performance , as well as a short interview with about his work at USC Canada ( now ) offer a lively , nate way of thinking about sustainability when it comes to food systems . Tommy Wall interviewed and produced and edited the audio . AHMED AND TOMMY WALL 457

Listen to of Fractured Food System Blues . One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text . You can View them online here ?

One They call me a small farmer , but I ve got a big list of They call me a small farmer , but I ve got a big list of Feed the World . Cool the planet . Try walking just one day in my shoes Because ve got the fractured food system blues Two , but I kneeling down on your land Never Canadian . No , but What you re eating was picked by these hands No rights , no shelter , no heat in winter , and the worst kinds of abuse ve got the fractured food system blues Three a community garden right in your neighborhood I can connect friends and families , young and old Leafy greens , peppers , tomatoes of all sizes , shapes , and hues To wash away your fractured food system blues 458 FOOD SYSTEM BLUES

Four We re food policy councils . Now , how do you put that in a song ?

People voices and ideas that make ing strong But , hey , inclusive governance mechanisms will never make the news We ve got the fractured food system blues Five and food sovereignty We re more than just words , or theories , or novelty Were the roadmap and the journey . So , go ahead and take your cues We re transformative pathways for your fractured food system blues FRACTURED FOOD SYSTEM BLUES TOMMY WALL IN CONVERSATION WITH AHMED In late 2017 , Tommy Wall , a student of Communications and Environmental Studies at University recorded an view with Ahmed about his spoken word poem , Fractured Food System Blues A Blues in Five Voices . Listen to Tommy interview with . a One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text . You can View them online here ?

AHMED AND TOMMY WALL 459 Interview Transcript slow blues baseline plays Tommy Wall ( My name is Tommy Wall . I a communications and environmental studies student at University , and I interested in climate change and global sustainability . Agricultural sustainability and food are important issues in Canada and around the world . In the fall of 2017 , a public discussion took place about a new book that attempts to tackle some of the problems associated with food and agriculture . Nourishing Communities From Fractured Food Systems to Transformative Pathways , was published by Springer and focuses on practices that can mend fractures in the food system . One of the participants in the public discussion that marked the release of the book , was Ahmed from USC Canada . leads USC policy work and closely collaborates with ecological agriculture , biodiversity , and food sovereignty works in the global south and in Canada . joins me today to discuss his response to the book release and to speak on his own work . Hello , Ahmed ( FA ) Hello , Tommy . Thank you for taking the time today to talk about your work and about the issues that you deal with . Can you tell me a bit more about your work , and the work of USC ?

FA Sure . USC is an organization based here in and our work is basically about ensuring a healthy and diverse food for everyone . And , the way we grow our food should be strengthening biodiversity and ecosystems , and not diminishing them . And we also feel that the food that has grown is determined by the choices of the people who grow the food . We work with farmer in 12 countries around the world , including in Canada , and a new program we started about five , six years ago . And , essentially , 460 FOOD SYSTEM BLUES

we support farmers and Indigenous people , women , youth , to grow healthy and resilient agricultural food systems . And their goal is to ensure that diversity in plants , and seeds , and genetic resources in animals as determined by their own research questions . So , they consider themselves researchers . And their goal is to enhance their biodiversity and seed systems because that has impact on a whole bunch of things . It has impact on their food , and their ability to eat around , around the year . It increases their resilience to climate shocks . If it too wet or too dry , they have the varieties to , to serve their needs . It engages young people in a way that other types of agriculture do not . They are very passionate about ecological agriculture , which is what we support . And it healthy , it nutritious , it creates hoods . And so , we find that this one intervention has quite a lot of impact on a whole bunch of things , and its driven by the farmers own needs . And now my own work at USC is about policy and ensuring that policies support the work of farmers and not strain them . For example , trade and investment policy or seed icy that can inhibit what farmers do , that can impose restrictions on the kinds of seeds that they can produce and save and sell . Or trade that encourages the kind of market that will not support the prices of , the kinds of prices that farmers are expecting or wanting , or imposes restrictions on them that they can sell or exchange their own products . So , we try to create a conducive environment for farmers to really flourish in their food systems , to serve them as well as their communities . And so , you participated in the public book release for Communities back in November . Whats your connection to the book and to its authors ?

FA Well , I lucky enough to have , to know and have worked with all five of them Irena , Alison , Charles , Phil , and Erin . I ve been involved in many things that they ve initiated , or I ve participated in research initiatives , workshops and so on . Also , with Peter and Patricia , both of whom are at . AHMED AND TOMMY WALL 461

These people are leaders in their field , I say , I mean , they re researchers in the truest sense . They ve got the academic tools and the research , but they re also grounded , and they re connected to what they re researching , whether it , you know , the food system and food justice organizations or practitioners , or farmer organizations , food providers . And I think that they have a sense of what the community needs because of that , and it makes them better researchers . So , when I saw the book , I was quite by it . And , I did , I did read quite a lot of it , and it gave me all kinds of ideas . And its a culmination of researchers and working together . And these guys are some of the best . They come from a lot of very backgrounds too , so , its good to have multiple perspectives on food security and agriculture coming from a lot of different people . And the book inspired you to do more than to just simply comment as well . How did you respond to the book and to its messages ?

FA Well , I first did a traditional book review as I was asked to do . And that was , I mean , rewarding enough . But that I was inspired by the diversity of the I guess , the tools and in the book that came from different peoples and ties and different ways of even gathering the information . And , given that we were , you know , quote unquote on stage in Irene pub and my own love for music , and Irene is known for life forming , performances , and I never performed there . So , I just thought that a spoken word rendition of some of the voices and narratives in the book would be fun and hopefully complimentary . So , I just sat down at the computer and it came out pretty quickly and naturally . So , I constructed a poem with five voices . And afterwards , decided to add a to it . And so you have no shortage of musical resources at your down here in your studio . So , were going to play for you , Fractured Food System Blues in Five Voices , and we like to thank so much for his time today . Thank you , 462 FOOD SYSTEM BLUES

FA My pleasure , thanks . Discussion Questions There are five distinct voices in the poem , Food Systems What are these voices and what are they saying about the food system ?

If you were to write a spoken word poem about your experience of the food system , which five voices would you highlight ?

What would those voices say ?

Each section of the poem identifies a major of our fractured food system or a potential transformative What are these and pathways ?

Can you think of other challenges ?

Can you imagine other transformative pathways ?

Additional Resources Ahmed , 2021 . Biting Back Climate Change Lets take a bite out of climate . Clark , and ( 2019 . Civil Society and Social Movements in Food System Governance . New York . AHMED AND TOMMY WALL 463 Global Alliance for the Future of Food . 2021 . The Politics of edge Understanding the Evidence for , Regenerative and Indigenous . Global Alliance for the Future of Food . La Via References , Mount , and Nelson , 2017 . Nourishing Communities From Fractured Food Systems to Transformative Pathways . Boston Springer International . 464 FOOD SYSTEM BLUES