The Urgency of Social Justice Speaker Series: Andrea Collins

February 9th: Andrea Collins

3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Hagey Hall room 334

Dr. Andrea M. Collins (she/her/hers) is an associate professor in the School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo and the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Her research focuses on gender and the global politics of food, land, and agriculture. Her forthcoming book, Gender and the Global Land Grab: A Feminist Global Governance Approach, will be published by McGill-Queen’s University Press.

PROFILE

Food is Political

Bringing a Gender Lens to Global Food and Agriculture

Food insecurity is a pressing global issue. Whether driven by climate change, conflict, economic turmoil, or disrupted supply chains, food insecurity can be experienced anywhere in the world. Food insecurity occurs even though the world is plentiful with food: access to affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food is simply not a guarantee. Moreover, food producers – including both small-scale producers and those who work within global value chains – are vital to feeding the world, but also experience threats to their land, livelihoods, and well-being.

Feminist researchers have a keen sense of the intersectional dynamics of the cross-cutting problems of food insecurity, agricultural labour, and land rights, but often the solutions being advanced by decision-makers tend to be more technical and technocratic rather than justice-oriented. This talk provides an overview of the ways in which gender and social issues are (and are not) addressed in global policymaking and highlights the pressing importance of bringing gender and social justice analysis into the study and politics of food and agriculture.