143: Unpacking the Absent Food Citizen in Policy with Isabela Bonnevera

This week, we're exploring the idea of the food citizen, or perhaps more accurately, the absent food citizen, with Isabela Bonnevera. Isabela is a doctoral researcher at ICTA-UAB, and engages with participatory methods to explore how immigrants are shaping sustainable food transitions in cities. She also examines how sustainable food policies impact food justice outcomes for immigrant communities. I met Isabela through her work as the co-founder of Feminist Food Journal, which is an award-winning magazine and podcast. Additionally, she is an editor of Urban Agriculture and Forced Displacement, a forthcoming volume for the Springer Urban Agriculture Series. In today's episode, Isabela unpacks the idea of food citizenship: who is involved in defining it, how immigrants are often framed or defined in food policies, the power of language to shape meanings of "healthy" and "cultural" foods, and the consequences of exclusion in food policy writing. I could quite honestly speak with Isabela forever on this topic, as she has really illuminated some under-considered elements to these issues. Resources: Feminist Food Journal Isabela's Article on Food Citizenship in Agriculture and Human Values The Good Food Project LinkedIn