The Journey (Part 3)

One of the best revelations which has happened to me throughout this journey is recognizing how important activism is to me.  Specifically, food activism.  Through the internships I have completed, the projects I have created, the people I have met and the spaces I have seen I have begun to realize that policy changes and social action is where the majority of change will occur in the food system.  How to become involved though?

A food movement is sweeping this country and people are ready for a change in our food system.  This was never more clear than during this past year's election when California added Proposition 37 (Prop 37) to the ballot in the hopes of passing a law requiring all products containing GMOs (genetically modified organism) be labeled, allowing customers the right to make an informed decision regarding the type of food they purchase.  Specifically whether said food contains genetically modified materials.  Sadly, Prop 37 was defeated after major corporations such as Monsanto, DuPont and Hershey threw millions of dollars (grand total of $44 million) at 'No to Prop 37'.  To me this raises huge red flags; if companies are throwing millions of dollars for an initiative to fail, especially an initiative asking for consumers to be provided with knowledge and information, I want to believe that the public would be even more concerned with understanding why companies would not want them to know what is in their food!

The Proposal

I started the Master of Arts in Cultural Studies (MACS) program at the University of Washington, Bothell (UWB), in September 2011 with several different ideas of what I wanted to research and my project to revolve around. During Winter Quarter 2011, we were told to write a project proposal detailing what our ideas were for our projects, including a literature review and timeline. I want to share this first proposal and in future posts will share more recent modifications to explain where I began my research journey and how far I have come in this process.

Who’s Invited to the Table?:  An Exploration of Food Security, Food Access and Programs Working to Create Food Change