Stories of challenges and change, by and for people of color and the immigrants who power our food system.
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Stories of challenges and change, by and for people of color and the immigrants who power our food system.
December 26, 2024
Nick Tilsen during the Mount Rushmore Land Back Protest. (Photo credit: Willi White)
Civil Eats has focused on food justice since our inception in 2009. Rare for the media landscape, we regularly report on the food system’s disproportionate impact on people of color and immigrant communities, and we are one the few outlets dedicated to covering the unique food-related issues facing Indigenous communities. We also strive to cultivate perspectives from people of color, as reporters, op-ed contributors, and sources in our reporting.
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In 2024, for example, we wrote about the often-overlooked food angle in the Land Back Movement, which aims to return land to tribal communities. We also brought you stories about farmworkers pushing for wage, heat, and labor protections, and showcased the efforts of people like Gail Taylor and Jim Embry, who have spent years working to change the food system and provide greater access for all.
Here are our best food justice stories of 2024.
The Land Back Movement Is Also About Foodways
When Native peoples’ land was stolen, they lost important hunting and fishing grounds and myriad places to gather and prepare food. Now, the Land Back movement is helping communities regain access to both food and land.
From Civil Rights to Food Justice, Jim Embry Reflects on a Life of Creative Resistance
The veteran food-systems organizer says, “within agriculture [is] where we have the most profound need for change, and the most powerful fulcrum point for social transformation of all other human institutions.”
Florida Banned Farmworker Heat Protections. A Groundbreaking Partnership Offers a Solution.
The Fair Food Program offers the strongest, legally binding protocols to keep people safe when politicians fall short.
Yupik subsistence whalers from the Alaska town of Gambell, parting the ice as they tow a bowhead whale to shore. (Photo credit: Jim Wickens)
For This Alaska Town, Whaling Is a Way of Life
The PBS documentary ‘One with the Whale’ explores the importance of subsistence hunting and gathering in a Yupik village—and what happens when mainlanders misunderstand it.
The Shrimp on Your Plate Has a Dark History
Shining a light on India’s exploited shrimp workers, the spread of avian flu, and the big banks undermining climate goals.
Strawberry Farmworkers Fight for a Living Wage
Picking strawberries is one of the lowest-paid, most brutal jobs in agriculture. A new report argues for a better path forward that benefits everyone, including the growers.
Ira Wallace (left) and Sariyah Benoit sit together in Spelman College’s Victory Garden.
(Photo credit: Heirloom Gardens Project)
Oral History Project Preserves Black and Indigenous Food Traditions
The Heirloom Gardens Project records the stories of elders and honors both long-held expertise and culturally meaningful foods.
A US Court Found Chiquita Guilty of Murder in Colombia. What Does the Ruling Mean for Other U.S. Food Corporations Abroad?
The case marks the first time a U.S. court held a corporation liable for human rights abuses committed in another country.
In Brazil, a Powerful Law Protects Biodiversity and Blocks Corporate Piracy
The country’s genetic heritage law aims to compensate Indigenous peoples for their knowledge of the plants and seeds that many US food and agribusiness companies use to develop profitable products.
Farmworkers Push Kroger’s Shareholders for Heat and Labor Protections
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers, a Florida worker rights organization, has repeatedly asked Kroger to join its Fair Food Program, which has the strongest heat protections in the nation.
On Cape Cod, the Wampanoag Assert Their Legal Right to Harvest the Waters
Not everyone respects that right. But the Wampanoag are determined to continue, saying their work is an essential expression of 12,000 years of heritage, sovereignty, and lifeways.
Labor Protections for Immigrant Food Workers Are at Stake in the 2024 Election
A Biden administration policy shields immigrants who report on workplace abuses. It could face an uncertain future—and so could visa policies.
Op-ed: Food Security Is Urgently Needed in Black Rural Appalachia
A food justice advocate who grew up near this mountainous region explains how Black communities here struggle to access healthy food, and lays out ways to build local food systems that reach everyone.
Luz Gallegos, executive director of TODEC, an immigrant advocacy organization, during a heat awareness education outreach in 2023. Hemet, CA. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Farmworker Challenges, Solidarity Emphasized as Threat of Mass Deportations Looms
Results of a historic farmworker tribunal, an anti-monopoly roadmap for Trump 2.0, and more.
A Black-Led Agricultural Community Takes Shape in Maryland
An urban farm trailblazer begins building a Black agrarian corridor in rural Maryland, fostering community and climate resilience. Land access was the first step.
Black Earth: A Family’s Journey from Enslavement to Reclamation
In North Carolina, a Black farmer purchased the plantation where his ancestors were enslaved—and is taking back his family’s story, his community’s health, and the soil beneath his feet.
The Mashpee Wampanoag Work With a Cape Cod Town to Restore Their Fishing Grounds
If the plan succeeds, it will help rebuild wetlands and food sources for the tribe, once largely excluded from environmental decision-making.
July 30, 2025
From Oklahoma to D.C., a food activist works to ensure that communities can protect their food systems and their future.
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