The Color of Food: Stories of Race, Resilience and Farming

by Natasha Bowens

Overview

“Anyone who eats should read this book: You will come to the table with new appreciation for the intersections between race and food . . . powerful.”—Anna Lappé, author of Diet for a Hot Planet

The growing trend of organic farming and homesteading is changing the way the farmer is portrayed in mainstream media, and yet, farmers of color are still largely left out of the picture. The Color of Food seeks to rectify this.

By recognizing the critical issues that lie at the intersection of race and food, this stunning collection of portraits and stories challenges the status quo of agrarian identity. Author, photographer, and biracial farmer Natasha Bowens’ quest to explore her own roots in the soil leads her to unearth a larger story, weaving together the seemingly forgotten history of agriculture for people of color, the issues they face today, and the culture and resilience they bring to food and farming.

The Color of Food teaches us that the food and farm movement is about more than buying local and protecting our soil. It is about preserving culture and community, digging deeply into the places we’ve overlooked, and honoring those who have come before us. Blending storytelling, photography, oral history, and unique insight, these pages remind us that true food sovereignty means a place at the table for everyone.

“Natasha Bowens, through her compelling stories and powerful images of a rainbow of farmers, reminds us that the industrialization of our food system and the oppression of our people—two sides of the same coin—will, if not confronted, sow the seeds of our own destruction.”—Mark Winne, author of Food Town, USA

AWARDS

• GOLD | 2015 Foreword INDIES: Social Sciences

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865717893
Publisher:	New Society Publishers
Publication date:	05/01/2015
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Natasha Bowens is an author, farmer, and political activist whose advocacy focuses on food sovereignty and social issues. As a young biracial woman in today's agricultural movement , she is dedicated to honoring, preserving and amplifying the stories of Black, Native, Asian and Latina farmers and food activists. Her multimedia project The Color of Food evolved from her work exploring the intersection of race and agriculture for Grist magazine, and from her blog Brown.Girl.Farming , where she writes about issues related to racial inequality, food sovereignty, and resilience. Natasha has interviewed and photographed over 65 North American farmers of color; her work has garnered her national media attention, and she has been featured on CNN, The Atlantic , and Colorlines .

Table of Contents

Prologue: Sowing Seeds for the Road vii

Part 1 Brown Girl Farming 1

Part 2 Rooted in Rights 7

Portrait 1 Land Is Freedom Daniel Whitaker 11

Portrait 2 Forced Migration Alma Maquitico 15

Portrait 3 Lifeblood of the Land Tyrone Thompson 21

Portrait 4 Home, Land Gary Kaye Kozuki 29

Portrait 5 Black Land Loss Gary Grant 35

Part 3 Seeds of Resilience 43

Portrait 1 Katrina to Chickens Yasin Elaine Muhaimin 47

Portrait 2 Transitioning to Sovereignty Luis Castaneda 53

Portrait 3 Bucking Dependence Renard "Azibo" Turner 59

Portrait 4 Surviving as Transplants Pang Chang 65

Portrait 5 Transforming the South Cynthia Hayes 71

Part 4 Preserving Culture and Community 77

Portrait 1 Cherokee Seed Bank Kevin Welch 81

Portrait 2 Sustaining Community Jenga Mwendo 87

Portrait 3 Acequia Culture Don Bustos 95

Portrait 4 Gullah Seedlings Sará Bill Green 103

Portrait 5 Taste of Home Menhir Tamrat 111

Part 5 Fierce Farming Women 117

Portrait 1 Alabama Strong Sandra Simone 121

Portrait 2 American Indian Mothers Beverly Collins-Hall 127

Portrait 3 Sisters Carol Jackson Joyce Bowman 135

Portrait 4 A Farm of Her Own Nelida Martinez 141

Portrait 5 Defying the Odds Sulina Sulina 149

Part 6 Generation Rising 155

Portrait 1 Tierra Negra Tahz Walker Cristina Rivera-Chapman 159

Portrait 2 Breaking Down Borders Kandace Vallejo Ivon Diaz Cristina Dominguez-Eshelman Manny Garcia 171

Portrait 3 Growing with Energy Eugene Cooke 183

Portrait 4 Kitchen Kwento Aileen Suzara Dennis Lee Kristyn Leach Namu Gaji Namu Farm 193

Portrait 5 Foods Are Our Teachers Valerie Segrest 205

Epilogue and Acknowledgements: Coming Home 215

Collage: We Are Here Too 220

Appendix 223

Notes 225

About the Author 229

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"What a book! Dive into the stories and photographs Natasha Bowens shares in these pages and you come up for air with a profound apprecation for the diversity of people planting the seeds and harvesting the foods to keep alive cultural traditions and nourish communities around the country. Anyone who eats should read this book: You will come to the table with new appreciation for the intersections between race and food that so often go unsaid and undocumented. Kudos to Bowens for creating this powerful and important book."
—Anna Lappé, author, Diet for a Hot Planet and Hope's Edge

"Natasha Bowens, through her compelling stories and powerful images of a rainbow of farmers, reminds us that the industrialization of our food system and the oppression of our people — two sides of the same coin — will, if not confronted, sow the seeds of our own destruction."
—Mark Winne, author, Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty

" The Color of Food captures the heart and souls of farmers of color... farmers that are frequently forgotten as the stories of agriculture in our country are told. Through the lens of a camera we step into the cultural history of our foods and the beautiful and proud people that grow them."
—Cynthia Hayes, Executive Director, Southeastern African American Farmers Organic Network

"True to her ancestral ties, Natasha brings forth the hope of a new generation of young people of color fixed on recapturing the energy, history and tradition of farming. The power of storytelling is etched in each farmer's tale of courage and resiliency as they look at farming, not as oppressive, but as a vibrant celebration of who they are. The Color of Food makes the ancestors rise up in triumph!"
—Karen Washington, farmer, activist, and cofounder, Black Urban Growers

"It is impossible to understand food in America without digging deeply into "race," class and culture. People's perceptions are their realities, and The Color of Food contributes to changing our reality by changing our perception of the hands, hearts and faces in the food movement."
—Malik Yakini, executive director, Detroit Black Community Food Security Network

"Natasha Bowens brings us two critical reminders: the potential and pitfalls of "a movement" in any singular form; and the importance of vision and determination in doing truly groundbreaking research. The Color of Food represents the best kind of research—inspired and independent, a project of deep listening and unbounded sharing. Our task is to cultivate the questions she scatters, in a rich and colorful light."
—Philip Ackerman-Leist, author, Rebuilding the Foodshed and director, Masters in Sustainable Food Systems, Green Mountain College

"The food movement has woken the world to joy of food, but the beauty of the people who grow it is too often hidden. That's why The Color of Food is so gorgeous. This is a book that celebrates the food movement leaders to whom I've been honored to be able to turn for wisdom. To read Natasha Bowen's journey through North America is to draw from the rich, exquisite and too often hidden work of people of color in reinventing the modern food system. From First Nation to immigration, there isn't a topic on which Bowen's curiosity doesn't latch, nor her camera capture. It's a must-share book for anyone who holds hope in their hearts about the future of food."
—Raj Patel, author, Stuffed and Starved

Interviews

For Publisher's Internal Use: 2018-11-09 14:36:57

Editorial Reviews

Shelia Trask, Publishers' Weekly, Summer 2015

Bowens’s deep political understanding is obvious throughout her book; she’s knowledgeable about the history of oppression that affects farmers of color today and can explain the effects of political pacts like NAFTA on Mexican farmers, all while delivering pertinent statistics that illustrate her points. At heart, though, this is a book about the people themselves.

What a book! Dive into the stories and photographs Natasha Bowens shares in these pages and you come up for air with a profound appreciation for the diversity of people planting the seeds and harvesting the foods to keep alive cultural traditions and nourish communities around the country. Anyone who eats should read this book: You will come to the table with new appreciation for the intersections between race and food that so often go unsaid and undocumented. Kudos to Bowens for creating this powerful and important book. &mdahs; Anna Lappé, author, Diet for a Hot Planet and Hope's Edge

Natasha Bowens, through her compelling stories and powerful images of a rainbow of farmers, reminds us that the industrialization of our food system and the oppression of our people — two sides of the same coin — will, if not confronted, sow the seeds of our own destruction.
&mdahs; Mark Winne, author, Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty

The Color of Food captures the heart and souls of farmers of color... farmers that are frequently forgotten as the stories of agriculture in our country are told. Through the lens of a camera we step into the cultural history of our foods and the beautiful and proud people that grow them.
&mdahs; Cynthia Hayes, executive director, Southeastern African American Farmers Organic Network

True to her ancestral ties, Natasha brings forth the hope of a new generation of young people of color fixed on recapturing the energy, history and tradition of farming. The power of storytelling is etched in each farmer’s tale of courage and resiliency as they look at farming, not as oppressive, but as a vibrant celebration of who they are. The Color of Food makes the ancestors rise up in triumph!
&mdahs; Karen Washington, farmer, activist, and cofounder, Black Urban Growers

It is impossible to understand food in America without digging deeply into “race,” class and culture. People’s perceptions are their realities, and The Color of Food contributes to changing our reality by changing our perception of the hands, hearts and faces in the food movement.
—Malik Yakini, executive director, Detroit Black Community Food Security Network

Natasha Bowens brings us two critical reminders: the potential and pitfalls of “a movement” in any singular form; and the importance of vision and determination in doing truly groundbreaking research. The Color of Food represents the best kind of research—inspired and independent, a project of deep listening and unbounded sharing. Our task is to cultivate the questions she scatters, in a rich and colorful light.
&mdahs; Philip Ackerman-Leist, author, Rebuilding the Foodshed and director of the Masters in Sustainable Food Systems, Green Mountain College

The food movement has woken the world to joy of food, but the beauty of the people who grow it is too often hidden. That’s why Brown Girl Farming is so gorgeous. This is a book that celebrates the food movement leaders to whom I’ve been honored to be able to turn for wisdom. To read Natasha Bowen’s journey through North America is to draw from the rich, exquisite and too often hidden work of people of color in reinventing the modern food system. From First Nation to immigration, there isn’t a topic on which Bowen’s curiosity doesn’t latch, nor her camera capture. It’s a must-share book for anyone who holds hope in their hearts about the future of food. &mdahs;Raj Patel, Author of Stuffed and Starved

From the Publisher