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Equity and Diversity in the Food SystemWhile justice and inclusion are often cited as critical goals in the farm policy arena, efforts to achieve real diversity often fall short and miss the important opportunities and advantages true inclusion would provide. The diverse partner organizations in the Farm and Food Policy Diversity Initiative have deep roots in the civil rights and, rural and urban movements to secure land and justice including the struggle stem the historic loss of African American farms, and , the knowledge, and experience to address these issues in the current day. The Diversity Initiative is designed to ensure organizations serving people of color in the food system have the opportunity to link their own initiatives into a comprehensive agenda of food and agriculture policy proposals developed by the Farm and Food Policy Project. The Initiative supports the efforts of its partners to strengthen and diversify the content of farm bill policy agendas of critical allies and build bridges between the diverse leaders engaged in food and farm policy development with the overall goal of securing access to the same opportunties that have benefited other producers. The work of the Diversity Initiative is led and carried out by a crosscutting Policy Team. The policy team began work in July 2006 to synthesize existing policy to expand diversity and equity in the next farm bill. The team has also outlined necessary research to provide context for this agenda, and is creating an outreach strategy to build support for these recommendations among allies and critical partners. The collaborative work and interests of the DI Participants with respect to farm and food policy encompass a broad array of issues that are integral to other parts of the larger Farm and Food Policy Project. Our leaders have long term and substantive relationships with policy makers, having worked for as many as three decades to bring justice and equity to food and farm policy. As a result of their previous collaboration, changes were secured in the 1987 Agriculture Credit Act, and the first Minority Farmers Rights section was developed and passed in the 1990 Farm Bill. The team has worked together and expanded our membership and allies in every farm bill debate since then, including important new constituencies that have grown to serve emerging needs in food and agriculture. The involvement of people of color organizations and leaders in the farm bill policy debate is crucial not only to halt land loss and the factors that cause it, but also to expand opportunities and restore access for critical populations that seek prosperity in the food system. The organizations that represent people of color have been steeped in the struggles for a better way of life for some of the most vulnerable communities in the U.S. and beyond. As such, these leaders are likely to contribute some of the strongest and most straightforward policy solutions for improving the sustainability and viability for everyone in the food system. Policy Team
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