And food production, processing, and transportation has become one of the primary causes of the environmental fragility facing
our planet, responsible for widespread deforestation, loss of biodiversity, water pollution, and between
13 percent19 and 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.20 Climate change threatens to further compound nutrition insecurity, intensify food loss and waste, deepen inequities in food distribution, and worsen impacts on farmers and food chain workers.
The Covid-19 crisis has also shined a light on the stark and continuing racial and economic inequities in this country, including in our food system.
People of color and Indigenous people are more likely to suffer negative health outcomes because of the food system, increasing their risk of chronic disease and early death. In the food industry, Latinx and Black workers report earning lower wages and encountering more barriers to accessing jobs. These economic inequities cause families of color to be twice as likely to struggle with food insecurity as white families.
We must make fundamental changes in our food system to ensure racial justice and equity for consumers, food system workers, and farmers from communities of color and Indigenous communities.