After reading Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer I’ve gotten more into our agriculture system.  Oddly enough I finished the book the week before Thanksgiving which was ideal in the sense that everyone was talking about food  and awful in the sense that I felt paralyzed by the thought that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the feast my mother had already begun preparing.

In doing follow up research I came across this article in the Atlantic about family farm heritage turkeys that are raised and killed with limited impact on the environment but are more expensive than factory farm turkeys.  While the article was compelling, commenters were worried about inclusion:  Can we expect everyone to pay $7/lb for turkey or to become vegetarian?  How can we feed people on such a small scale?  In other words, how can everyone participate in making change a reality when the conversation seems to be dominated by a few voices or ideas which are inherently exclusive?

This issue of inclusion-making sure everyone affected by an issue have opportunity to share their point of view and actually participate in creating and participating in solutions-arises in all movements.  However, it seems to take on a different shape in the environmental justice movement simply because of the scope of the issue. The environment inevitably affects everyone, although in very different ways.

When addressing inclusion in an issue as broad as environmental justice there are several challenges that we have to consider:

• The challenge of saying yes or no:  There are various ways to examine environmental justice–some people look at food and state that a vegetarian lifestyle is better while others focus on supporting family farms and dismantling factory farms. Is there only one way or best way of addressing environmental issues?

• The challenge of defining engagement:  Given how people engage with the environment in different ways and have different backgrounds, engagement does not look the same. Can we redefine activism to make it more inclusive?

• The challenge of examining privilege: When creating opportunities for change, some voices and ideas get heard and supported more than others.  We tend to put our experiences at the center and not address how folks who dont look like us may not share our views but also may not even be treated fairly in the conversation.  How can we be mindful of the empty chair at the table?

At the same time, while movements should be inclusive are there moments where we should focus on certain approaches and certain groups? For example, not everyone can afford to spend $7/lb for a turkey, however this does not mean that a conversation on this aspect of changing behaviors and making better choices should not be had.

So how can we address these challenges?  How do we create more inclusive movements or will there always be exclusion?  Feel free to share your thoughts and resources to keep the conversation going.

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