Queering food sovereignty: “it feels like building community; to joyfully gather around food”

Abstract

This thesis seeks to fill the current gap in food sovereignty literature by bringing queer farmers perspectives and voices into the academic discourse. The focus of the analysis is if queer farmers in Canada are practicing a distinct form of food sovereignty, and if so, does it vary from the current transnational movement. To accomplish this goal, a phenomenological methodology was employed, and seven participants were invited to an interview to reflect on a range of questions and highlight pertinent topics.

The interview process was supported by a literature review that captured works in food sovereignty, food justice, and the historical rise of food security. Similarly, topics such as queer farmers and queer people in rural settings were reviewed to identify themes in the literature and to be used as cross-references for a more thorough analysis.

The findings of this thesis support the well documented themes of queer farmers experiences in agriculture as it relates to education, access, and security. Based on this study’s findings, the thesis concludes that currently there is not an explicitly distinct queer food sovereignty practice in Canada, but that the prospect for a queering process of the movement exists.