This week on The Doctor’s Farmacy, I’m joined by Leah Penniman. Leah is a Black Kreyol educator, farmer, author, and food justice activist from Soul Fire Farm in Grafton, NY. She co-founded Soul Fire Farm in 2010 with the mission to end racism in the food system and reclaim our ancestral connection to land.
As Co-Executive Director, Leah is part of a team that facilitates powerful food sovereignty programs—including farmer training for Black and Brown people, a subsidized farm food distribution program for communities living under food apartheid, and domestic and international organizing toward equity in the food system. Her book, Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm's Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land is a love song for the land and her people.
From a young age, Leah had a deep reverence for nature and the land. This led her to learn about historical regenerative farming practices and share that knowledge with others. It also led her to a greater understanding of our food system and why it’s a major propellor in racial inequality.
It’s unfortunate that health disparities exist. Hopefully we can bridge that gap in the future.
Farming while black. .. postmodern marxist detected
The stores that sell those crappy foods are in those communities becasue of the demand for those foods from those communities… if they demanded spinach, spinach stores would pop up… you can’t solve real problems by pretending other people are to blame for your poor choices. Additionally, most low income areas are educated by our failing public school system, making it more difficult to learn how to make better choices. #SchoolChoice