Zoë Johnson


Feminist Food Journal



An online magazine dedicated to a feminist food future



I've always been interested in food; in making, growing, and eating it, and observing the innumerable ways it shapes our existence. In all my experiences with food — from personal, to academic and professional — I've been inspired by countless women shaping food and our food system in big and small ways. And yet, in most of what I read in the ever-growing literature on food systems and food revolutions, these women's stories are not front and center. We created Feminist Food Journal because we think they should be.


Food is fascinating in its simultaneous mundanity and profound power to shape our social, cultural, political, and economic lives. In Feminist Food Journal, we want to tell stories of women and food that reflect the complex ways that food and feminism intersect. Our goal is to tell stories that make you think, that decolonize narratives around women and food, and unpack important issues at the intersection of race, gender, sexuality, ability, class, and other factors of oppression.


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Expectations and Experiences in the Hawassa Industrial Park



Living and working conditions of women in the garment sector in Hawassa, Ethiopia



Driving past the entrance to Hawassa’s Industrial Park (HIP), with its futuristic blue glass IPDC structure, it is easy to imagine why Ethiopia has been heralded as an economic success story. Gazing beyond at the orderly row upon row of grey sheds with their almost playful blue stripes and orange awnings, the thousands of women working behind those walls remain

invisible.


HIP employs more than 25,000 workers, and 90 percent of them are young women. This is a remarkable achievement for a country committed, alongside its development partners, to the economic empowerment of women and youth. While HIP’s achievements in terms of employment are laudable, policy makers should not declare success just yet. The stories told by young women working in HIP — revealed through 334 surveys and 80 in depth interviews with female workers, aged 18–27, across 18 factories — suggest that there is much work yet to be done in establishing ethical recruitment procedures, safeguarding workers’ welfare and economic security, and promoting transferable skill development in HIP.



Bridging the Town-Gown Divide


Placemaking in Oxford




The Oxford Urbanists (OU) are planning a series of placemaking interventions in Oxford in the spring of 2019 aimed at bridging the “town/gown” divide, bringing students and residents together to build a sense of place in Oxford. These events will provide novel spaces for socialisation between “townies” and “gownies” and create a platform for horizontal knowledge exchange across the academic/non-academic spectrum.


Losar in the Diaspora



Multimedia Research with the Tibetan Cultural Society of British Columbia





This multimedia research project documented folklore practices associated with Losar (Tibetan New Year) among newly arrived Tibetan Refugees in the Greater Vancouver Area. Using ethnographic methodologies, participant observation, documentary film making, and photography as methodology, the project explored the unique challenges face by Tibetan refugees trying to reimagine their identities in a diasporic context.



Food Security and Civic Engagement



Participatory Action Research with the Richmond Food Security Society (RFSS)





This participatory action research explored the connection between food security and civic engagement among immigrants in the City of Richmond, and was used by the RFSS to enhance programming for new immigrants. Our results indicate a need for stronger supports to encourage civic engagement among immigrants. We speculate that becoming civically engaged could enhance food security in these communities.