Food Justice asks a simple but urgent question: who controls our food, and at whose expense? Across colonial states, food systems are shaped by land dispossession, racialized labour exploitation, and policies that produce food insecurity while concentrating power. 

Join us for a critical discussion led by scholar and community organizers Evelyn Encalada Grez, Nasya, and Byron, who are each at the forefront of advancing migrant justice and Indigenous food sovereignty. Their collective wealth of knowledge and experience will guide our exploration of: 

• Migrant labour struggles in agriculture: exploitation, racialization, precarity, and exclusion from rights within colonial labour regimes.

• The weaponization of food systems by colonial states:  land dispossession, food insecurity, and agricultural control function as tools of governance and oppression
• What students can do: how to build true solidarity towards more just and sovereign food systems

Together, we’ll connect these struggles to the broader fight for food justice—one rooted in sovereignty, dignity, and collective responsibility.

Land Acknowledgement

Embark Sustainability’s work takes place across the unceded homelands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), səlil̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), kʷikʷəƛw̓əm (Kwikwetlem), q̓íc̓əy̓ (Katzie), Qayqayt, Kwantlen, Semiahmoo, and Tsawwassen Nations. We greatly encourage our community members to reflect on the lands they are tuning in from; learn whose lands you occupy through native-land.ca.

AGenda

• 1:20PM |Doors Open for Registration
• 1:30PM | Food Service Begins
• 1:45PM | Land Acknowledgement with Elder Les George
• 2:15PM | Introductions
• 2:30PM | Key Note Session Part 1
• 3:15PM | Break
• 3:30PM | Key Note Session Part 2
• 4:15PM | Zine-making Activity
• 5:15PM | Closing Remarks

ABOUT THE FACILITATORS

Evelyn Encalada Grez (she/her)
Evelyn Encalada Grez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Labour Studies Program at SFU. She is the co-founder of Justice for Migrant Workers, a collective that has been at the forefront of the migrant farmworker movement in Canada for over 20 years. She is an award-winning scholar and organizer specializing in transnational labour-migration, migrant justice, and community-engaged research. 

Nasya Moore (she/her)
Nasya is a scientist from the Nisga’a Nation and Leq’a:mel First Nation. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia, where she studied Indigenous Food Systems. Her work is informed by curiosity and culturally grounded learning, and an understanding of resilient foodways as healing Indigenous lands and peoples. Passionate about youth engagement and language revitalization, she supports growing food sovereignty and youth education programs in her home territory of the Nass River valley. Nasya is excited to continue contributing to the reclamation and resilience of Indigenous food systems throughout the west coast.

Byron Cruz  (he/him)
Byron came to Canada fleeing persecution for resisting inequity and State violence in Guatemala. He is currently a community organizer. He is also an active member of the Sanctuary Health Collective and Migrant Rights Network, a grassroots collective advocating universal access to healthcare, education, and social services for all. His passion to build a society rooted in equity, human rights, dignified working conditions, and high quality of life has led him to organize grassroots community efforts to ensure that the essential needs of the people are met and services are provided.

ABOUT EMBARK’S ANNUAL FOOD JUSTICE EVENTS

Every spring, the students of Embark’s Food Justice Collective organize one large event as part of our Food Justice programming to wrap up the school year. It aims to bridge students and the wider community in jointly discussing global issues impacting food security and food sovereignty 

Event Accessibility

Embark Sustainability events are free and open to Embark members which includes Simon Fraser University undergraduate and graduate students, as well as Embark Associate Members. For this event, you will have to register with your active SFU email.

This event will be held indoors at SFU Burnaby in the SUB Ballroom (located on the 5th floor of the SUB). Accessibility details to note include:

• The fifth floor of the SUB is accessible via elevator and hosts accessible washrooms, including a single-stall all gender washroom.
• We aim to host a scent-free space. Please refrain from wearing scented products in attendance of this event.
• Unfortunately, we cannot provide ASL interpretation at this time. However, we can provide a copy of the facilitator’s script.
• Sturdy, armless chairs will be available for those looking to sit during this event.
• Attendees are free to opt in and opt out of activities as suits their needs throughout the event, including exiting and re-entering the event space.

We aim to make our events accessible to as many of our community members as possible. If we can take further action to make this event accessible to you, or if you have any questions, please contact our Director of Engagement, Marie, at engagement@embarksustainability.org.

Community Agreement

By registering to attend this event, you are agreeing to be respectful when listening to and communicating with others, and be mindful of the space you are taking up amongst your peers.

Embark Sustainability does not tolerate violence or aggression against others on the basis of race, ethnicity, place of origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, religious affiliation, or ability. Please also refer to people using the introductions they provide and do not assume pronouns/gender/knowledge based on someone’s name or appearance.

If these agreements are broken by someone, we will have to ensure the safety of our community members by removing them from the event.

Questions

If you have any questions about this event, please contact our Food Justice Coordinator, Phone, at food@embarksustainability.org.