Eat Real To Heal Podcast:
Decolonizing Your Plate Doctoral Series
Research Question: What are the barriers that BIPOC communities face in accessing the quality of foods that are capable of reversing lifestyle chronic degenerative diseases?
Part 3: Exploring Food Justice and Racial Health with Sistah Vegan
Dr. Aime “Breeze” Harper
AUTHOR | American Critical Race Feminist | Diversity Strategist
Dr. Breeze Harper, also known as Sistah Vegan, is a highly experienced diversity, equity, and inclusion expert with a PhD in the social sciences. Her work focuses on the intersections of food and racial and nutritional health justice, drawing on her background in cultural food geography and black feminist perspectives. In her interview with Nicolette on the third PhD Podcast, Dr. Harper shares her personal story of growing up with a master gardener father who taught her the importance of growing their own food, despite the loss of land around African Americans.
"The black woman's womb carries the weight of over 400 years of epigenetic trauma, a result of centuries of enslavement, loss of foodways, and land. This manifests as disease and is a testament to the resilience of our bodies and the strength of our ancestors."
- Dr. Breeze Harper
Nicolette and Dr. Harper discuss the impact of monocultures and colonization on both people and soil in the United States, leading to a colonized microbiome and chronic disease. They delve into topics such as white supremacy, enslavement, industrialization, and the medical system's treatment of black people. Dr. Harper shares her journey of curing her fibroid tumors with a whole food plant-based diet and expresses her disappointment in the lack of BIPOC voices in the vegan community, as well as the contribution of capitalism in veganism to people's health and the fast-paced society we live in.
“What structural and systemic inequities are happening, where were at the point where we cant even get what we need, we dont know how to properly prepare the bulk items, we’re not eating communally, are rushing having lunch in our car, that 5 minute break that we have, gulping down something, not chewing your food long enough. Were in this toxic, fast pasted society, which is basically the outcome of the last 400 - 500 years, of a very thick capitalistic, exploitative society that is damaged human beings, soil and people. To the point where certain processes and practices around eating, have been normalized, and we dont realize it’s actually causing illness, that to me is really sad.”
- Dr. Breeze Harper
Both Nicolette and Dr. Harper agree on the need for pure vulnerability from these voices and moving away from the individualism and monogamist nuclear family lives we live in. Dr. Harper's rich background and expertise in diversity, equity, and inclusion, coupled with her unique perspective on food justice, make this episode of the PhD Podcast a must-listen.