TRUTHOUT -- Anthony Pahnke is vice president of the Family Farm Defenders and an assistant professor of International Relations at San Francisco State University. He wrote this opinion piece for Truthout.
“For years, I lived two blocks from Cup Foods — the corner store that George Floyd was killed in front of by Minneapolis police on May 25.
“That store is like many of the others in this country where working-class, Black and Brown folks get a fair amount of their food. Walk into these stores, and you will also find overpriced daily necessities, such as shampoo and deodorant, as well as an ample supply of junk food. To Cup Foods’s credit, they do stock fresh fruits and vegetables. Still, the supply that they can offer is far from that of a standard grocery store, with a selection of health foods and organic produce.
“My point is not to criticize Cup Foods. Instead, as we have the much-needed discussion concerning how to rethink this country’s policing system, we also need to include in that conversation ways to address the racial inequities that are built into our food system.”