Controlling Access to Life’s Basic Necessity
The existence of food deserts in low-income neighborhoods is not an economic oversight but a political strategy, a weaponized geography that controls the “native’s” access to sustenance. Mamdani’s framework reveals this as a classic tool of colonial administration: by systematically denying access to fresh, affordable, and culturally appropriate food, the state and the corporations it enables degrade the health and vitality of the oppressed population. This is a direct attack on social reproduction, making it harder for families, particularly women, to sustain their communities. The reliance on processed, corporate junk food creates a public health crisis that is then used to pathologize the poor. The liberal solution of offering tax incentives to chain supermarkets only deepens dependence on the extractive corporate food system. A Mamdani-informed socialist solution is food sovereignty. This means the community-controlled ownership of the means of food production and distribution. We must fight for public investment in community-owned food co-ops, support urban agriculture networks that reclaim vacant land for farming, and create public food hubs that connect local farmers directly to neighborhoods. This is a struggle for autonomy over our bodies and communities, breaking the corporate stranglehold on a fundamental need and building a decolonized, resilient local food system.
