Since 2009, Cuisine Noir has been a pioneer in celebrating the rich culinary traditions of the African diaspora. Now, we’re expanding that focus to address the urgent realities of climate change, globalization climate change, and the large-scale effect on communities, land and agriculture.
Climate Change and Globalization Climate Change
When discussing climate change, it’s crucial to define it clearly. According to the United Nations, climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns on Earth.
“Climate change isn’t inherently bad when it happens gradually over many centuries, typically due to unpreventable and infrequent natural disasters, as has historically been the case,” says Maya Stansberry.
“Today’s experience of climate change is very different from that of several thousand years ago, and the concern and difference are due to the rapid pace that our climate has been changing within the past century or so. It’s that rapid rate that has prompted environmental activists and Indigenous people to sound the alarm for the past several decades to prevent the current climate crisis we’re now facing. This crisis, felt worldwide to varying degrees, is very much connected to globalization.”
Globalization climate change refers to the global interconnectedness of climate impacts, meaning actions like deforestation or industrial emissions in one region can trigger worldwide effects, such as rising sea levels, extreme weather, and agricultural shifts, the latter a subject Stansberry is well versed in.
Stansberry is a Black urban farmer, foodways educator, and founder of Deep Routes, an educational project that supports the food culture and traditions of African and Indigenous diasporas. She is a sustainable farming practitioner with experience in small-scale operations, focusing on regenerative practices and supporting farmers in their transition to sustainability.
“Much of my work focuses on uplifting the stories and knowledge of African and Indigenous diasporas. Additionally, it’s important to provide people with the resources to not only reconnect with the land and their foodways but also to have better tools in connecting the dots of a very complex and confusing food system, which is by design meant to disconnect people from caring about, much less understanding food and ecological systems.”
By Stephanie Teasley
