Karen Washington: Food Apartheid and the Fight for Food Justice

In this episode of BETTER, host Mark Brand sits down with legendary farmer, organizer, and food justice leader Karen Washington. Together they unpack why the food system “is not broken, it’s doing exactly what it’s geared to do,” and what it really takes to transform it.

Karen traces her journey from a Bronx backyard garden and the first life‑changing bite of a real tomato to decades of urban farming, community organizing, and calling out systemic racism in the food system. She explains why she rejects the term “food desert” in favor of “food apartheid,” and how that shift in language exposes the historical and political forces that determine who gets to eat well.

Mark and Karen also explore:

• Life and organizing before the internet—door‑knocking, church basements, and deep listening.
• How communities are responding to the dismantling of DEI funding by building local ecosystems and mutual aid networks.
• The difference between charity and solidarity, and why nonprofits must drop the savior complex and build long‑term trust and relationships.
• The global fight for food sovereignty, seed freedom, and biodiversity.
• Karen’s work at Rise & Root Farm in New York’s Hudson Valley—a queer, Black and brown, women‑led farm rooted in social justice and healing.

Throughout, Karen returns to a simple, radical idea: food is a human right, and real change comes when power and land return to us and when we rediscover our connection to one another.