Image courtesy of The Community Farm
In the UK, where the Black Lives Matter movement coalesced with a pandemic-provoked appreciation for green space and local food for all, questions of unequal land access and ownership are becoming impossible to ignore. Ursula Billington reports on some urban farms opening their gates to inclusion.
The statistics speak for themselves: in England, 1% of the population owns 50% of the land. 98.6% of farm managers and holders are White-British. Just 3.5% of environment professionals come from an ethnic minority background.
Image courtesy of The Community Farm
Structural inequalities
This inequality has historic roots, compounded by many issues including urbanisation – over 98% of Black people live in cities, often in areas deprived of nature; a whitewashed media in relation to outdoor pursuits; and hostile rural areas and agricultural institutions.