In 2019 when a small group of FoodShare staff started working on a set of guidelines to address and avoid anti-fatness and body policing in the organization, finding an umbrella term for this work was a challenge. At the time, we called it our ‘Body Positivity‘ statement because we wanted to use something people had heard of and would gently open the door to conversations about fatphobia.

By 2021, with guidelines shared across FoodShare, trainings, panels and content audits under their belt the internal taskforce was increasingly uncomfortable with the framing. We recognized that the body positivity movement had been co-opted by thin people, white folks, online influencers and corporations, and it was not a good reflection of the work we are trying to do in this area.

As a food justice organization that believes in body liberation and fat acceptance, we do not support fatphobia in any of its forms, including where it intersects with systems of oppression such as white supremacy, settler colonialism, colourism, ableism, ageism, misogyny, queerphobia, classism, etc. Because we know that access to food is shaped by these systems, as well as people’s current material conditions and their lived experiences, we respect people’s choices on the foods they eat. We are challenging the idea that foods are “good” or “bad,” or that people are good or bad for eating certain foods.

That’s why we’re proud to announce that we’ve released a new statement entitled Body Liberation and Fat Acceptance. Read the full statement here, as well as our blog that explains the name shift in further detail.

For accountability, we created an action plan to go along with our Body Liberation (previously “Positivity”) statement. Please see our updated Body Liberation Action Plan report here.