Criminalization of food across borders, geographies of importation, and food security among ethno-cultural communities

with Dr. Elizabeth Onyango, PhD, School of Public Health, University of Alberta
Tuesday, April 21, 2026, 12 - 12:50 pm via Zoom

Food insecurity is a racialized inequity issue that disproportionately affects immigrants and Indigenous communities. However, existing food security interventions and policies do not reflect the unique food needs of the at-risk communities. Engagement of these populations in the design and implementation of food security policies and interventions is limited in most countries, including Canada. Furthermore, such initiatives must go beyond addressing hunger to also combat systemic factors associated with intergenerational poverty, discrimination, and criminalization of food across borders. In my presentation, I will discuss the shifting definitions of food at and across borders and the geographies of engagement of immigrants in community-led and government initiatives for food secure ethno-cultural communities in Canada. I will highlight the temporal, place, and systemic factors that influence such definitions and the participation of immigrants in the decision-making processes on food security initiatives including their engagement in food importation policies. I link these experiences to the increasing risk of non-communicable diseases in the immigrant population soon after resettlement in Canada.

Elizabeth Onyango, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Canada. She is a health geographer and a social epidemiologist whose research work focuses on migration and food security, intersections of gender, gender-based violence, and the associated health outcomes in minority populations. In her current research program, Dr. Onyango is exploring barriers and facilitators of migrant community engagement in social support services including access to food security initiatives and in building alternative masculinities for gender-equal migrant communities. She has extensive experience in working with vulnerable populations. Dr. Onyango is passionate about community service and is a member of Rotary International.