Feeding resistance: Intersectional paths to food justice, health, and emancipation

Food insecurity is increasingly recognized as a structural and political phenomenon shaped by intersecting systems of inequality. This narrative critical review examines food systems through an intersectional and decolonial perspective, situating hunger not as a technical failure but as a socially produced outcome linked to structural forms of inequality, including racism, gendered power relations, neoliberal political economies, and epistemic exclusion.

A narrative critical review was conducted using a qualitative and intersectional approach. Forty-three peer-reviewed studies were selected from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, guided by an adapted PICO framework to support thematic organization. Studies addressing food justice, agroecology, popular education, epistemic justice, and territorial approaches to nutrition were synthesized through thematic analysis.

The literature reveals consistent patterns of epistemic bias in conventional food insecurity measurement, limited incorporation of culturally grounded knowledge systems, and insufficient participation of marginalized communities in food policy design. Across contexts, agroecology, popular education, and community-led initiatives emerge as key pathways for promoting food sovereignty, collective care, and more equitable food systems.

This study advances critical nutrition scholarship by reframing nourishment as a social, cultural, and political process embedded in territory and power relations. By integrating intersectionality with decolonial perspectives, it highlights the need for participatory, culturally grounded food policies that move beyond technocratic solutions. The findings provide actionable insights for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers seeking to transform food systems toward dignity, equity, and collective well‑being, with particular relevance for Global South contexts.