Assistant Professor, Department of Social, Cultural, & Justice Studies, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga Oberassistenz, Universität Zürich, Institut für Sozialanthropologie und Empirische Kulturwissenschaft
Are superfoods just a marketing device, another label meant to attract the eye? Or do superfoods ... more Are superfoods just a marketing device, another label meant to attract the eye? Or do superfoods tell us a deeper story about how food and health relate in a global marketplace full of anonymous commodities?
In the past decade, superfoods have taken US and European grocery stores by storm. Novel commodities like quinoa and moringa, along with familiar products such as almonds and raw milk, are now called superfoods, promising to promote health and increase our energy. While consumers may find the magic of superfoods attractive, the international development sector now envisions superfoods acting as cures to political and economic problems like poverty and malnutrition.
Critical Approaches to Superfoods examines the politics and culture of superfoods. It demonstrates how studying superfoods can reveal shifting concepts of nutritional authority, the complexities of intellectual property and bioprospecting, the role marketing agencies play in the agro-industrial complex, and more. The multidisciplinary contributors draw their examples from settings as diverse as South India, Peru, and California to engage with foodstuffs that include quinoa, almonds, fish meal, Rooibos Tea, kale and açaí.
The quinoa export boom generated a rapid standardization project that sought to transform a heter... more The quinoa export boom generated a rapid standardization project that sought to transform a heteroglot local grain into a uniform global commodity that could flow smoothly through global markets. All agricultural commodities come into being through different standardization processes that materialize specific concepts of quality. Yet the sudden rise in export demand for quinoa, massive price surge, and the biodiverse nature and local orientation of existing quinoa production made quinoa’s standardization particularly dramatic. This article traces the enforcement of quality standards for quinoa export ethnographically, focusing on the interactions between farmers and técnicos, a category of actors tasked with training farmers in “quality” quinoa production and enforcing quality at the moment of sale. I argue that standards moralize agricultural production practices, redefining “good quinoa” and “good farmers.” At the same time, they serve as powerful tools to render technical the reorientation of Andean agricultural systems toward quinoa export. Advocates for more just and ecologically sustainable global commodity chains should pay attention to quality standards as a key site of politics with major ramifications for inclusion/exclusion and resilience.
This article examines the narratives of lost and discovered foods prominent Peruvian chefs employ... more This article examines the narratives of lost and discovered foods prominent Peruvian chefs employ to frame their work as chefs and to promote Peruvian food more generally. It argues that many foods framed as recently lost/discovered were not lost but instead unknown, unvalued, or neglected by elite consumers. Tales of lost foods obscure the work of the many people who have produced and consumed these foods, while tales of discovery exalt white, male, elite chefs as protagonists with the vision and expertise to see value in “undervalued” ingredients and dishes. Linking contemporary Peruvian chef’s narratives about their work and Peru as a culinary frontier to heroic tales of Enlightenment thinkers and eighteenth-century travelers, the article shows how the same metaphors of vision, travel, and masculinity that wove their way through early heroic stories of discovery also define contemporary tales of Peruvian chefs seeking out novel ingredients. It argues that even as Peru’s emerging class of celebrity chefs work to subvert colonial culinary hierarchies that hold up European cuisines as exemplars of gastronomic excellence, they ultimately reproduce colonial relationships of power through their narratives of discovery that frame chefs as the arbiters of “good food” and erase the labor of the actors who actively produced and consumed the foods prior to their discovery.
Este artículo examina las narrativas sobre alimentos “perdidos” y “descubiertos” que algunos destacados chefs peruanos emplean para enmarcar su trabajo y promover la comida peruana en general. Argumenta que muchos de estos alimentos definidos como perdidos/descubiertos nunca se perdieron realmente, sino que fueron desconocidos, no valorados o descuidados por los consumidores de élite. Estas narrativas oscurecen el trabajo de muchas personas que han producido y consumido estos alimentos, mientras exaltan a los chefs de élite, blancos y masculinos como los protagonistas principales, con la visión y la experiencia para identificar el valor de los ingredientes y platos "infravalorados". Relacionando las narrativas de estos chefs sobre su trabajo y al Perú como frontera culinaria con los relatos heroicos de pensadores ilustrados y viajeros del siglo XVIII, el artículo muestra cómo las metáforas de la visión, los viajes y la masculinidad, presentes las narrativas tempranas sobre el descubrimiento, también definen las narrativas sobre chefs peruanos en búsqueda de nuevos ingredientes. A pesar de que los chefs famosos de Perú trabajan para subvertir las jerarquías culinarias coloniales que sostienen a las cocinas europeas como ejemplos de excelencia gastronómica, en última instancia, su trabajo reproduce las relaciones de poder coloniales a través estas narrativas de descubrimiento que posicionan a los chefs como los árbitros de la “buena comida” y eliminan el trabajo de los actores que produjeron y consumieron activamente estos alimentos antes de su supuesto descubrimiento.
Since the post–World War II “discovery” of global malnutrition and the concomitant rise of the de... more Since the post–World War II “discovery” of global malnutrition and the concomitant rise of the development apparatus, various “miracle foods” have been proposed by international development organizations as solutions to chronic undernourishment in developing countries. This article draws on media analysis, development literature, and interviews to explore the “miracle food narrative” (MFN) in three cases: high-lysine corn, Golden Rice, and quinoa, which as the incumbent miracle food is the focus of the paper. The essay contends that miracle food narratives depoliticize hunger through a “curative metaphor.” This trope bolsters a paternal logic that blames malnutrition on the undernourished, and blurs problems of access and dispossession, locating “the solution” in Western philanthropy or economic development. The essay argues that quinoa’s interpellation as a global miracle food is directly related to the rise of “multicultural” and “sustainable” development paradigms, and corresponding changes in the roles of “culture/tradition” and “environment” in development discourse. While quinoa’s insertion in the MFN departs in some ways from the fable of the Western scientist designing the hunger antidote by representationally displacing authority in science with authority in “traditional ways,” this recasting of the actors leaves the broader narrative and underlying curative metaphor in place. As malnutrition alleviation programs integrate cultural difference, critical food scholars must pay close attention to the ways in which tradition and culture are invoked. To conclude, I draw attention to the fraught interaction of the politics of indigeneity and the politics of global malnutrition that arises with the shifting roles of science and tradition in quinoa’s adaptation of the miracle food narrative, as well as scale disjunctures between simple miracle food stories and complicated realities, a dynamic that underscores the need for agrifood and food policy scholars to pay close attention to complex interactions of scale.
Gastronomica: The Journal of Critical Food Studies, Vol. 15 No. 4, Winter 2015; (pp. 70-85) DOI: 10.1525/gfc.2015.15.4.70
[Please email me for a copy if you don't have proper permissions or a subscription to Gastronomica]
In the past decade, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) has transformed from a local " Indian food,... more In the past decade, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) has transformed from a local " Indian food, " produced and consumed almost exclusively in the Andean highlands , into a global consumer " super food " lauded for its amino acid, vitamin, and mineral content. While popular press articles have criticized quinoa commercializa-tion for provoking a price surge that left small farmers unable to afford eating this nutritious staple, this paper critically examines evidence supporting this argument and investigates the complex and contradictory nutritional politics of the quinoa boom. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the Peruvian high lands, this paper argues that quinoa consumption simultaneously symbolizes a " traditional " past while heralding an economically prosperous future for farmers and the nation of Peru. It demonstrates that changing relations to quinoa consumption are the result of complex individual and family-level negotiations about ideas of bodily health, tradition, and modernity. The article uses the quinoa boom as a case study to point to broader trends and challenges with commercializing traditional nutritional staples. Given the surging demand for super foods, novel foods with exceptional nutritional profiles that are often linked to traditional peoples, this research is prescient and should inform future efforts seeking to leverage demand for super foods for rural development.
In June 2011, over 25,000 protesters congregated in Puno, Peru to demonstrate against a recent mi... more In June 2011, over 25,000 protesters congregated in Puno, Peru to demonstrate against a recent mining concession to a multinational mining corporation. Protesters employed an ‘eco-ethno’ rhetoric that centered around the potential for the mine to contaminate local water sources and made explicit their indigenous identity. The mobilizations eventually provoked the central government to revoke of the mining license and temporary halted all new extractive industry projects in the Puno region. The Puno protests present a case study to explore the impacts of neoliberal economic policies on indigenous peoples, the factors contributing to the emergence of a national indigenous movement in a country where previously ethnic activism was absent, and the utility of eco-ethno narratives for indigenous movements. The paper is composed of three main sections and arguments: (1) that while overall the acceleration of extractive industry investment caused by neoliberal policies threatens indigenous livelihoods, international governance structures and communication technology provide important new methods for indigenous peoples to secure international allies and legal support (2) that an indigenous movement centered around opposing resource extraction is emerging in the Peruvian Andes (3) that the eco-ethno narratives that won Amazonian indigenous peoples first-world environmentalist allies may not be successful in the Andes, but that a different variant of ecological rhetoric has proved useful in challenging state policies.
What can archaeological studies of ancient trade vessels tell us about the role branding plays in... more What can archaeological studies of ancient trade vessels tell us about the role branding plays in today’s global economy? What is a bureaucracy? What tools do researchers use to understand consumer experiences and anticipate new consumers desires? What do cacao pods and Bitcoin have in common? How can understanding “commodity fetishism” help us design more equitable commodity chains? What can studying non-capitalist exchange systems help us see about capitalism?
This course draws on a broad array of social scientific approaches — from economic anthropology and social psychology to organizational sociology and cultural theory — to introduce students to key elements of commerce and the trends and challenges that define today’s global economy. Connecting social theory, business ethics, and case studies with hands-on research, students will learn to think critically about the “how” and the “why” behind global commerce. This class examines the reasons we exchange goods, services, information, and money and the effects of particular commerce models on workers, consumers, environments, and local economies. Students will apply theories and research methods to actual case studies via in-class activities and experiment with ethnographic research methods to better understand consumers. By the end of this course, students will have developed the intellectual confidence to think creatively, adapt to evolving challenges, center questions of ethics, and present innovative solutions. The course prepares students with the analytical toolkit necessary to confront pressing business challenges, adapt to the rapidly changing global economy, and make business a force for good.
Course Description:
Kale, chia, quinoa, and now kombucha. It seems that each year a new food gai... more Course Description:
Kale, chia, quinoa, and now kombucha. It seems that each year a new food gains catches the public's attention for its purported ability to enact some sort of miracle – hype and fanfare commence but soon subside as a new food takes hold of the miracle food slot. In the Inca Empire, quinoa was seen as a food of the gods that when offered in libations would allow communication with the powerful mountain gods. In the late 1800s, an entire industry developed around the sale of cure-alls like graham crackers, garlic powder, and snake oil. The pervasive fraudulent claims led to the creation of the US 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act which eventually led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which plays a central role in regulating both the food and pharmaceutical industries in the US to this day. These are just a few of the phenomena this course will critically examine in its investigation of " miracle foods " in their varied manifestations across diverse historical and geographic contexts. We will focus on miracle foods in order to explore a range of broader issues including global food commodity chains, consumer ethics, the role of diet in human evolution, gender politics, and global health disparities. While the course takes an anthropological approach, integrating socio-cultural aspects of miracle foods with biological anthropology research on human dietary evolution and the archaeology of " miracle foods " in past human societies, our readings and conversations will cross disciplinary boundaries to incorporate insights and key debates from geography, nutrition science, sociology, consumer psychology, communications, and marketing as we attempt to understand this complex and interdisciplinary story. Broadly, the class uses food, and specifically, miracle foods as an avenue to explore a diverse range of scholarly issues.
Are superfoods just a marketing device, another label meant to attract the eye? Or do superfoods ... more Are superfoods just a marketing device, another label meant to attract the eye? Or do superfoods tell us a deeper story about how food and health relate in a global marketplace full of anonymous commodities?
In the past decade, superfoods have taken US and European grocery stores by storm. Novel commodities like quinoa and moringa, along with familiar products such as almonds and raw milk, are now called superfoods, promising to promote health and increase our energy. While consumers may find the magic of superfoods attractive, the international development sector now envisions superfoods acting as cures to political and economic problems like poverty and malnutrition.
Critical Approaches to Superfoods examines the politics and culture of superfoods. It demonstrates how studying superfoods can reveal shifting concepts of nutritional authority, the complexities of intellectual property and bioprospecting, the role marketing agencies play in the agro-industrial complex, and more. The multidisciplinary contributors draw their examples from settings as diverse as South India, Peru, and California to engage with foodstuffs that include quinoa, almonds, fish meal, Rooibos Tea, kale and açaí.
The quinoa export boom generated a rapid standardization project that sought to transform a heter... more The quinoa export boom generated a rapid standardization project that sought to transform a heteroglot local grain into a uniform global commodity that could flow smoothly through global markets. All agricultural commodities come into being through different standardization processes that materialize specific concepts of quality. Yet the sudden rise in export demand for quinoa, massive price surge, and the biodiverse nature and local orientation of existing quinoa production made quinoa’s standardization particularly dramatic. This article traces the enforcement of quality standards for quinoa export ethnographically, focusing on the interactions between farmers and técnicos, a category of actors tasked with training farmers in “quality” quinoa production and enforcing quality at the moment of sale. I argue that standards moralize agricultural production practices, redefining “good quinoa” and “good farmers.” At the same time, they serve as powerful tools to render technical the reorientation of Andean agricultural systems toward quinoa export. Advocates for more just and ecologically sustainable global commodity chains should pay attention to quality standards as a key site of politics with major ramifications for inclusion/exclusion and resilience.
This article examines the narratives of lost and discovered foods prominent Peruvian chefs employ... more This article examines the narratives of lost and discovered foods prominent Peruvian chefs employ to frame their work as chefs and to promote Peruvian food more generally. It argues that many foods framed as recently lost/discovered were not lost but instead unknown, unvalued, or neglected by elite consumers. Tales of lost foods obscure the work of the many people who have produced and consumed these foods, while tales of discovery exalt white, male, elite chefs as protagonists with the vision and expertise to see value in “undervalued” ingredients and dishes. Linking contemporary Peruvian chef’s narratives about their work and Peru as a culinary frontier to heroic tales of Enlightenment thinkers and eighteenth-century travelers, the article shows how the same metaphors of vision, travel, and masculinity that wove their way through early heroic stories of discovery also define contemporary tales of Peruvian chefs seeking out novel ingredients. It argues that even as Peru’s emerging class of celebrity chefs work to subvert colonial culinary hierarchies that hold up European cuisines as exemplars of gastronomic excellence, they ultimately reproduce colonial relationships of power through their narratives of discovery that frame chefs as the arbiters of “good food” and erase the labor of the actors who actively produced and consumed the foods prior to their discovery.
Este artículo examina las narrativas sobre alimentos “perdidos” y “descubiertos” que algunos destacados chefs peruanos emplean para enmarcar su trabajo y promover la comida peruana en general. Argumenta que muchos de estos alimentos definidos como perdidos/descubiertos nunca se perdieron realmente, sino que fueron desconocidos, no valorados o descuidados por los consumidores de élite. Estas narrativas oscurecen el trabajo de muchas personas que han producido y consumido estos alimentos, mientras exaltan a los chefs de élite, blancos y masculinos como los protagonistas principales, con la visión y la experiencia para identificar el valor de los ingredientes y platos "infravalorados". Relacionando las narrativas de estos chefs sobre su trabajo y al Perú como frontera culinaria con los relatos heroicos de pensadores ilustrados y viajeros del siglo XVIII, el artículo muestra cómo las metáforas de la visión, los viajes y la masculinidad, presentes las narrativas tempranas sobre el descubrimiento, también definen las narrativas sobre chefs peruanos en búsqueda de nuevos ingredientes. A pesar de que los chefs famosos de Perú trabajan para subvertir las jerarquías culinarias coloniales que sostienen a las cocinas europeas como ejemplos de excelencia gastronómica, en última instancia, su trabajo reproduce las relaciones de poder coloniales a través estas narrativas de descubrimiento que posicionan a los chefs como los árbitros de la “buena comida” y eliminan el trabajo de los actores que produjeron y consumieron activamente estos alimentos antes de su supuesto descubrimiento.
Since the post–World War II “discovery” of global malnutrition and the concomitant rise of the de... more Since the post–World War II “discovery” of global malnutrition and the concomitant rise of the development apparatus, various “miracle foods” have been proposed by international development organizations as solutions to chronic undernourishment in developing countries. This article draws on media analysis, development literature, and interviews to explore the “miracle food narrative” (MFN) in three cases: high-lysine corn, Golden Rice, and quinoa, which as the incumbent miracle food is the focus of the paper. The essay contends that miracle food narratives depoliticize hunger through a “curative metaphor.” This trope bolsters a paternal logic that blames malnutrition on the undernourished, and blurs problems of access and dispossession, locating “the solution” in Western philanthropy or economic development. The essay argues that quinoa’s interpellation as a global miracle food is directly related to the rise of “multicultural” and “sustainable” development paradigms, and corresponding changes in the roles of “culture/tradition” and “environment” in development discourse. While quinoa’s insertion in the MFN departs in some ways from the fable of the Western scientist designing the hunger antidote by representationally displacing authority in science with authority in “traditional ways,” this recasting of the actors leaves the broader narrative and underlying curative metaphor in place. As malnutrition alleviation programs integrate cultural difference, critical food scholars must pay close attention to the ways in which tradition and culture are invoked. To conclude, I draw attention to the fraught interaction of the politics of indigeneity and the politics of global malnutrition that arises with the shifting roles of science and tradition in quinoa’s adaptation of the miracle food narrative, as well as scale disjunctures between simple miracle food stories and complicated realities, a dynamic that underscores the need for agrifood and food policy scholars to pay close attention to complex interactions of scale.
Gastronomica: The Journal of Critical Food Studies, Vol. 15 No. 4, Winter 2015; (pp. 70-85) DOI: 10.1525/gfc.2015.15.4.70
[Please email me for a copy if you don't have proper permissions or a subscription to Gastronomica]
In the past decade, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) has transformed from a local " Indian food,... more In the past decade, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) has transformed from a local " Indian food, " produced and consumed almost exclusively in the Andean highlands , into a global consumer " super food " lauded for its amino acid, vitamin, and mineral content. While popular press articles have criticized quinoa commercializa-tion for provoking a price surge that left small farmers unable to afford eating this nutritious staple, this paper critically examines evidence supporting this argument and investigates the complex and contradictory nutritional politics of the quinoa boom. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the Peruvian high lands, this paper argues that quinoa consumption simultaneously symbolizes a " traditional " past while heralding an economically prosperous future for farmers and the nation of Peru. It demonstrates that changing relations to quinoa consumption are the result of complex individual and family-level negotiations about ideas of bodily health, tradition, and modernity. The article uses the quinoa boom as a case study to point to broader trends and challenges with commercializing traditional nutritional staples. Given the surging demand for super foods, novel foods with exceptional nutritional profiles that are often linked to traditional peoples, this research is prescient and should inform future efforts seeking to leverage demand for super foods for rural development.
In June 2011, over 25,000 protesters congregated in Puno, Peru to demonstrate against a recent mi... more In June 2011, over 25,000 protesters congregated in Puno, Peru to demonstrate against a recent mining concession to a multinational mining corporation. Protesters employed an ‘eco-ethno’ rhetoric that centered around the potential for the mine to contaminate local water sources and made explicit their indigenous identity. The mobilizations eventually provoked the central government to revoke of the mining license and temporary halted all new extractive industry projects in the Puno region. The Puno protests present a case study to explore the impacts of neoliberal economic policies on indigenous peoples, the factors contributing to the emergence of a national indigenous movement in a country where previously ethnic activism was absent, and the utility of eco-ethno narratives for indigenous movements. The paper is composed of three main sections and arguments: (1) that while overall the acceleration of extractive industry investment caused by neoliberal policies threatens indigenous livelihoods, international governance structures and communication technology provide important new methods for indigenous peoples to secure international allies and legal support (2) that an indigenous movement centered around opposing resource extraction is emerging in the Peruvian Andes (3) that the eco-ethno narratives that won Amazonian indigenous peoples first-world environmentalist allies may not be successful in the Andes, but that a different variant of ecological rhetoric has proved useful in challenging state policies.
What can archaeological studies of ancient trade vessels tell us about the role branding plays in... more What can archaeological studies of ancient trade vessels tell us about the role branding plays in today’s global economy? What is a bureaucracy? What tools do researchers use to understand consumer experiences and anticipate new consumers desires? What do cacao pods and Bitcoin have in common? How can understanding “commodity fetishism” help us design more equitable commodity chains? What can studying non-capitalist exchange systems help us see about capitalism?
This course draws on a broad array of social scientific approaches — from economic anthropology and social psychology to organizational sociology and cultural theory — to introduce students to key elements of commerce and the trends and challenges that define today’s global economy. Connecting social theory, business ethics, and case studies with hands-on research, students will learn to think critically about the “how” and the “why” behind global commerce. This class examines the reasons we exchange goods, services, information, and money and the effects of particular commerce models on workers, consumers, environments, and local economies. Students will apply theories and research methods to actual case studies via in-class activities and experiment with ethnographic research methods to better understand consumers. By the end of this course, students will have developed the intellectual confidence to think creatively, adapt to evolving challenges, center questions of ethics, and present innovative solutions. The course prepares students with the analytical toolkit necessary to confront pressing business challenges, adapt to the rapidly changing global economy, and make business a force for good.
Course Description:
Kale, chia, quinoa, and now kombucha. It seems that each year a new food gai... more Course Description:
Kale, chia, quinoa, and now kombucha. It seems that each year a new food gains catches the public's attention for its purported ability to enact some sort of miracle – hype and fanfare commence but soon subside as a new food takes hold of the miracle food slot. In the Inca Empire, quinoa was seen as a food of the gods that when offered in libations would allow communication with the powerful mountain gods. In the late 1800s, an entire industry developed around the sale of cure-alls like graham crackers, garlic powder, and snake oil. The pervasive fraudulent claims led to the creation of the US 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act which eventually led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which plays a central role in regulating both the food and pharmaceutical industries in the US to this day. These are just a few of the phenomena this course will critically examine in its investigation of " miracle foods " in their varied manifestations across diverse historical and geographic contexts. We will focus on miracle foods in order to explore a range of broader issues including global food commodity chains, consumer ethics, the role of diet in human evolution, gender politics, and global health disparities. While the course takes an anthropological approach, integrating socio-cultural aspects of miracle foods with biological anthropology research on human dietary evolution and the archaeology of " miracle foods " in past human societies, our readings and conversations will cross disciplinary boundaries to incorporate insights and key debates from geography, nutrition science, sociology, consumer psychology, communications, and marketing as we attempt to understand this complex and interdisciplinary story. Broadly, the class uses food, and specifically, miracle foods as an avenue to explore a diverse range of scholarly issues.
In the past decade, quinoa transformed from a peasant food produced and consumed almost exclusive... more In the past decade, quinoa transformed from a peasant food produced and consumed almost exclusively in the Andes to a globally renowned “superfood.” Media accounts, product labels, and scientific research depict quinoa’s ascent to stardom as a tale of loss and discovery: Spanish conquistadors’ disparagement of the grain and consequent fall into disuse followed by a recent (re)discovery of the “lost crop of the Inca” and prominence in global consumer markets. Examining quinoa’s lively presence throughout its supposed decline as a dietary and cultural cornerstone for Latin American agriculturalists and urban poor, this paper reconsiders “decline.” I argue that decline and loss are often used to refer to foods specifically neglected by wealthy people that are extensively used by poor people. I call for de-linking discovery and success by tracing the shifting geography of quinoa production and consumption over the past decade, highlighting how quinoa’s “success” prompted booms in some regions and busts in others. I draw on historical sources, ethnographic fieldwork among quinoa producers and consumers, and existing research on “rediscovered” foods (e.g. ramen, pork fat) for comparative leverage. To conclude, I offer preliminary thoughts on the question: What work do these stories of lost and discovered foods do?
Over the last decade, scholars have problematized “indigeneity,” illuminating the highly politica... more Over the last decade, scholars have problematized “indigeneity,” illuminating the highly political, constructed, and performative aspects of this “identity.” Much of this research focuses on so-called “resource conflicts” in which indigeneity is deployed as a strategic reaction to exclusion from or contamination of “natural resources.” In these models, divergent interests and ideologies of different “actors” are examined, but it is assumed that all parties are talking about the same (natural) “thing.” This paper calls for scholars to expand analytical frameworks about “indigenous” social movements outside the bounds of identity politics and questions of access to consider how some conflicts are also about drastically different ontological conceptions of the location of human beings in the world and are not simply about gaining autonomy and access rights. This paper draws upon Marisol de la Cadena’s claim that the articulation of “earth-beings” as political actors in Andean indigenous demonstrations challenges the basis of Western politics as a space in which humans debate human issues and science as a realm where objective knowledge is produced about an inanimate “environment.”
Following this assertion, this paper critically examines the ways “resources” are also invoked as “beings” with agency in a demonstration against the proposed Santa Ana silver mine in Puno, Peru in June 2011. Through observations at the protest and media analysis, I call attention to the ways protesters articulate their demands through both Western scientific evidence about water contamination and Andean notions of the Cerro Santa Ana as a socialized being. I argue that (1) scholars must problematize the “resources” in resource conflicts to examine the political implications this particular terminology and (2) scholarship about the resurgence of ethnic identification in the Peruvian highlands should not be framed as a simple revival of ethnic identity, but also as an articulation of a socio-natural world
Since the post-WWII “discovery” of global malnutrition and concomitant rise of the development ap... more Since the post-WWII “discovery” of global malnutrition and concomitant rise of the development apparatus, various "Miracle Foods" have been proposed by international development organizations as solutions to chronic undernourishment and food crises in developing countries. These foods initially generate media fanfare, generous monetary support, and a gush of nutrition and agronomic knowledge production, and yet all have fallen far short of projected impacts. Based on media analysis, development project missions and scientific reports, of the respective research booms, this paper explores the construction of the Miracle Food narrative in three cases: high-lysine corn, Golden Rice, and quinoa, paying attention to the politics of scientific research in each case study. By situating Miracle Foods in development discourse, my work demonstrates how Miracle Food narratives depoliticize and medicalize hunger, obscuring the structural violence and historical oppression that have produced inequality in food supplies and in turn portrays hunger as a technical, not political problem. I examine the “curative” metaphor utilized in the discursive practices and what this conception of malnutrition as a pathology that can be cured by a single substance demonstrates about popular conceptions of poverty and malnutrition. I argue that the current enthusiasm for quinoa, as evidenced by the UN FAO’s declaration of 2013 the International Year of Quinoa, shows a powerful variant of the Miracle Food narrative that responds to disenchantment with modified, technified, “superfoods,” by proposing to resurrect nutrient-rich indigenous foods and promote them in food insecure locales. While this narrative is similar in structure to other Miracle Food discourses, the roles of science and technology are ostensibly secondary and the glorification of “indigenous” technology is central. To what extent is this effort to promote “ancient” foods rather than new technologies a rejection of technification of development and does it represent a new trajectory of food aid programs?
In response to surging demand for foods linked to specific locales and the development of intelle... more In response to surging demand for foods linked to specific locales and the development of intellectual property frameworks to protect such products, marginalized communities across the world are commercializing their “traditional” foods and seeking Geographic Indication (GI) trademarks to protect them as intellectual property. While understandings of consumers’ desires for “local” foods and the effects of GI trademarks on producer communities are complex and nuanced, we know little about how producer communities forge linkages between a product, culture, and place, and attempt to develop global reputations for these products. My dissertation compares an emerging place-based quinoa from the Peruvian highlands, “Quinua Puneño,” and a more developed place-based quinoa from the Bolivia highlands, “Quinua Real,” to examine collective action in efforts to commercialize traditional products for global markets and the ways efforts to create place-based foods articulate with identity politics at multiple scales. Through ethnographic fieldwork in Lima and Puno, Peru and La Paz and Oruru/Potosí, Bolivia, I will examine how diverse actors collaborate to materially and symbolically differentiate Quinua Puneño and Quinua Real and legitimate claims of greater authenticity and quality. The research develops the concept of the “symbolic commons” to explore how diverse actors manage the reputation and material identity of a place-based product. I also investigate how the effort to tie a product to a cohesive local identity and bounded territory articulates with a highly contested and ambivalent indigenous identity in the Andean highlands, igniting complex identity politics and power asymmetries between indigenous and non-indigenous actors involved in Quinua Puneño and Quinua Real’s production. Broadly, my study will develop intersections between literatures on the politics of “local” foods, neoliberal multiculturalism, and the “symbolic commons,” and in doing so, provides a model to guide future studies of efforts to convert cultural difference into economic capital.
Since the post–World War II “discovery” of global malnutrition and the concomitant rise of the de... more Since the post–World War II “discovery” of global malnutrition and the concomitant rise of the development apparatus, various “miracle foods” have been proposed by international development organizations as solutions to chronic undernourishment in developing countries. This article draws on media analysis, development literature, and interviews to explore the “miracle food narrative” (MFN) in three cases: high-lysine corn, Golden Rice, and quinoa, which as the incumbent miracle food is the focus of the paper. The essay contends that miracle food narratives depoliticize hunger through a “curative metaphor.” This trope bolsters a paternal logic that blames malnutrition on the undernourished, and blurs problems of access and dispossession, locating “the solution” in Western philanthropy or economic development. The essay argues that quinoa’s interpellation as a global miracle food is directly related to the rise of “multicultural” and “sustainable” development paradigms, and correspond...
Are superfoods just a marketing device, another label meant to attract the eye? Or do superfoods ... more Are superfoods just a marketing device, another label meant to attract the eye? Or do superfoods tell us a deeper story about how food and health relate in a global marketplace full of anonymous commodities? In the past decade, superfoods have taken US and European grocery stores by storm. Novel commodities like quinoa and moringa, along with familiar products such as almonds and raw milk, are now called superfoods, promising to promote health and increase our energy. While consumers may find the magic of superfoods attractive, the international development sector now envisions superfoods acting as cures to political and economic problems like poverty and malnutrition. Critical Approaches to Superfoods examines the politics and culture of superfoods. It demonstrates how studying superfoods can reveal shifting concepts of nutritional authority, the complexities of intellectual property and bioprospecting, the role marketing agencies play in the agro-industrial complex, and more. The ...
This article examines the narratives of lost and discovered foods prominent Peruvian chefs employ... more This article examines the narratives of lost and discovered foods prominent Peruvian chefs employ to frame their work as chefs and to promote Peruvian food more generally. It argues that many foods framed as recently lost/discovered were not lost but instead unknown, unvalued, or neglected by elite consumers. Tales of lost foods obscure the work of the many people who have produced and consumed these foods, while tales of discovery exalt white, male, elite chefs as protagonists with the vision and expertise to see value in “undervalued” ingredients and dishes. Linking contemporary Peruvian chef’s narratives about their work and Peru as a culinary frontier to heroic tales of Enlightenment thinkers and eighteenth century travelers, the article shows how the same metaphors of vision, travel, and masculinity that wove their way through early heroic stories of discovery also define contemporary tales of Peruvian chefs seeking out novel ingredients. It argues that even as Peru’s emerging class of celebrity chefs work to subvert colonial culinary hierarchies that hold up European cuisines as exemplars of gastronomic excellence, they ultimately reproduce colonial relationships of power through their narratives of discovery that frame chefs as the arbiters of “good food” and erase the labor of the actors who actively produced and consumed the foods prior to their discovery.
In the past decade, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) has transformed from a local " Indian ... more In the past decade, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) has transformed from a local " Indian food, " produced and consumed almost exclusively in the Andean highlands , into a global consumer " super food " lauded for its amino acid, vitamin, and mineral content. While popular press articles have criticized quinoa commercializa-tion for provoking a price surge that left small farmers unable to afford eating this nutritious staple, this paper critically examines evidence supporting this argument and investigates the complex and contradictory nutritional politics of the quinoa boom. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the Peruvian high lands, this paper argues that quinoa consumption simultaneously symbolizes a " traditional " past while heralding an economically prosperous future for farmers and the nation of Peru. It demonstrates that changing relations to quinoa consumption are the result of complex individual and family-level negotiations about ideas o...
In June 2011, over 25,000 protesters congregated in Puno, Peru to demonstrate against a recent mi... more In June 2011, over 25,000 protesters congregated in Puno, Peru to demonstrate against a recent mining concession to a multinational mining corporation. Protesters employed an ‘eco-ethno’ rhetoric that centered around the potential for the mine to contaminate local water sources and made explicit their indigenous identity. The mobilizations eventually provoked the central government to revoke of the mining license and temporary halted all new extractive industry projects in the Puno region. The Puno protests present a case study to explore the impacts of neoliberal economic policies on indigenous peoples, the factors contributing to the emergence of a national indigenous movement in a country where previously ethnic activism was absent, and the utility of eco-ethno narratives for indigenous movements. The paper is composed of three main sections and arguments: (1) that while overall the acceleration of extractive industry investment caused by neoliberal policies threatens indigenous livelihoods, international governance structures and communication technology provide important new methods for indigenous peoples to secure international allies and legal support (2) that an indigenous movement centered around opposing resource extraction is emerging in the Peruvian Andes (3) that the eco-ethno narratives that won Amazonian indigenous peoples first-world environmentalist allies may not be successful in the Andes, but that a different variant of ecological rhetoric has proved useful in challenging state policies. doi: 10.1016/j.exis.2014.10.002
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In the past decade, superfoods have taken US and European grocery stores by storm. Novel commodities like quinoa and moringa, along with familiar products such as almonds and raw milk, are now called superfoods, promising to promote health and increase our energy. While consumers may find the magic of superfoods attractive, the international development sector now envisions superfoods acting as cures to political and economic problems like poverty and malnutrition.
Critical Approaches to Superfoods examines the politics and culture of superfoods. It demonstrates how studying superfoods can reveal shifting concepts of nutritional authority, the complexities of intellectual property and bioprospecting, the role marketing agencies play in the agro-industrial complex, and more. The multidisciplinary contributors draw their examples from settings as diverse as South India, Peru, and California to engage with foodstuffs that include quinoa, almonds, fish meal, Rooibos Tea, kale and açaí.
novel ingredients. It argues that even as Peru’s emerging class of celebrity chefs work to subvert colonial culinary hierarchies that hold up European cuisines as exemplars of gastronomic excellence, they ultimately reproduce colonial relationships of power through their narratives of discovery that frame chefs as the arbiters of “good food” and erase the labor of the actors who actively produced and consumed the foods prior to their discovery.
Este artículo examina las narrativas sobre alimentos “perdidos” y “descubiertos” que algunos destacados chefs peruanos emplean para enmarcar su trabajo y promover la comida peruana en general. Argumenta que muchos de estos alimentos definidos como perdidos/descubiertos nunca
se perdieron realmente, sino que fueron desconocidos, no valorados o descuidados por los
consumidores de élite. Estas narrativas oscurecen el trabajo de muchas personas que han
producido y consumido estos alimentos, mientras exaltan a los chefs de élite, blancos y
masculinos como los protagonistas principales, con la visión y la experiencia para identificar el
valor de los ingredientes y platos "infravalorados". Relacionando las narrativas de estos chefs
sobre su trabajo y al Perú como frontera culinaria con los relatos heroicos de pensadores
ilustrados y viajeros del siglo XVIII, el artículo muestra cómo las metáforas de la visión, los viajes
y la masculinidad, presentes las narrativas tempranas sobre el descubrimiento, también definen
las narrativas sobre chefs peruanos en búsqueda de nuevos ingredientes. A pesar de que los chefs
famosos de Perú trabajan para subvertir las jerarquías culinarias coloniales que sostienen a las
cocinas europeas como ejemplos de excelencia gastronómica, en última instancia, su trabajo
reproduce las relaciones de poder coloniales a través estas narrativas de descubrimiento que
posicionan a los chefs como los árbitros de la “buena comida” y eliminan el trabajo de los actores
que produjeron y consumieron activamente estos alimentos antes de su supuesto
descubrimiento.
Gastronomica: The Journal of Critical Food Studies, Vol. 15 No. 4, Winter 2015; (pp. 70-85) DOI: 10.1525/gfc.2015.15.4.70
[Please email me for a copy if you don't have proper permissions or a subscription to Gastronomica]
DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2014.10.002
This course draws on a broad array of social scientific approaches — from economic anthropology and social psychology to organizational sociology and cultural theory — to introduce students to key elements of commerce and the trends and challenges that define today’s global economy. Connecting social theory, business ethics, and case studies with hands-on research, students will learn to think critically about the “how” and the “why” behind global commerce. This class examines the reasons we exchange goods, services, information, and money and the effects of particular commerce models on workers, consumers, environments, and local economies. Students will apply theories and research methods to actual case studies via in-class activities and experiment with ethnographic research methods to better understand consumers. By the end of this course, students will have developed the intellectual confidence to think creatively, adapt to evolving challenges, center questions of ethics, and present innovative solutions. The course prepares students with the analytical toolkit necessary to confront pressing business challenges, adapt to the rapidly changing global economy, and make business a force for good.
Kale, chia, quinoa, and now kombucha. It seems that each year a new food gains catches the public's attention for its purported ability to enact some sort of miracle – hype and fanfare commence but soon subside as a new food takes hold of the miracle food slot. In the Inca Empire, quinoa was seen as a food of the gods that when offered in libations would allow communication with the powerful mountain gods. In the late 1800s, an entire industry developed around the sale of cure-alls like graham crackers, garlic powder, and snake oil. The pervasive fraudulent claims led to the creation of the US 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act which eventually led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which plays a central role in regulating both the food and pharmaceutical industries in the US to this day. These are just a few of the phenomena this course will critically examine in its investigation of " miracle foods " in their varied manifestations across diverse historical and geographic contexts. We will focus on miracle foods in order to explore a range of broader issues including global food commodity chains, consumer ethics, the role of diet in human evolution, gender politics, and global health disparities. While the course takes an anthropological approach, integrating socio-cultural aspects of miracle foods with biological anthropology research on human dietary evolution and the archaeology of " miracle foods " in past human societies, our readings and conversations will cross disciplinary boundaries to incorporate insights and key debates from geography, nutrition science, sociology, consumer psychology, communications, and marketing as we attempt to understand this complex and interdisciplinary story. Broadly, the class uses food, and specifically, miracle foods as an avenue to explore a diverse range of scholarly issues.
In the past decade, superfoods have taken US and European grocery stores by storm. Novel commodities like quinoa and moringa, along with familiar products such as almonds and raw milk, are now called superfoods, promising to promote health and increase our energy. While consumers may find the magic of superfoods attractive, the international development sector now envisions superfoods acting as cures to political and economic problems like poverty and malnutrition.
Critical Approaches to Superfoods examines the politics and culture of superfoods. It demonstrates how studying superfoods can reveal shifting concepts of nutritional authority, the complexities of intellectual property and bioprospecting, the role marketing agencies play in the agro-industrial complex, and more. The multidisciplinary contributors draw their examples from settings as diverse as South India, Peru, and California to engage with foodstuffs that include quinoa, almonds, fish meal, Rooibos Tea, kale and açaí.
novel ingredients. It argues that even as Peru’s emerging class of celebrity chefs work to subvert colonial culinary hierarchies that hold up European cuisines as exemplars of gastronomic excellence, they ultimately reproduce colonial relationships of power through their narratives of discovery that frame chefs as the arbiters of “good food” and erase the labor of the actors who actively produced and consumed the foods prior to their discovery.
Este artículo examina las narrativas sobre alimentos “perdidos” y “descubiertos” que algunos destacados chefs peruanos emplean para enmarcar su trabajo y promover la comida peruana en general. Argumenta que muchos de estos alimentos definidos como perdidos/descubiertos nunca
se perdieron realmente, sino que fueron desconocidos, no valorados o descuidados por los
consumidores de élite. Estas narrativas oscurecen el trabajo de muchas personas que han
producido y consumido estos alimentos, mientras exaltan a los chefs de élite, blancos y
masculinos como los protagonistas principales, con la visión y la experiencia para identificar el
valor de los ingredientes y platos "infravalorados". Relacionando las narrativas de estos chefs
sobre su trabajo y al Perú como frontera culinaria con los relatos heroicos de pensadores
ilustrados y viajeros del siglo XVIII, el artículo muestra cómo las metáforas de la visión, los viajes
y la masculinidad, presentes las narrativas tempranas sobre el descubrimiento, también definen
las narrativas sobre chefs peruanos en búsqueda de nuevos ingredientes. A pesar de que los chefs
famosos de Perú trabajan para subvertir las jerarquías culinarias coloniales que sostienen a las
cocinas europeas como ejemplos de excelencia gastronómica, en última instancia, su trabajo
reproduce las relaciones de poder coloniales a través estas narrativas de descubrimiento que
posicionan a los chefs como los árbitros de la “buena comida” y eliminan el trabajo de los actores
que produjeron y consumieron activamente estos alimentos antes de su supuesto
descubrimiento.
Gastronomica: The Journal of Critical Food Studies, Vol. 15 No. 4, Winter 2015; (pp. 70-85) DOI: 10.1525/gfc.2015.15.4.70
[Please email me for a copy if you don't have proper permissions or a subscription to Gastronomica]
DOI: 10.1016/j.exis.2014.10.002
This course draws on a broad array of social scientific approaches — from economic anthropology and social psychology to organizational sociology and cultural theory — to introduce students to key elements of commerce and the trends and challenges that define today’s global economy. Connecting social theory, business ethics, and case studies with hands-on research, students will learn to think critically about the “how” and the “why” behind global commerce. This class examines the reasons we exchange goods, services, information, and money and the effects of particular commerce models on workers, consumers, environments, and local economies. Students will apply theories and research methods to actual case studies via in-class activities and experiment with ethnographic research methods to better understand consumers. By the end of this course, students will have developed the intellectual confidence to think creatively, adapt to evolving challenges, center questions of ethics, and present innovative solutions. The course prepares students with the analytical toolkit necessary to confront pressing business challenges, adapt to the rapidly changing global economy, and make business a force for good.
Kale, chia, quinoa, and now kombucha. It seems that each year a new food gains catches the public's attention for its purported ability to enact some sort of miracle – hype and fanfare commence but soon subside as a new food takes hold of the miracle food slot. In the Inca Empire, quinoa was seen as a food of the gods that when offered in libations would allow communication with the powerful mountain gods. In the late 1800s, an entire industry developed around the sale of cure-alls like graham crackers, garlic powder, and snake oil. The pervasive fraudulent claims led to the creation of the US 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act which eventually led to the creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) which plays a central role in regulating both the food and pharmaceutical industries in the US to this day. These are just a few of the phenomena this course will critically examine in its investigation of " miracle foods " in their varied manifestations across diverse historical and geographic contexts. We will focus on miracle foods in order to explore a range of broader issues including global food commodity chains, consumer ethics, the role of diet in human evolution, gender politics, and global health disparities. While the course takes an anthropological approach, integrating socio-cultural aspects of miracle foods with biological anthropology research on human dietary evolution and the archaeology of " miracle foods " in past human societies, our readings and conversations will cross disciplinary boundaries to incorporate insights and key debates from geography, nutrition science, sociology, consumer psychology, communications, and marketing as we attempt to understand this complex and interdisciplinary story. Broadly, the class uses food, and specifically, miracle foods as an avenue to explore a diverse range of scholarly issues.
Following this assertion, this paper critically examines the ways “resources” are also invoked as “beings” with agency in a demonstration against the proposed Santa Ana silver mine in Puno, Peru in June 2011. Through observations at the protest and media analysis, I call attention to the ways protesters articulate their demands through both Western scientific evidence about water contamination and Andean notions of the Cerro Santa Ana as a socialized being. I argue that (1) scholars must problematize the “resources” in resource conflicts to examine the political implications this particular terminology and (2) scholarship about the resurgence of ethnic identification in the Peruvian highlands should not be framed as a simple revival of ethnic identity, but also as an articulation of a socio-natural world