Finally getting this post out after some failed attempts...
On Tuesday to our delight the sun had popped out whilst we were in beautiful Orvieto, the town atop the flat summit of a volcanic cliff, looking like it had quite naturally grown out of it, so skilled and artistic was the architecture. However, the chilly wind still found its way in, and we feared this morning (Weds) that another cold day was in store. We were still full from the delicious food the night before (pasta from an old variety of wheat with spicy arrabbiata sauce - literally "angry" sauce, exquisite bread, and pork with salad and bitter greens), prepared with the passionate talents of Alfredo Ferranti and Damiano and inspired by the knowledge of the wonderful naturopath Anna di Muzio, who gave us a talk just beforehand, which set us up for our 'heated discussion' by the fire (see earlier post). This morning more treats awaited us, of the intellectual sort...
Anthropologist Michela Zucca from Milan, with her every finger wrapped in a large ring, her long, wavy and voluminous hair theatrically falling to shroud her face and then being swept back to timely punctuate her points, and her expressive face and hands, delivered a dramatic talk. She first challenged the positivist scientists, historians and archaeologists about the linear 'evolution' of humans and their food and agriculture habits, and the supposed dominant role of men within this where it was more evident that societies had been matriarchal, throughout the world and across the proposed ages (stone age, monolithic, neomonolithic, etc.), positing instead that former societies were equally intelligent as contemporary ones and that they efficiently adapted to their diverse environments rather than developing in the same way across regions. Also that material and economic aspects of society were very much secondary to culture and religion. Secondly Michela discussed the social construction of authenticity; how foods especially are presented as authentic in order to sell to tourists but which sells only what is desired and which masks the real process, often industrial and globalised, of the 'authentic' produce. This can be reflected in geographical indicator (GI) stamps (such as champagne and parmiggiano). She noted that women especially are involved in such production and in demanding this kind of recognition of their produce, perhaps in order to assert some form of value to the hard work it represents.
Then from our own group, the charismatic rural sociologist Parto Teherani-Kronner, gave her fascinating talk about meal culture. Drawn in particular from her research in Iran and interrogation of language and translation, instead of 'food security' Parto proposes that we use a framework of 'meal security'. Food can be any edible product (wheat, potato, maize, fruit, yogurt, etc.) but a meal requires an additional set of criteria - time, knowledge, energy (human and fuel resouces), equipment, cultural influcences, social expectations.... as well as ingredients. This is a more accurate way of understanding what, how and why people consume food and therefore how to better address the problems of adequate food and nutritional health. The simplistic idea of eating as one of a handful of fundamental human/animal needs (like shelter) must be broadened and complicated to allow for culture, society, politics and environment to play their equally influential roles in the human act of eating; we are social cultural beings.
This got our brains ticking. How does the information and issues presented fit into current capitalist systems and the wider global politics of food? What is the future with wage labour as the trend, especially for women, is to move away from food (in the sense of time spent growing, preparing, serving and sharing it) which is not valued economically (or culturally?) and towards the formal financialised sector? Marcel Mauss brought attention to the symbology and significance of every gift, in the sense that it can form important ties in society through creating obligations of reciprocity and debt. Food is a very special type of gift. We can see this on the large scale in the way that food aid policy uses food as a weapon by a food aid-giving nation to make certain recieving nations indebted to it (as discussed by Nathan on Monday). On the smaller and more personal scale and often in the home food can demonstrate love through feeding as a key way to nurture, and in return for nurturing/feeding one can gain the love of others and their reciprocity in a complex web of social cohesion. But if we continue to 'liberate' ourselves from the time constraints of preparing and consuming food, not seen as economically useful, and this responsibility is taken over by indsutry and corporations, then who do we become indebted to? Who must we owe and what will we owe? Who should we love and respect? The supermarkets that provides us with our unhealthy microweavable ready-meal or our tasteless packaged sandwich that we eat rushed and alone in front of our computer during our "too busy to take a proper lunch break"-lunch break? The corporations who own the whole food process? The entire system?....
Too much food for thought... it was time for lunch (pasta with lake fish, salad, greens and cheese by Enzo), the first wine of the day began to flow (does it ever stop here?!) and the sun was out and warm and delicious on our skin after a grey start and the cold of the fist few days. Then it was out again with our taxi drivers Luigi and Massimo to the nearby bakery Il Sambuco, an organic cooperative that uses local ingredients (see 'Real Bread' post below). Set in a peaceful green spot, we had a thorough tour and explanation of the process of bread making and we tried some of the some yummy produce; they did not only bread but also pasta and sweet and savoury biscuits and other treats. We all left with some scrumptious goodies in tow :-)
Back at the Convento we admired a beautiful sunset, reflected on the day, gave a helping hand to and learnt some cooking tips from the cheffs (or just took photos and drank wine!), and conducted a skype chat with Raj Patel, on his way to Italy for the Terre Madre event. Yet more consumption of hearty food together before huddling around the fire to watch a moving and informative film made by women in Nepal, Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka, telling their own story about their agriculture, biodiversity, and their cultural and religious events that interweave with their agriculture. Yet again we're reminded that food is highly cultural.
The programme is really starting to take shape now. How will we continue to pull together the various strands of the contemporary food and gender web?
Lauren
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