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- Panel 7-1 Ethnic Minorities and the Global Valorization of Indigenous Food: Ethical and Practical Considerations /Hart N. FEUER
Panel 7-1 Ethnic Minorities and the Global Valorization of Indigenous Food: Ethical and Practical Considerations /Hart N. FEUER
Hart N. FEUER
Associate Professor, Division of Natural Resource Economics, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan
A constellation of global food trends has emerged in recent decades around locality, distinction, and sustainability that has generated interest in indigenous food systems and traditional agri-food products. Prominently, this has drawn attention to heirloom crop and livestock species, raw fermentation, wild edible plants, and historical culinary practices—especially those of ethnic minority groups. From the perspective of cultural preservation or reproduction, this is a promising phenomenon that encourages protection and refinement of the nutritional, agricultural, and cultural heritage of marginalized groups. Meanwhile, the rapid pace of indigenous culinary commodification and artificial elevation of class distinction may devolve into cultural appropriation or become a new form of culinary gentrification. Researchers and chefs are invariably faced with the ethical challenges of respectfully valorizing traditional food systems while avoiding colonialist and classist pitfalls associated with past interactions with ethnic minority groups. Based on the experiences of a regional, trans-disciplinary project in Asia on future wild edible plant cuisines, I reflect on the mutual dependence between researchers and local groups that help to reconcile seemingly divergent power relations. Complementarities in expertise (vernacular and universalist), resources (coordination and mobilization), and legitimacy (global relevance and embedded utility) flatten hierarchies and encourage conscientiousness and ethical engagement in promoting indigenous food systems.
Keywords: ethnic minorities, indigenous food, research ethics, traditional cuisines
Associate Professor, Division of Natural Resource Economics, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Japan
A constellation of global food trends has emerged in recent decades around locality, distinction, and sustainability that has generated interest in indigenous food systems and traditional agri-food products. Prominently, this has drawn attention to heirloom crop and livestock species, raw fermentation, wild edible plants, and historical culinary practices—especially those of ethnic minority groups. From the perspective of cultural preservation or reproduction, this is a promising phenomenon that encourages protection and refinement of the nutritional, agricultural, and cultural heritage of marginalized groups. Meanwhile, the rapid pace of indigenous culinary commodification and artificial elevation of class distinction may devolve into cultural appropriation or become a new form of culinary gentrification. Researchers and chefs are invariably faced with the ethical challenges of respectfully valorizing traditional food systems while avoiding colonialist and classist pitfalls associated with past interactions with ethnic minority groups. Based on the experiences of a regional, trans-disciplinary project in Asia on future wild edible plant cuisines, I reflect on the mutual dependence between researchers and local groups that help to reconcile seemingly divergent power relations. Complementarities in expertise (vernacular and universalist), resources (coordination and mobilization), and legitimacy (global relevance and embedded utility) flatten hierarchies and encourage conscientiousness and ethical engagement in promoting indigenous food systems.
Keywords: ethnic minorities, indigenous food, research ethics, traditional cuisines