***PLEASE NOTE: This event will be held in-person at the St. George Campus: Woodworth College Residence, Rm. 30. 50 person limit
If you require a virtual option (unlimited tickets), please email culinaria.utsc@utoronto.ca.***
Gastronativism: Food, Identity, and Politics in the Time of Neoliberal Globalization
In Canada, Russian vodka is pulled from shelves and publicly poured in the sewers as a form of protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the United States, burgers become an arena for political fights about American identity and climate change. In India, Hindu fundamentalists organize attacks on Muslims who sell beef. European anti-immigrant politicians denounce couscous and kebabs. In an era of nationalist and exclusionary movements, food has become a potent symbol of identity. Why has eating become so politically charged? This talk identifies, defines, and explores the phenomenon of “gastronativism,” the ideological use of food to advance ideas about who belongs to a community and who does not. As globalization and neoliberalism have transformed food systems, people have responded by seeking to return to their roots. Many have embraced local ingredients and notions of cultural heritage, but this impulse can play into the hands of nationalist and xenophobic political projects. However, gastronativism does not always exclude: at times, like in the case of the food sovereignty movement, it can channel pride in culinary traditions toward resisting transnational corporations, uplifting marginalized and oppressed groups, and assisting people left behind by globalization.
Fabio Parasecoli is Professor of Food Studies in the Nutrition and Food Studies Department at New York University, researching the cultural politics of food in intangible heritage, media, and design. Recent books include Knowing Where It Comes From: Labeling Traditional Foods to Compete in a Global Market (2017), Food (2019), Global Brooklyn: Designing Food Experiences in World Cities (2021, coedited with Mateusz Halawa), and Gastronativsm: Food, Identity, Politics (2022).