December 6, 2015:
For the Paris climate talks this week, an article in The Conversation argues that food–production, consumption, and everything in between–must be part of the climate conversation: The elephant in the room at Paris climate talks: why food production must change
There was an interview with Drs. Luz Calvo and Catrióna Esquibel,two ethnic studies professors who authored a cookbook called Decolonize Your Diet, which promotes a return to indigenous foodways for Latinos: How to Decolonize Your Diet: The Importance of Indigenous Foods
For Thanksgiving, the Southern Foodways Alliance published a touching reflection on service-industry work and the holidays: Blue Collar Holiday
And, while we are thinking about those who labor for our food, NPR took a look at the labor behind half of the United States’ sweet potato crop, which comes out of North Carolina: Behind Your Holiday Sweet Potato Dish, Hard Work in the Fields
There was a book review essay on several novels related to restaurant industry work that takes a few swipes at professional food writing. It goes beyond consumption and calls attention to the work of the restaurant industry, saying “now is the time for a more critical, intelligent, and politically aware food writing—one which is willing to leave behind its tired emphasis on customer satisfaction, and which at long last takes up the task of representing service labor for what it is. Imagine a writing that makes space for other ‘classic waiter questions,’ like, ‘could you please look me in the eye when you speak to me?’ or ‘could I please have health insurance?‘”: On Writing and Restaurant Labor
Huffington Post featured a piece by Krishnendu Ray discussing the links between restaurant labor, the making of “ethnics,” the framing of “ethnic food” and his work in general. This is a good intro to how one undermines the very concept of ethnicity with food: Taste, Toil, and Ethnicity
In response to a recent E.Coli outbreak, Chipotle may roll back its local sourcing practices: Chipotle Tightens Standards Amid E. Coli Outbreak, Putting Buy-Local Pledge in Jeopardy
Researchers from Rice University have developed a method to distill alcohol with sunlight, rather than heat: Move Over Moonshine–Here Comes Sunshine
And finally, for fun, McSweeny’s offers this satire on food habits, on the relentless search for big data, on modern consumption, etc. The drones are coming. Tell Us How We Did With Your Order of Egg Whites and Avocado Wrap
If you have a link for the FoodAnthropology round up, please email it to Lauren Moore at LaurenRMoore@uky.edu.
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