Food & Place - Other Places

Tohono O'odham

Located west of Tucson, Arizona, the 4,600 square mile Tohono O'odham Nation is home to over 14,000 people. Until the early half of the 20th century, traditional farming methods were used to obtain food. As diet and agriculture methods changed over time, the Tohono O'odham community has experienced a sharp and distressing rise in diabetes. Scientific research has shown that traditional foods - tepary beans, acorns, challa buds, etc. - help to prevent diabetes by stabilizing blood sugar. The rise in cases of diabetes is directly linked to a reliance on processed foods: “in a very real sense, the destruction of the traditional food system is literally killing thousands of Tohono O'odham” (Lopez et al. 2002). At present, diabetes affects over 50% of the Tohono O'odham community.

Lopez, Daniel, Tristan Reader, and Paul Busek. 2002. "Community Attitudes Toward Traditional Tohono O’odham Foods." Tohono O'odham Community College and Tohono O'odham Community Action.

Hawaii - Taro/Kalo and Poi

Taro’s importance to Native Hawaiians can be traced back to the initial settlement of Hawaii by Polynesians over a thousand years ago. Taro is not native to Hawaii and was brought to the islands by early Polynesian settlers. Polynesians were known for advanced navigation techniques and traveled the Pacific Ocean in outrigger canoes. The canoes were small, yet entire families migrated to the world's most isolated island chain, now known as the Hawaiian Islands.

Taro is more than just a plant. For Native Hawaiians, taro represents the "elder brother" of the Hawaiian family. The plant itself is viewed as a symbol of family; the smaller shoots of the plant are born from the main stem. Historically, taro - made into poi - was the main staple of the Hawaiian diet. Often, Western foods have replaced poi in the Hawaiian diet. However, with a growing emphasis on Hawaiian cultural revitalization, as well as an increased awareness of food and health, taro and poi have regained prominence in the Hawaiian diet and culture. Food and place have a direct effect on indigenous health and culture.

References

Taro: Hawaii’s Roots, by Leilehua Yuen, provides basic background on Taro, most notably a version of the cosmological importance of the plant as “the elder brother” for Native Hawaiians.

Poi: Wisdom of the Ancients, Hawaii Healing Food Today, by Pamela Noeau Day. Day was a student of Hawaiian healer Papa Henry Auwae and outlines some of the traditional and healing aspects of taro and poi.

Visit this site to learn how to simply make poi from taro root.

Listen to an archival audio recording of Mary Kawena Pukui as she describes how to prepare poi from taro. The archival recording is stored at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Iowa's Geography of Taste

The Leopold Center for a Sustainable Agriculture's 'A Geography of Taste', "explores how the integration of Iowa's history, ecology, and culture has created unique food products that may hold economic opportunities for farmers and rural communities in today's changing markets." The report provides a brief overview of how several place-based and traditional food products function in the European and U.S. marketplaces, and how those products provide premiums to farmers; it explores Iowa's historical, ecological, cultural, and economic potential for developing place-based and traditional food products; and it makes recommendations for action to research and further explore this opportunity. The report is accessible from the Leopold Center's Website, or can also be ordered using their online form.

Northern Arizona University's Center for Sustainable Environments

The Center for Sustainable Environments at Northern Arizona University brings together the talents and expertise of a diverse group of people to seek creative solutions to environmental problems.

The Center is involved in a number of Sustainable Agriculture and Food projects which focus on increasing food security and agricultural sustainability on the Colorado Plateau and beyond, and incorporate social and cultural ties to food as well.

One of the center’s projects, Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT), is a coalition of seven of the most prominent non-profit food, agriculture, conservation, and educational organizations dedicated to rescuing America’s diverse foods and food traditions. Many of America’s traditional foods have been rapidly disappearing from our tables. In the United States alone, 63% of native American crop varieties have disappeared from cultivation since European arrival on this continent. With these losses has come a decline in traditional ecological and culinary knowledge, and declines in the food rituals which link communities to place and cultural heritage. If these culinary delights persist only in our history books we will have lost an important cultural legacy and future generations will be deprived of the exquisite flavors found in these heritage foods. To reverse such losses, the RAFT Coalition formed in the fall of 2003 to develop and support strategies for Renewing America's Food Traditions.

Other Sustainable Agriculture and Food Projects include Canyon Country Fresh, which has been working with local farmers, ranchers, markets, and restaurants to promote local food production and use; Arizona’s Food Security, Safety, and Sustainability report; Community Supported Agriculture; Fair Trade Sonoran Oregano from the Seri Indians; a directory of ecoregional food sustainability titled Fresh, Organic, and Native Foods of the Four Corners; the Flagstaff Wild Foraging Project, which works with communities, farms, ranches, and foragers to encourage sustainable use of wild foods for ecological protection and economic benefits; and others.

Illinois State University's Food Resource

Illinois State University has compiled an extremely well-organized and extensive bibliography on world food habits. The site, World Food Habits Bibliography, allows users to view resources on the anthropology of food and nutrition by world region or topic.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's White Dog Cafe

The White Dog Cafe, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a restaurant and meeting place based on the principles of serving each other, the community, the environment, and their customers. Known for their unusual blend of cuisine and social activism, the business presents numerous resources and events througout the year that raise consciousness and "please palates." The cafe's Website includes their regular newsletter, a listing of their community events and activities, and a cookbook. The restaurant uses wholesome, organic produce for cooking and buys from local sustainable farmers whenever possible. The cafe serves as a community meeting place that is open for discussion, parties, and other events that can be centered around sustainable food and sustainable living.

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