Tracing immigrant identity through the plate and the palate
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Tra c i n g im m i g ra n t i d e n t i t y t h r o u g h t h e pl a t e a n d t h e p a l a t e
Te re s a M. M ar e s University of Vermont, Burlington. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract This article brings together scholarship on foodways and identity with discourses of sustainable and local food to illuminate the food practices of Latino/a immigrants living in Seattle, WA. Drawing upon 4 years of ethnographic research, this article argues that migration and placemaking impact the maintenance of culturally meaningful foodways and that reclaiming and reshaping one’s foodways plays a central role in both longing for home and building new lives in the United States. Through describing how Latino/a foodways often parallel, yet remain marginal to, the values and priorities of the movements for sustainable and local food, I make the case for more inclusive food movement advocacy. Latino Studies (2012) 10, 334–354. doi:10.1057/lst.2012.31 Keywords: immigration; foodways and identity; local and sustainable food
We had a house that had a big patio, and we grew yucca, we had fruit, cherimoya, we had plums, guavas, orange, coconut, avocados, yes, it was a big patio with a lot of fruit. A lot of squash as well. But here, I haven’t been able to. (Laura, age 51, from Cuba) I think that, look, with all respect, I think that food in the US is very healthy, but I think that food in Mexico is fresher and more natural, and so it could be a little healthier in Mexico because of this. Because you can get things more in season, and you can eat more of them. (Julio, age 49, from Mexico) r 2012 Macmillan Publishers Ltd. 1476-3435 Latino Studies Vol. 10, 3, 334–354 www.palgrave-journals.com/lst/
Tracing immigrant identity
E a t i n g a c r o s s Bo rd e r s : An E x p l o ra t i o n o f L a t i n o /a Fo od way s Migration is inherently a process of dislocation. In the midst of dislocation, sustaining and re-creating the cultural and material practices connected to food are powerful ways to enact one’s cultural identity and sustain connections with families and communities who remain on the other side of the border. Food is central to the longing for home and the often painful struggle to accommodate to new ways of being in the world; and preparing, eating and sharing meals that are resonant with one’s foodways – the eating habits or food practices of a community, region or time period – is a vital piece of maintaining a sense of self in a new environment. Nevertheless, the disruptive process of migration necessarily entails profound changes in diet, social relationships and cultural identities, changes that are only exacerbated by inequalities related to race/ ethnicity, class, gender and citizenship. Considering these inequalities and the needs and unique contributions of immigrant communities is vital to envisioning a more just and sustainable food system. There is a rich tradition in the humanities and social sciences of exploring the connections between food and cultural identity, especially for racial and ethnic minorities livi
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