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Critical Perspectives in
Food Studies »
Editedby Mustafa Koc, Jennifer Sumner and
Anthony Winson

UNIVERSITY PRESS
 OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Critical perspectives in food studies / edited by Mustafa Koc, Jennifer Sumner and Tony Winson.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-544641-8
1. Food. 2. Food—Canada. I. Koc, Mustafa, 1955-
II. Sumner, Jennifer, 1949- III. Winson, Anthony, 1952-
TX353.C75 2012 641.3 C2012-902504-6
Cover image: Sue Jackson/iStockphoto

Printed and bound in the United States of America

23 4—15 14 13
Contents
Contributors vi
Preface x
Acknowledgements x

Introduction: The Significance of Food and Food Studies xi

Mustafa Koc, Jennifer Sumner, and Anthony Winson

Part! The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

1 What Is Food Studies? Characterizing an Emerging Academic

Field through the Eyes of Canadian Scholars 4
Mustafa Koc, Rod MacRae, Andrea M. Noack, Ozlem Giiclit Ustiindag

2 Changing Food Systems from Top to Bottom: Political Economy and

Social Movements Perspectives 16
Harriet Friedmann

3 Canada’s Food History Through Cookbooks 33

Nathalie Cooke

4 You Are What You Eat: Enjoying (and Transforming) Food Culture 49
Josée Johnston and Sarah Cappeliez

5 Catalyzing Creativity: Education and Art Feed the Food

Justice Movement 65
Deborah Barndt

Part Il Analytical Perspectives in Food Studies

6 Two Great Food Revolutions: The Domestication of

Nature and the Transgression of Nature's Limits 89
Robert Albritton

7 A Political Ecology Approach to Industrial Food Production 104

Tony Weis

8 Still Hungry: A Feminist Perspective on Food, Foodwork,

the Body, and Food Studies 122
Jennifer Brady, Jacqui Gingras, and Elaine Power

9 Constructing ‘Healthy Eating’/Constructing Self 136

Brenda L. Beagan and Gwen E. Chapman
iv Contents

Part Ill Crises and Challenges in the Food System >

10 Crisis in the Food System: The Farm Crisis 155

Nettie Wiebe

11 The Crisis in the Fishery: Canada in the Global Context 171

Aparna Sundar

12 Spatial Colonization of Food Environments by Pseudo-food Companies:

Precursors of a Health Crisis 186
Anthony Winson

1s Nutrition Transition and the Public-Health Crisis:

Aboriginal Perspectives on Food and Eating 208
Debbie Martin

14 Food Security? Some Contradictions Associated with

Corporate Donations to Canada’s Food Banks 223
Carole Suschnigg

Part IV Challenging Food Governance

15 Labels and Governance: Promises, Failures and Deceptions of

Food Labelling 247
Trena Knezevic

16 The Paradox of Governing Through the Courts:

The Canadian GMO Contamination Debate 260
Elisabeth A. Abergel

Who Governs Global Food Prices? 276

Jennifer Clapp

Municipal Governance and Urban Food Systems 290

Wendy Mendes

Food Policy for the Twenty-First Century 310

Rod MacRae
 Contents

Part V Food for the Future

20 Conceptualizing Sustainable Food Systems 326
Jennifer Sumner

21 Quantifying Food Systems: Assessing Sustainability in the

Canadian Context 337
Alison Blay-Palmer, Jonathan Turner, and Shannon Kornelsen

22 Building Food Sovereignty: A Radical Framework for

Alternative Food Systems 359
Annette Aurélie Desmarais

Conclusion 378

Glossary 380
Index 391
Contributors
Elisabeth Abergel has been working on GM issues Alison Blay-Palmer is an associate professor at Wilfrid
since the 1990s. She has written several articles on Laurier University where she does research in alterna-
GM regulations and more specifically has been work- tive food systems and sustainable economic develop-
ing on the interplay between science and politics in the ment. Dr. Blay-Palmer has over 15 years of research
development of regulatory principles to govern GMOs. experience related to sustainable food systems. Her
More recently she has been researching the relationship more recent work uses the broader lens of food sys-
between agricultural biotechnology and climate change tems as a vehicle for building healthy communities. Her
as well as the cultural politics of the life industries. She books, Imagining Sustainable Food Systems: Theory and
is also working on various aspects of the bioeconomy. Practice (Ashgate, 2010) and Food Fears: From Industrial
She is co-editor with Prof. Rod MacRae of a book on to Sustainable Food Systems (Ashgate, 2008), explore
Canadian agro-environmental and health policy pub- pressures and opportunities related to food system sus-
lished by UBC Press, released in 2011. Prof. Abergel is tainability. Her most recent SSHRC-funded project is to
currently teaching in the Sociology Department at the develop Food Counts, a report card for sustainable food
Université du Québec a Montréal (UQAM). systems in Canada. Alison is a former Social Sciences
and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow,
Robert Albritton is Professor Emeritus in the Department and has received awards for teaching and faculty
of Political Science, Social and Political Thought Program activism. She teaches courses in global food security,
at York University, Toronto. His book publications include globalization, and research methods.
Let Them Eat Junk: How Capitalism Creates Hunger and
Obesity (Pluto Press, 2009); A Japanese Approach to Stages Jennifer Brady is a doctoral student at Queen’s University
of Capitalist Development (Macmillan, 1991); Economics as well as a writer, researcher, and registered dietitian.
Transformed: Discovering the Brilliance of Marx (Pluto Her past writing and research endeavours have included
Press, 2007); Dialectics and Deconstruction in Political critical perspectives of dietetic practice, nutrition com-
Economy (Palgrave, 2001). munication, and food work, as well as online food and
beverage marketing. She is currently exploring cooking
Deborah Barndt is a popular educator and commun- as a method of embodied scholarly inquiry. Her doctoral
ity artist who teaches in the Faculty of Environmental research will provide a critical, historical perspective of
Studies at York University in Toronto. For over 35 years, the evolving relationships between dietetics, home eco-
she has been involved in social justice movements in Latin nomics, and feminism throughout the twentieth century.
America, the United States, and Canada and has pub-
lished and exhibited widely. Over the past two decades, Sarah Cappeliez isa doctoral student at the Department
she coordinated collaborative transnational research on of Sociology at the University of Toronto. Her research
the food system (Women Working the NAFTA Food Chain: interests focus on food, identity and cultural processes,
Women, Food and Globalization |ed.; Sumach Press, 1999] and in particular, on how the concept of terroir legitim-
and Tangled Routes: Women, Work and Globalization on ates foods and drinks and how this process of cultural
the Tomato Trail [Rowman and Littlefield, 2007]) and on legitimation functions in different national contexts. Her
popular education and community arts (Wild Fire: Art as past work experience in food culture includes work-
Activism [ed.; Sumach Press, 2006; and jVIVA! Community ing for the Slow Food association in Italy and France
Arts and Popular Education in the Americas [Between the and the Université Européenne des Senteurs & Saveurs
Lines, 2011]). She is currently co-coordinator of the in France. She also worked as a restaurant critic in the
Community Arts Practice Program at York University Ottawa area and currently volunteers at the Evergreen
(www.yorku.ca/cap) and co-coordinates The FoodShed Brickworks farmers’ market in Toronto.
Project with fellow contributor Harriet Friedmann.
Gwen Chapman is a professor in food, nutrition and
Brenda Beagan is a sociologist specializing in social health in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at the
inequality and health and illness. She is associate University of British Columbia. Her research uses quali-
professor at Dalhousie University School of Occupational tative methods to study how people's everyday food prac-
Therapy, and currently holds a Tier II Canada Research tices and concerns are shaped by socially constructed
Chair in Women’s Health. notions about food, health, bodies, and social roles.
 Contributors vii

Jennifer Clapp is a CIGI Chair in Global Environmental of food (with Tony Weis). Friedmann is a member and
Governance and a professor in the Balsillie School of former community chair of the Toronto Food Policy
International Affairs and in the Environment and Council, and a member of several editorial boards of
Resource Studies Department at the University of journals related to food and agriculture. In 2011, she
Waterloo. Her research covers the themes of global received the Canadian Association for Food Studies
food and agriculture governance, food aid, agricultural Lifetime Career Achievement Award.
trade, and the global food crisis. Her most recent books
include Paths to a Green World: The Political Economy Jacqui Gingras is a registered dietitian and assist-
of the Global Environment (2nd edn; co-authored with ant professor in the School of Nutrition at Ryerson
Peter Dauvergne; MIT Press, 2011), Global Governance, University. Her teaching and research interests involve
Poverty and Inequality (co-edited with Rorden theoretical and experiential explorations of critical
Wilkinson; Routledge, 2010), The Global Food Crisis: dietetics epistemology or what counts as dietetic know-
Governance Challenges and Opportunities (co-edited with ledge. She has a particular interest in how dietitians’
Marc J. Cohen; WLU Press, 2009), and Corporate Power subjectivities are constituted by power and discourse.
in Global Agrifood Governance (co-edited with Doris Her research engages narrative and arts-informed
Fuchs; MIT Press, 2009). She is co-editor of the journal methods as a means for situated and particular under-
Global Environmental Politics (MIT Press). standings of dietetic theory, education, and practice.
She is the managing editor of the Journal of Critical
Nathalie Cooke is associate provost and professor at Dietetics.
McGill University in Montreal. Her publications focus on
moments of pivotal change and continuity in Canadian Josée Johnston is associate professor of sociology at
literature, culture, and foodways. She is editor of What's the University of Toronto. She focuses her research on
to Eat? Entrées in Canadian Food Practice (McGill-Queen’s the sociological study of food, investigating aspects of
University Press, 2009), and founding editor of the culture, consumerism, gender, and politics. Johnston
ejournal Cuizine (see www.cuizine.mcgill.ca). co-authored (with Shyon Baumann) Foodies: Democracy
and Distinction in the Gourmet Foodscape (Routledge,
Annette Aurélie Desmarais was a farmer in Saskatch- 2010). She has published articles in venues including
ewan for 14 years and worked in technical support with American Journal of Sociology, Theory and Society, Signs:
La Via Campesina for over a decade. She then obtained Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Gender and
a PhD in geography at the University of Calgary and Society, and Antipode: A Radical Journal of Geography.
now is associate professor of International Studies at Her current research projects investigate ethical food
the University of Regina. She is the author of La Via consumption, as well as the impact of class, place, and
Campesina: Globalization and the Power of Peasants gender on food practices.
(Fernwood Books, 2007), which has been published
in French, Spanish and Italian, and co-editor of Food Irena Knezevic is currently completing her doctoral
Sovereignty: Reconnecting Food, Nature and Community work on food policy in the Western Balkans and her
(Fernwood Books, 2010) and Food Sovereignty in home base is the Communication and Culture Program
Canada (Fernwood Books, in press). Her research at York and Ryerson Universities. She previously stud-
focuses on rural social movements, food sovereignty, ied at the University of Windsor in the Communication
gender, and rural development. and Social Justice program. Knezevic has taught food
studies courses at Ryerson University, Wilfrid Laurier
Harriet Friedmann is professor of sociology, geog- University, and St Lawrence College, and is one of the
raphy and planning at the University of Toronto. She founding members of the Canadian Association for
has published in international and interdisciplinary Food Studies. She has researched and written about
journals on many dimensions of agriculture and food, genetically modified food, geographical indications
including family farms; international corporate strat- and terroir, hunting and the food system, public rela-
egies in the food sector; food policies at municipal, tions firms and agri-business, agricultural policy in
regional, national, and international scales; changing the European Union, and more generally on economic
patterns of diet and consumption; and social move- globalization.
ments to change the food system. She developed the
food regimes approach (with Philip McMichael), and Mustafa Kog is a professor at the Department of
is currently preparing a book on the political ecology Sociology at Ryerson University. He received his BA
viii Contributors

at Bogazici University in Istanbul, Turkey, his MA at participatory decision making with a specialization in
University of Waterloo, and his PhD at the University of urban food systems in Canada, the United States, and
Toronto. His research and teaching interests involve food Latin America. Dr Mendes is currently adjunct professor
studies, food security and food policy, globalization, and at the School of Community & Regional Planning at the
sociology of migration. He was among the founders of University of British Columbia (Vancouver); research
the Centre for Studies in Food Security (coordinator associate at Ryerson Universitys Centre for Studies in
1995-2005), Food Secure Canada (chair 2005-6), and Food Security (Toronto); and urban (food systems)
the Canadian Association for Food Studies (president planner for the City of Vancouver. From 2006 to 2008
2005-8). she was Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University
of Toronto’ Centre for Urban Health Initiatives (CUHI).
Shannon Kornelsen is a recent MA graduate of Wilfrid Dr Mendes has published her research in International
Laurier University. Her research interests include food Journal of Urban & Regional Research; Space & Polity;
citizenship, food democracy, food and agricultural edu- and Journal of the American Planning Association.
cation, sustainable food systems, and animal welfare. She
is currently working as a project coordinator to develop Andrea Noack is assistant professor in the Department
a report on industrial animal agriculture in Canada. of Sociology at Ryerson University. She specializes in
survey design and social statistics. Dr Noack is inter-
Rod MacRae is an assistant professor in the Faculty of ested in understanding how practices of survey design
Environmental Studies at York University in Toronto. work as a form of social governance and moral regu-
A political ecologist, his teaching and research focuses lation. Her current research focuses on the Canadian
on the transition to sustainable and health promoting Census, specifically the development of the first self-
food systems, with particular emphasis on Canadian enumerated census in 1971 and the elimination of the
food policy development. With many colleagues, he has long-form census in 2011.
written extensively on this subject in the popular and
academic literature, with recent publications appearing Elaine Power is associate professor in the School of
in Agriculture and Human Values, Journal of Sustainable Kinesiology & Health Studies at Queen’ University,
Agriculture, Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, where she teaches courses in the social determinants
Sustainability, and Journal of Health and Environmental of health, health policy, food studies, and qualitative
Nutrition. Prior to joining York University, he worked research methods. Her research interests lie at the inter-
as a food policy analyst and consultant to all levels of section of food, health, and the body, with particular
government and numerous Canadian NGOs. He was the attention to issues of class and poverty. She is a founding
first coordinator of the Toronto Food Policy Council. member of the Canadian Association for Food Studies.

Debbie Martin is of mixed Inuit and European descent Jennifer Sumner is director of the Certificate Program
and a member of NunatuKavut, the territory of the south in Adult Education for Sustainability in the Adult
and central Inuit in Labrador. She holds a Bachelor of Education and Community Development Program in
Recreation from Memorial University, of Newfoundland the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the
and from Dalhousie University, a Master of Arts in health University of Toronto. Her research and teaching inter-
promotion and an Interdisciplinary PhD. Dr Martin is ests include food studies; sustainable food systems and
currently assistant professor of health promotion at the political economy of food, as well as globalization,
Dalhousie University. Her research interests include sustainability, and organic agriculture. She is the author
the social determinants of Indigenous peoples’ health; of the book Sustainability and the Civil Commons: Rural
the relationships between Aboriginal culture, health, Communities in the Age of Globalization (University of
and food; and Indigenous methodologies. Dr Martin Toronto Press, 2005), plus numerous articles and chap-
is a co-principal investigator of the Atlantic Aboriginal ters on food-related issues.
Health Research Program (AAHRP) and_ represents
AAHRP on the national Aboriginal Health Research Aparna Sundar is assistant professor in the Depart-
Networks Secretariat (AHRNetS). She is also a member of ment of Politics and Public Administration, Ryerson
the Executive Committee of AHRNets. University, Toronto. Her doctoral research examined
capitalist transformation and political mobilization in
Wendy Mendes holds a PhD in urban geography a south Indian fishery, and she has closely followed
from Simon Fraser University, Vancouver. Her research the Indian and global fishworkers’ movements for
interests. are local governance, sustainability, . and several years. Relevant writing includes “Sea Changes:
 Contributors ix

Organizing Around the Fishery in a South Indian is the author of The Global Food Economy: The Battle
Community” in Jonathan Barker et al., Street-Level for the Future of Farming (Zed Books, 2007). Recent
Democracy: Political Settings at the Margins of Global research has focused on the ‘accelerating’ contradic-
Power (Between the Lines Press, 1999); ‘Review of tions of industrial capitalist agriculture and the causes
“Conversations: A Trialogue on Power, Intervention of worsening global food insecurity.
and Organization in Fisheries”, Samudra Report, March
2003; and ‘Marine Resources’ in Marketing the Earth: Nettie Wiebe is an organic farmer and professor of eth-
The World Bank and Sustainable Development (Halifax ics at St Andrew’s College, University of Saskatchewan.
Initiative, Canada and Friends of the Earth, USA, 2002). She was women’s president of the National Farmers
Union (six years), president of the NFU (four years), anda
Carole Suschnigg is an assistant professor in the leader in La Via Campesina’s International Coordinating
Department of Sociology at Laurentian University. Commission (ICC). Nettie’s research interests focus on
She teaches statistics, survey research, contemporary agrarian feminism; the intersection of environmental,
sociological theories, and global health issues at the agricultural, and womens issues in rural communities;
undergraduate level, and community-based research and the role of family farms in the food system. She
at the graduate level. She has worked as a commun- contributes regular columns in The Western Producer
ity developer in Vanuatu, New Zealand, and Canada. farm paper and has published chapters in edited books,
Her previous publications include a critique of efforts popular magazines, and Canadian Woman Studies/les
to reform Canada’s primary health-care system and cahiers de la femme. Recent publications include: ‘The
an analysis of midwives’ resistance to being publicly Origins and Potential of Food Sovereignty’ in Food
managed within Ontario’ publicly funded health care Sovereignty: Reconnecting Food, Nature and Community
system. Her current research interests include housing (eds. Wittman, Desmarais & Wiebe; Fernwood, 2010)
co-operatives and food security policies in Uruguay, and. “Nurturing Food Sovereignty in Canada” in Food
and the social historical phenomenon of ‘blackbirding’ Sovereignty in Canada: Creating Just and Sustainable
in the South West Pacific during the late 1800s. Food Systems (eds. Wittman, Desmarais & Wiebe;
Fernwood Books, in press).
Jonathan Turner is a Masters of Environmental Studies
candidate at ‘Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Anthony Winson is professor at the Department
Ontario. His research interests include, but are not lim- of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of
ited to, food systems and food security issues at local Guelph. His research and publications have focused
and global scales. Currently, Jonathan is researching the on agriculture, food, and rural development issues
use of indicators in measuring the sustainability of local related to Canada and the Third World. He is the
food systems in Ontario. This research is part of the author of Coffee and Democracy in Modern Costa Rica
Food Counts project at the Department of Geography (Macmillan, 1989), The Intimate Commodity: Food
and Environmental Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University. and the Development of the Agro-Industrial Complex
in Canada (Garamond, 1993), and more recently,
Ozlem Giicli Usttindag is assistant professor at the with Belinda Leach, Contingent Work, Disrupted Lives:
Food Engineering Department at Yeditepe University in Labour and Community in the New Rural Economy
istanbul, Turkey. After getting her PhD from University (University of Toronto, 2002). This last book won
of Alberta in food and bioresource engineering she the John Porter book prize of the Canadian Sociology
worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the University and Anthropology Association for 2003. He has pub-
of Alberta, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and lished in such international and Canadian journals
the Centre for Studies in Food Security at Ryerson as Rural Sociology, Comparative Studies in Society and
University. Her research interests include development History, Latin American Perspectives, Agriculture and
of sustainable technologies in food and bioprocessing, Human Values, Economy and Society, Canadian Review
and food policy. of Sociology and Anthropology, Estudios del Trabajo,
Ruralia, Canadian Journal of Sociology, and the Journal of
Tony Weis is associate professor of geography at the Sustainable Tourism. Recent publications include analy-
University of Western Ontario. His research is broadly ses of factors shaping contemporary North American
located in the field of political ecology and the inter- food environments with empirical studies in super-
section of agrarian political economy, environmental markets and high schools. He is presently completing
degradation, and small farmer livelihoods, with related a book on the degradation of food and the struggle for
interests in land reform and farmer co-operatives. He healthy eating.
Preface
This volume evolved out of our growing recognition that the emerging field of food studies
needed a formal text to represent the depth and breadth of its diverse range of interests and
to give it a critical orientation that would link the field to the larger problems humanity
is facing. It began as an idea, germinated through a chance conversation, and blossomed
through co-operation and love of learning.
Over recent years, the study of food has occupied increasing portions of our research,
teaching, and writing. This preoccupation with food is in keeping with Marion Nestle’s
(2010) observation that within her academic lifetime, the use of food as a means to exam-
ine critical questions about the causes and consequences of production and consumption
has grown dramatically. Her observation emphasizes what we have also realized—that food
is not only a worthy object of study in itself, but also an entrée into larger issues that con-
cern humankind: sustainability, development, globalization, governance, and power.
This volume addresses both emphases—the study of food itself and the exploration
of larger issues surrounding food—from a critical perspective. In doing so, it aims to
contribute to the development of the emerging field of food studies by presenting the work
of leading Canadian scholars. Readers will learn about the changing meanings of food
and food studies, the different theoretical lenses for looking at food, crises and challenges
in the current food system, ways of challenging food governance, and visions of food for
the future.

Reference:

Nestle, Marion. 2010. ‘Writing the Food Studies Movement’. Food, Culture and Society
13(2): 160-8.

Acknowledgements
More people than we can name contributed to the genesis of this volume. In particular, we
would like to thank the Canadian Association for Food Studies (CAFS) for the stimulation
provided by its annual meetings and Oxford University Press for its leadership in sup-
porting this project. Special thanks to our editors Mark Thompson and Sarah Carmichael,
our copy editor Leslie Saffrey, three anonymous reviewers, and all the contributors to this
volume. And we would also like to thank our readers—you are participating in an exciting
new field of inquiry in Canada: food studies.
Introduction
The Significanceof Food and Food Studies
Mustata Kog, Jennifer Sumner, and Anthony Winson

To survive we need to eat. Yet food is more than a source of the energy and nutrients
essential for human health and well-being. What we eat, if we eat, how we eat, when we
eat, and with whom we eat reflect the complexity of our social, economic, political, cul-
tural, and environmental arrangements around food. Eating is one of the most common
human activities we engage in on a regular basis. Food is

sustenance. . . . a symbol, a product, a ritual object, an identity badge, an object of

guilt, a political tool, even a kind of money. Food determines how tall we are, how
healthy, the extent of our civic peace, the sorts of jobs we hold, the amount of leisure
we enjoy, the crowding of our cities and suburbs, what we look for in life, how long
we look to live—all of that and much more. (Reardon 2000: 1)

Most human interactions involve producing, preparing, and consuming food. The
English word companion is derived from the Latin for ‘people sharing bread together’.
From birth to death, almost all human rituals involve food. It is an important element that
unites family members around the table. It denotes ethnic, regional, and national identity.
It helps us to develop friendships, offer hospitality, and provide gifts. It is an important
part of holidays, celebrations, and special occasions. It plays an important role in many
religious rituals and taboos. It is a marker of status. It can control the behaviour of others
when used as a reward, punishment, or political tool. It is the subject of creative expres-
sion by cooks and artists. It can make people feel secure. For all these reasons, and many
more, food is worthy of study.
And yet, despite our everyday encounters with eating, studying food seems to be a real
challenge, given its multi-significant and complex nature. This tension between familiarity
and complexity most likely explains why, until recent years, food studies did not emerge
as a coherent field of inquiry. Instead, most disciplinary attempts have focused on a cross-
section of activities, processes, and sectors dealing with food. In a sense, we have had many
food studies fields as separate and only selectively interrelated areas of research and schol-
arship. For example, the study of nutrition has focused on the role of different nutrients in
human health and the causes and consequences of malnutrition, but left the relationship
between malnutrition and poverty, or between obesity and the food industry, to social
scientists. Agricultural economics has focused on optimal approaches to increase food pro-
duction, but avoided the problem of simultaneous hunger and food surpluses or the role of
the agri-food industry in the obesity epidemic or in the farm crisis. These examples can be
multiplied. What is clear is that such a segmented focus leaves many questions unanswered
and creates disciplinary silos, making difficult the cross-fertilization of ideas and insights
from different disciplines.
For many years, various researchers in diverse areas of interest dealing with food
practices, structures, institutions, and policies have recognized the need for a broader
interdisciplinary perspective that would borrow analytical and methodological insights
xii Introduction

from various disciplines studying food. In response, New York University offered the first
graduate program in food studies in 1996.
Food studies is a relatively new field of research and scholarship that focuses on the web
of relations, processes, structures, and institutional arrangements that cover human inter-
action with nature and other humans involving the production, distribution, preparation,
consumption, and disposal of food. As such, food studies can be considered to constitute
a new movement, not only as an academic discipline but also as a means to change society
(Berg et al. 2003).
Defining the boundaries of food studies is a challenging task because food is a topic of
interest for diverse academic disciplines, such as food science and engineering, nutrition,
chemistry, biology, agricultural sciences, environmental sciences, health sciences, business
administration, the social sciences, and the humanities. Each body of scholarship has a
unique, often discipline-focused approach to certain aspects of food. In contrast, food
studies aims to create a space of scholarship for interdisciplinary inquiry. What distin-
guishes food studies from disciplinary or multidisciplinary studies of food is the awareness
of a need for a synthetic approach that would use ‘every conceivable method for study-
ing the historical, cultural, behavioral, biological, and socioeconomic determinants and
consequences of food production and consumption’ (Berg et al. 2003).
Many influences over the years have contributed to the development of food studies.
For example, anthropological approaches looking at continuity and change in different
cultural traditions around the world have been one of the key influences. Among the
anthropological contributions we can list French structuralists such as Claude Levi-Strauss
looking at the material aspects of culture and seeking universal behavioural codes; Roland
Barthes and Mary Douglas’ examination of different food conventions and the com-
municative properties of food; the American foodways school’s folkloric focus on shared
cuisines, eating styles, structures, and behaviours; Arjun Appadurai’s insights on the forma-
tion of national cuisines; Marvin Harris’ cultural materialist approach looking at various
taboos and cultural practices as forms of social adaptation to the material environment; and
Sydney Mintz’s examination of broader trends such as colonialism and industrialization in
transforming tastes and cuisines.
A second major influence in food studies has been the political economy approach.
Influenced by the Marxist critique of the transformative role of the capitalist economy
in modern society, political economy became influential among a group of sociologists
and geographers, such as Larry Busch, Fred Buttel, William Friedland, Harriet Friedmann,
Phillip McMichael, and Anthony Winson. The political economy approach has examined
the role of economic institutions and inequalities of power arid property in explaining
the relationship between processes such as industrialization, urbanization, colonialism,
imperialism, globalization, and many changes in the agri-food system, food regimes, and
commodity chains. While the political economy approach has mostly focused on produc-
tion, some scholars from this tradition, including Pierre Bourdieu, David Goodman, and
Ben Fine, pointed to the role of consumption.
A third major source of influence behind food studies has been the emergence of
interdisciplinary perspectives such as cultural studies, women’s studies, and environmental
studies—areas often neglected by earlier approaches. With the rise of cultural studies and
especially postmodern and poststructuralist criticism, many researchers looked at know-
ledge and traditions of food and eating as social constructs and came to question, and even
reject, the effectiveness of ‘objective’ scientific or descriptive historical approaches to food.
.
 Introduction xiii

While the postmodern and poststructuralist approach is very diverse in itself, we can iden-
tily George Ritzer’s study of ‘McDonaldization’, Georgi Scrinis’s critique of nutritionism,
and Alan Warde, Jonathan Murdoch, and David Goodman’s work on consumption as some
of the major contributions reflecting this tradition. Discourses of food, popular culture,
analyses of identity and subjectivity, the role of the media, advertising, and institutional
practices of industry and governments in constructing reality and patterns of consumption
have been the focus of many studies sharing a postmodern viewpoint.
Like cultural studies, women’s studies questioned the shortcomings of the mainstream
disciplinary approaches. Women’s studies brought feminist criticism—lacking in the
major academic disciplines—to such subjects as the patterns of gender inequality and its
consequences, the ignorance of the contributions of women’s labour at home and in the
workplace, and the relationship between food, the body, and eating disorders.
Another interdisciplinary influence in the development of food studies is environ-
mental studies. Concern for the effects of factory farming and overfishing on the
environment in general, and particularly issues such as sustainability, climate change,
soil erosion, declining water quality, decreased biodiversity, and pollution from toxic
chemicals have brought natural and social scientists together to offer a more critical
perspective on the consequences of the modern industrial food system. The environ-
mental perspective not only provided critique, but also offered insights on alternative
food systems that are sustainable and resilient. Notable pioneers in this area have been
Lester Brown and Rachel Carson. Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees’s concept of
the ecological footprint and Stuart Hill’s work on ecological agriculture also rank among
early influences with environmental sensitivity. More recently, diverse contributions
have emerged from scholars in a variety of disciplinary fields.
Influences on the development of food studies are not limited to academics. The Land
of Milk and Money, reporting the findings of the Peoples Food Commission, presented a
comprehensive profile of the agri-food system in Canada in the late 1970s. In addition,
numerous public intellectuals and community-based researchers have contributed to the
development of food studies from outside of academia, strengthening the links between
communities and institutions of higher education. This cross-fertilization of insights between
universities and community organizations—community-university partnerships—has
provided fertile ground for research and policy contributions in food studies.
Finally, we should note the critical contributions of those coming from major academic
disciplines who questioned some of the dominant professional practices and demanded
change. These dissenting voices have been crucial in the development of critical inquiry
and paradigm shifts not only within their own disciplinary frameworks but also in the
development of food studies.
The common element in all these different influences is a critical perspective in
perceiving existing problems as resulting from the normal operation of the food system
and everyday practices. This critical inquiry examines how patterns of social inequalities,
institutional arrangements, structures, and organizations such as the patriarchal family,
corporations, governmental bodies, international treaties, and the media contribute to the
farm crisis, hunger, the obesity epidemic, eating disorders, food insecurity, and environ-
mental problems.
A critical perspective does not mean being negative, but rather developing a deeply
inquiring attitude, analytical capacity, and research skills. Being critical also means under-
standing how our current food system works and envisioning an alternative food system
xiv Introduction

that is more sustainable and just. Food studies in this sense offers both a critical and a
constructive approach to issues pertaining to food.
In addition to a critical perspective, a few other commonalities can be identified within
food studies:

¢ Interdisciplinarity
¢ Linkages among the social sciences, the humanities, and the natural sciences
¢ Holistic approach
¢ Historical specificity

In spite of these commonalities, food studies utilizes diverse analytical and methodo-
logical approaches developed by various disciplines. In this sense, food studies has much
in common with other interdisciplinary areas. By synthesizing insights from broad bodies
of knowledge, perspectives, methodologies, skills, interconnections, theories, and epistem-
ologies, food studies aims to contribute to research, scholarship, education, and change.
The emergence of food studies has been paralleled by a growing interest in food in the
wider society. Television programming devoted to food and publications such as Michael
Pollan’s The Omnivore's Dilemma (2006) and Eric Schlosser’s Fast Food Nation (2001) have
raised the profile of food in the public mind. Food policy has emerged as a field of special-
ization required by government programs and international agencies. Community-based
food projects, food policy councils, food security programs, anti-hunger and sustainable
food systems initiatives, and international relief agencies require expertise in analytical
and research skills that could respond to their special needs. These demands have created
new career opportunities for people with a holistic understanding of how the food system
operates.
This book aims to capture the excitement, vitality, and promise of food studies by pre-
senting the work of leading Canadian scholars in this emerging area of inquiry. Our overall
objective is to develop an accessible text responding to the needs of both students and fac-
ulty. Our task is to inform readers about the breadth and depth of this new ‘interdiscipline’,
and to introduce some of the key concepts and debates. We envision this volume as not
only a book for those interested in food studies, but also as an invitation for critical inquiry
in this dynamic field of human endeavour.

References: ‘

Berg, J., M. Nestle, and A. Bentley. 2003. ‘Food Studies’. In The Scribner Encyclopedia of
Food and Culture, Vol. 2, ed. S.H. Katz and W.W. Weaver. New York: Charles Scribner’
Sons, 16-18.
Pollan, Michael. 2006. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York:
Penguin.
Reardon, PT. 2000. ‘We Are What We Ate’. Chicago Tribune, 11 June. Available at
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2000-05-11/entertainment/0006170192_1_
hunger-food-french-revolution.
Schlosser, Eric. 2001. Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston:
Houghton-Mifflin.
PART |
The Changing Meanings of
Food and Food Studies
Fim so source to stomach, food involves complex relations among people and
between people and nature. While different aspects of these relations have
been the focus of various academic disciplines, in recent years researchers have
recognized the need for a critical approach that would integrate insights from
diverse disciplinary perspectives and situate food at the centre of its focus. This
recognition has led to the emergence of a new field of inquiry: food studies.
Part | looks at the changing meanings of food and food studies. What is com-
mon among these chapters is an awareness of the complexity of the field and the
need for an interdisciplinary approach to respond to this complexity. In Chapter 1,
Kog, MacRae, Noack, and Ustiindag review some of the arguments for considering
food studies to be an academic field. Based on the observations of researchers
studying food systems, the authors identify three characteristics of food studies
as a field: the use of a multi-level, holistic systems approach; a focus on applied
and/or transformative work; and an approach that spans traditional academic
disciplines.
Food plays a key role in all market economies. In Chapter 2, Friedmann explores
the larger socio-economic context in which food is traded as a commodity.
Interested in understanding how food systems operate and how they can change,
she underlines the significance of different analytical models such as commodity
studies, food regimes, and actor-network theory, as well as communities of food
practice.
While some researchers look at how the food system reflects and re-creates
patterns of socio-economic and political inequalities in society, others see these
changes as reflections of multiple factors—cultural, economic, historical, and
so on. By looking at the changes in cookbooks from a historical perspective in
Chapter 3, Cooke identifies the multi-faceted significance of food and the diverse
factors that have influenced food choices over time in Canada.
While food is essential for human survival, humans tend to be selective
in choosing what they eat. In Chapter 4, Johnston and Cappeliez focus on the
cultural aspects of food and eating, and the transformative power of food culture.
They argue that by looking at culture as a tool kit, we can move beyond simplistic
understandings of individual choice and willpower, and appreciate the complex
and multi-dimensional ways individuals use culture in daily life.
The transformative aspect of food culture is further explored in the final chap-
ter of this section, Chapter 5. Barndt looks at popular, holistic, and place-based
education as well as multiple forms of collective cultural expression through com-
munity arts in various sustainable food initiatives. According to Barndt, popular
education and community art are forms of resistance to the commodification of
food, education, and art. By celebrating both biodiversity and cultural diversity,
these resistance efforts not only become a means to achieve a sustainable food
system but also reveal the ways that education and art catalyze creativity in the
food justice movement, affirming that another world is possible.

Photo: © Bill Brooks / Alamy

What Is Food Studies?
Characterizing an Emerging Academic Field
through the Eyes of Canadian Scholars
Mustafa Koc, Rod MacRae, Andrea M. Noack, Ozlem Giiclii Ustiindad!

Learning Objectives
Through this chapter, you can:
1. Understand some of the analytical challenges in defining the disciplinary
boundaries of food studies
2. Describe methodological triangulation by using multiple data gathering
techniques
3. List key defining characteristics of food studies

Introduction
In recent decades, food-related issues have associations and societies focusing on the study of
received increasing public attention worldwide. food, conferences devoted to food or food-related
While ongoing social problems such as hunger streams within traditionally non-food disciplines,
and poverty maintain their significance (though new academic journals, culinary history societies,
with a shifting focus from food supply to access), new books and book series, serious analyses of
the emergence of diet-related health and environ-the food system, and food-related websites. There
mental problems further highlights the impact of has also been a marked increase in food-related
the food system on human and environmental university courses and food studies concentra-
health. tions and degrees (which are established separ-
In the academic arena, these developments ately or within conventional disciplines).
have been paralleled by increased scholarly — Food involves many aspects of human life |
interest in food within social and environmental and social relations: a source of nutrition; a
sciences and humanities, beyond the traditional symbol; a commodity; a basis for ritual acts;
food-related areas of agriculture and nutrition. an object of pleasure, anxiety, or fear; an indi-
The extent of this interest is evidenced by the cator of quality of life and health; a marker of
increasing number of food-related presentations class and ethnic identity; and a political tool.
at mainstream academic conferences, articles in Food studies represents a new interdisciplinary
diverse scholarly periodicals and anthologies, perspective in social sciences and humanities,
 1 What Is Food Studies? 5

forming linkages and interconnections among and positive features’ (2008: 2). The rather
food-related issues. Using a systems perspective recent introduction of a gendered and femin-
that benefits from rich methodological and ana- ist perspective into food studies has expanded
lytical insights offered by various disciplines, the breadth of work on food and women from
researchers in this field study the ‘historically a limited focus on women’s food pathologies
specific web of social relations, processes, struc- (such as anorexia and bulimia) to include the
tures, and institutional arrangements that cover richness and complexity of women’s relationship
human interactions with nature and with other to food practices (Avakian and Haber 2005).
humans involving production, distribution, Taking a closer look at food issues in soci-
preparation, and consumption of food’ (Power ology and explaining relative neglect of these
and Kocg 2008: 2).? matters in that field, Beardsworth and Keil
As an emerging field, however, the term food (1997) note the very much taken-for-granted
studies can be difficult to define. Academics have nature of eating and the perception of food issues
widely used it in recent years as an umbrella as the intellectual property of other professions
term to cover the study of food, cooking, and or academic disciplines (on the production side,
eating from a social sciences and humanities agronomists, economists, and geographers, and
perspective. Despite this widespread usage, on the consumption side, nutritionists and diet-
however, a rigorous analysis of food studies icians). They point, for example, to the shift in
as a field or discipline has been lacking in the sociology’ centre of gravity from production
literature. In this chapter, we further define food to consumption, and to the increasing salience
studies by using a mixed-method approach to issues related to the experiences of women
gather data from Canadian scholars working in when explaining the recent sociological interest
areas generally deemed part of food studies (see in food-related issues.
Koc et al. 2010). a eee

From Discipline-based
The Challenges of Defining Focus to Interdisciplinarity
a New Field
The 1960s rise of cultural studies and post-
The relative historical neglect of food-related modernism possibly offered one of the most
issues has been noted by many scholars. Warren consistent criticisms of the earlier structuralist
Belasco attributes this neglect in academia to the and modernist approaches that prevailed for
‘classical dualism that prizes mind over body’, most of the twentieth century (Nestle and
McIntosh 2010). Area and regional studies
consumption (female) and production (male), (such as African studies, Indigenous stud-
technological utopianism, and the distancing ies, women’s studies, and environmental
from nature and tradition (through technol- studies) emerged and created new spaces for
“ogy and industry). He notes that, while food scholarship, borrowing analytical and meth-
production has received considerable attention odological insights from diverse disciplinary
in established disciplines (such as economics, traditions to develop their own perspectives.
chemistry, agronomy, engineering, marketing, Food studies was a late bloomer in this trad-
and labour relations), analysis of food consump- ition. The first food studies graduate program
tion has largely been limited study-of
to the as a legitimate field of study emerged in 1996 at
——
‘negative pathologies of malnutrition,
mal hunger, New York University. Associations, such as the
and adulteration’ rather than its ‘more intimate Association for the Study of Food and Society
6 Part | The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

(ASFS—since 1985); the Agriculture, Food, food and its representation as the basis for broad
and Human Values Society (since 1987); the cultural analyses).
International Sociological Association’s (ISA) At first glance, interdisciplinarity emerges as
Research Committee on Agriculture and Food one of the main defining characteristics of food
(since 1988); and the Canadian Association studies. Of course, both disciplinary boundaries
for Food Studies (CAFS—since 2005), were and patterns of interdisciplinary collaboration
the academic homes of interdisciplinary evolve over time and are contested both inside
researchers interested in a more holistic under- and outside the disciplines. Warren Belasco,
standing. New journals emerged that would while discussing the ‘emerging’ field of food
emphasize the importance of interdisciplin- studies, also notes that ‘it may be premature
ary and multidisciplinary collaboration (see to announce the birth of a new discipline’.
a selected list under Further Reading in this He highlights the need to use interdisciplin-
chapter). With various journals, lists of core ary approaches in the study of food, ‘which
readings, and various compendiums of syllabi requires crossing of disciplinary boundaries’
of courses (see ASFS and CAFS websites) there and ‘a careful integration of themes or mod-
now exists a respectable body of literature in els on which to hang all these disparate ideas
food studies. and insights’ (2008: 5, 7). Avakian and Haber
The interdisciplinary focus, even though it also stress ee
the on
interdisciplinary
a i nature
pata! of eee
food
would not be identified as ‘food studies’, became studies:
the dominant trend in many food societies and
-journals by the 1990s. Fine et al. (1996) argue Like other interdisciplinary fields, food
that an interdisciplinary focus was possibly studies and women’ studies cover a wide
easier for certain disciplines, such as sociol- range of topics and use approaches and
ogy, anthropology, and history of food, that methodologies from more traditional
allowed a much greater space for human and disciplines or develop new interpretive
social agency than those such as economics, modalities. (2005: 7)
nutrition, (agricultural) geography, and much
of psychology. Instead of disciplinary divide, While an interdisciplinary focus was hailed
new focal points appeared around certain theor- by some as a strength, a lack of clear analytical
etical debates, historical processes, and trends focus to connect many of these diverse debates
in the food system. In the 1980s and 1990s, and perspectives is seen_as a shortcoming by
Atkins and Bowler (2001) classified contribu- others. Fine et al. note the disparate and frag-
tions to this interdisciplinary field into categor- mented nature of food studies and question its
ies such as historical, cultural and sociological, adequacy to meet the émergent challenges:
post-modern and post-structuralist, and food
systems approaches. Avakian and Haber (2005) Food studies has always been a disparate
used the categories of colonialism, political discipline or collection of disciplines.
economy, globalization, history, popular cul- This proved more or less acceptable while
ture, and sociocultural analyses to capture the each fragment could remain exclusively
trends associated with research on food and preoccupied with its own concerns in
women (while noting that they do not constitute isolation from the concerns of the others.
an analytical framework nor are definitive) that Developments over the past decade in
spans diverse fields (such as philosophy, polit- the production of food, the composition
ical economy, anthropology, sociology, history, of diet, the politics and content of policy-
and cultural studies) and topics (from minute making, etc., have sorely revealed the
studies of a single food item to close readings of inadequacies of food studies. (1996: 26)
 1. What Is Food Studies? 7

Fine further asserts that ‘certain themes are unite them to discover their relationships and
essential if food studies is to constitute an aca- interconnections. Faod studies is, thus, a fusion
demic field that is coherent and integral but also of the social sciences and humanities realm with
distinctive from other areas, especially if food is the world of science and technology (Duran and
to be set apart from other items of consumption’ MacDonald 2006; University of Michigan 2007).
(1998: 13), and that it is investigations of this Most observers agree that food studies covers a
nature that have been neglected rather than the wide range of topics by using methodologies and
study of food itself. approaches from traditional disciplines as well
A problem common to most of this earlier as through the development of new ‘interpret-
interdisciplinary food research is that it focused ive modalities—perspectives unique to the field
on food for reasons related to other research (Avakian and Haber 2005; Berg et al. 2003; Nestle
agendas, such as looking at the food industry and McIntosh 2010). From this viewpoint, food
to demonstrate a theoretical perspective on the studies is described as the study of food and its
‘new international division of labour’, or the representation through the lenses of diverse disci-
globalization of the economy. As Belasco and plinary traditions such as philosophy, political
Scranton note, instead of being the end focus, economy, anthropology, sociology, history, and
food was ‘a novel means to illuminate already cultural studies.
accepted disciplinary concerns’ (2002: 6). In Others focus less on the fusion and more on
this view, food studies as a new disciplinary field seeing the interlinkages between various stages
would emerge only when researchers came to such as production, distribution, consump-
see various aspects of food from production to tion, and even waste management—a systemic
consumption as ‘important in themselves—and approach. As Fine argues, ‘food studies can
not just because they can illuminate some other be defined as the analysis, conscious or other-
dynamic or-theory’ (ibid). wise, of (the components) of the food system.
While the domain of food studies has Contributions to the discipline are stronger the
extended enormously, it has been equally diverse more they are integrated, or capable of integra-
in its analytical methods in ways that do not tion, into an analysis of the food system whilst
specifically mark out food. As Fine complains, acknowledging its organic content’ (1998: 17).
‘the various approaches to food have been frag- In being analyzed in terms of both its organic
mented and heterogeneous, defying an over- content and its distinct systems of provision,
all coherence. . . . the study of food tends to food is thus established as an object of study. As
presume the existence of a general underlying a result, the rationale for ‘an integral discipline
framework of analysis or object of study even if of food studies’ lies in the analytical insights it
this is essentially negated in practice through the involves. To achieve this
cumulative scholarship around food’ (1998: 15).
The result is a field of food studies in name but —y. . . the different factors influencing the
not in analytical coherence. consumption and significance of food
need to be situated in relationship to one
another, and attached to the systems of
The Integrating Capacity of provision for particular foods. The point
Food Studies is that the separate elements that make
up the world of food need to be related
Several analysts have argued that, rather than to one another in order that, even in
relocating the various sub-topics from their isolation from one another, the signifi-
present fields, the objective of food studies is to cance of each can be fully and properly
gather knowledge from these diverse fields and understood and situated. (Fine 1998: 17)
8 Part! The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

McGill Universitys new food journal, The association recognizes ‘the need for coordin-
Cuizine: The Journal of Canadian Food Cultures, ated interdisciplinary research efforts in response
suggests that food ‘acts as a window into mul- to societal needs for informing policy makers,
tiple cultural publics and thus lends itself to assessing the outcomes of community-based
various interrogations’ through history, material work, and demonstrating the environmental
culture, literary studies, sociology, anthropol- and social impacts of changes affecting food sys-
ogy, ethnography, art history, religious studies, tems and food policies’, drawing a membership
communications, and environmental studies from a wide array of disciplinary backgrounds
(Cuizine 2008). In addition, the study of food such as adult education, agriculture, anthropol-
encompasses anything pertaining to food and ogy, economics, environmental studies, health
eating, such as cooking and cuisine, dining studies, home economics, nutrition, geography,
and drinking, dieting, food quality, and food philosophy, politics, public health, rural stud-
safety (Avakian and Haber 2005; Duran and ies, sociology, social work, urban planning,
MacDonald 2006). Food is a central element women's studies, and more. ‘CAFS encourages
linking together many diverse academic disci- research that promotes local, regional, national,
plines and sources of knowledge that are other- and global food security, but does not advocate
wise unrelated. or endorse specific policies or political platforms’
In ‘Canadian Food Studies’, a special issue of (CAFS 2007).
the journal Food, Culture and Society, Power and While this book is-the first extensive volume
Koc define food studies as examining a ‘historic- on Canadian food studies, earlier compilations
ally specific web of social relations, processes, by Koc, MacRae, and Bronson (2007/2008)
structures and institutional arrangements that and Power and Koc (2008) present some of the
cover human interaction with nature and with contributions of CAFS members in earlier con-
other humans involving production,
—_——<——
distribu- ferences. We should, however, recognize that
tion, preparation and consumption of food’ these contributions follow in the footsteps of
(2008: 2), and note that the interdisciplinary earlier interdisciplinary food systems thinking
field of food studies offers scholars the ability to and research in Canada, dating back to the mid
investigate the complex relationships and con- 1970s. A unique aspect of Canadian contribu-
nections between various food-related issues. tions to food studies is the inclusion of both
Clapp states that food studies comprises a broad academic and non-academic works. Among
and multi-facted academic field of inquiry where these earlier studies, we can list Don Mitchell’s
food issues can be studied through various Politics of Food (1975); John W. Warnock’s Profit
lenses. Hunger and food security, health and Hungry: The Food Industry in Canada (1978)
nutrition, culture, environment, workers’ rights, and The Politics of Hunger (1987); the People’s
and corporate control over the food system are Food Commission report The Land of Milk
a few examples of such lenses. She explains and Money (1980); Jon Bennett's The Hunger
that even though the field of food studies may Machine (1987); Brewster Kneen’s From Land to
at times seem too broad, it is essential that_all Mouth: Understanding the Food System (1989);
issues_are considered in order to understand and Anthony Winson’s The Intimate Commodity
food ina holistic and complete sense (2008). (1993). These earlier contributions reflect an
In Canada, food studies is an emerging field. orientation towards social justice, democratic
The Canadian Association for Food Studies was citizenship, and critical inquiry and were not
founded in 2005. CAFS identifies its objectives as confined to universities.
‘promoting critical, interdisciplinary scholarship Besides this engaged orientation, a parallel line
in the broad area of food systems: food policy, pro- of inquiry emerged in folklore and culinary hist-
duction, distribution and consumption’ (2007). ory. Though the authors never claimed to be food
 1 What Is Food Studies? 9

studies experts, Pierre and Janet Berton’s writings, those results are seen to be accurate. Data was
especially The Centennial Food Guide (1966); collected from three different groups: members of
Margaret Visser’s Much Depends on Dinner (1986) CAFS, researchers funded by the Social Sciences
and The Rituals ofDinner (1991); Carol Fergusson and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) whose
and Margaret Fraser's A Century of Canadian Home projects were in the area of food studies, and ex-
Cooking: 1900 Through ’90s (1992); and Elizabeth perts in the field of food studies. In addition, data
Driverss monumental work Culinary Landmarks: from SSHRCS online award database and Google
A Bibliography of Canadian Cookbooks, 1825-1949 Scholars citations database were analyzed. In
(2008), are examples of a different culinary, cul- using these methods, we combined strategies that
tural, historical side of food studies that remains have been successfully used by other researchers.
largely outside the critical tradition. (For a more The purpose of our study was to develop
detailed account on Canadian cookbook writing, a more nuanced understanding of food stud-
see Chapter 3.) ies as a field. A general overview of the type
of work being done in the area of food studies
can be gleaned by reviewing the most common
Research Methodology and research keywords for CAFS members, the most
Participants common research keywords for SSHRC-funded
food studies researchers, and the most common
To further characterize the-field of food studies, terms among projects rated as food studies in
we solicited the views of food studies research- SSHRC'’s awards database (see Table 1.1).
ers, using the meanings they assign to the term The prominence of keywords like security,
to flesh out its characteristics. The status of food sustainability, and agriculture suggests that there
studies as an emerging field makes it necessary is a_substantial body of work around ensuring
to use a mixed-methods approach. This use people’s continued access_to food. Keywords
of multiple research methods and avenues of like health and nutrition highlight the_bio-
inquiry makes it possible to triangulate results in medical aspects of food studies research. As a
order to ensure increased validity., That is, if dif- group, these keywords imply a certain type of
ferent research methods produce similar results, approach to food. From the feedback of experts,
r

Table 1.1 Keywords Associated with Food Studies

Research keywords of Research keywords of ssHRC- Keywords used to predict projects

CAFS members funded food studies researchers rated as food studies’
food security history food
health agriculture sustain(able)

food system development urban

sustainable community global
urban agriculture food security agricultur(e)

gardening health securit(y)

nutrition inequality consum(ption)
culture
nutrit(ion)

1. These keywords were used to develop the automatic rating system discussed in section 2.1 of our study.
10 Part! The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

three characteristics emerged that seem to A common theme in food studies research
define food studies as a field: the use of a multi- in general, is that this work is intended
appl
level systems approach, a focus and/
on ied to solve immediate problems (of hunger,
or ve and appro
transformatiwork, an ach
that food insecurity, unsustainable agricul-
spans traditional academic disciplines. ture and fisheries, lack of access to clean
water, etc.). (Expert panellist)
A Multi-level Systems Approach [Food studies is] an applied field in which
the global and local food system (or food
Goodman et al. (2000) describe the importance systems) are described and analyzed
of a ‘food system’—the institutions, inputs and from a political economy and human
outputs, activities, and cultural beliefs within a rights perspective with implications for
social group dealing with production, distribu- developing national and international
tion, and consumption of food. Not surprisingly, food policy. (Expert panellist)
when experts and CAFS members were asked
about the defining features of food studies, The vast majority of SSHRC-funded food stud-
their responses consistently addressed the need ies researchers reported using an approach that
to understand food within a larger social and combines theoretical and empirical approaches
cultural context. to knowledge. Qualitative approaches seem to be
preferred in food studies: half of these research-
Food studies has to do with the entire ers (51 per cent) say that they use only or mainly
food system; while particular studies may qualitative methods, about a third of research-
focus on one or another element, the ers say that they use qualitative and quantitative
field is holistic, from seed to sewer. (CAFS approaches equally, and only 13 per cent say
member) that they use only or mainly quantitative meth-
[Food studies is the] exploration of the ods. The preference for qualitative work in food
political, economic and cultural aspects of studies may be typical of an_approach which
food and the food system, along with the seeks to explain how people understand and
health and sustainability of that system. negotiate
the complexity of
the social world.
(Expert panellist) ~The applied nature of food studies as a
discipline means that research in it is particu-
Other responses focused on the need to work larly likely to have impacts and outcomes that
at multiple scales (local, provincial, national, go beyond academia. One feature of food stud-
and global) and to understand how changes at ies research is its connection to community
one scale potentially affect the entire system. organizations. Among CAFS members who had
This systems approach has also been highlighted successful SSHRC grants for food-related work,
by Fine (1998). 42 per cent had both community and academic
co-applicants. Among the SSHRC-funded food
Applied and/or Transformative Work studies researchers, about a quarter had non-
academic collaborators, such as members of
Many participants argued that another defining Aboriginal and First Nations groups, farm and
feature of food studies was that it must have ‘real rural groups, and community organizations.
world’ connections or applications. Expert panel- This tendency to involve community mem-
lists in particular argued that food studies must be bers in research groups reflects the applied and
connected with key problems and should be ori- potentially transformative approach of food
ented toward creating some sort of public good. studies.
Sas
 1. What Is Food Studies? 14)

An Approach that Spans Traditional studies best matched their own perceptions of
Academic Disciplines the field. The results overwhelmingly favoured
a field that spans research in the social sciences,
Food research is done by individuals across humanities, health sciences, and natural sciences
various disciplines ranging from psychology, (see Table 1.2). Only one respondent doubted
sociology, and anthropology to history and that food studies is a field, saying, ‘Although
geography, and taking in nutrition, medicine, I agree that “food studies” has been loosely
public health, and epidemiology (Pelto and approached by humanities, social, health and
Freake 2003). Many participants noted that natural sciences, it is not yet an established field’
the crossing of traditional disciplinary bound- (SSHRC-funded food studies researcher). Belasco
aries is a central feature of food studies. Expert (2008) has expressed similar reservations.
panellists were specifically asked about the Although there seems to be agreement about
defining features of food studies as a field, and food studies spanning multiple disciplines,
replied: there is some confusion and dispute around
the use of the terms interdisciplinary, multi-
[1] believe that interdisciplinarity is disciplinary, and transdisciplinary. An inter-
critical, and not only across the social disciplinary approach typically integrates and
and natural sciences. Researchers in the unites perspectives from various isciplines.
humanities and fine arts also have import- This contrasts with multidisciplinarity, which
ant contributions to make, as a means joins two or more disciplines, but lacks inte-
of targeting and interrogating the food gration. Finally, a transdisciplinary approach
practices of everyday life. (Expert panellist) typically falls between and beyond disciplines,
I see food studies as a convergence of and includes the integration of knowledge from
disciplines, rather than as a discipline— outside academia.
and believe that this is the most import-
ant defining characteristic of the field. —> Food studies should be interdisciplin-
(Expert panellist) ary and multidisciplinary. Food scholars
might necessarily work within disciplines,
In both the survey of CAFS members and but there is much to be gained from
that of SSHRC-funded food studies researchers, learning from other disciplines. (Expert
respondents were asked which definition of food panellist)

Table 1.2 Most Popular Definitions of Food Studies

Which of these definitions best matches your own idea of % of SSHRC-funded % of CAFS members
what "food studies" refers to? researchers (n=35) (n=59)
A field that spans social science, humanities, health and natural 74.3 24.27
sciences research
A field that primarily encompasses social science research 14.3 22

A field that primarily encompasses health and natural sciences 8.6 2.0
research or
A field that primarily encompasses humanities research
| don’t think food studies is a field 2.9 0.0
12 Part |_The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

Food studies, to my mind, uses food as a for professional advancement (Busch and Lacy
lens through which to identify, explore, 1983). The findings also suggest that there is a
and explain broad trends of change and tendency for food studies researchers to be affili-
continuity over time. As such, it is fun- ated with disciplines that emphasize the relation-
damentally interdisciplinary in nature. ships among culture, society, and environment.
(SSHRC-funded food studies researcher) However, this confusion regarding disci-
linarity may indicate a lack of analytical
For my part, | applaud inter- and multi-
maturity in Canadian food studies. Long sug-
disciplinary initiatives, but become con-
gests that food acts as a focal point for the many
cerned with trans-disciplinary ones.
different academic domains ‘somewhat like the
While we all benefit from speaking across
disciplines, I believe we do well to lever- hub of a wheel with the spokes being the vari-
age the benefits of disciplinary methods of ous avenues of study’ (2002: 1). In this view,
analysis that have evolved to ensure preci- there are infinite perspectives and approaches
sion. This involves collaborative work and one can take when considering the study of
food, and here the field of food studies comes
discussion over time. (Expert panellist)
into play. The goal of food studies research is to
For some researchers, the applied nature provide an area where these various perspec-
of food studies may tip the balance towards a tives and disciplines can be integrated. Thus
transdisciplinary approach that can incorporate the field of food studies takes an interdisciplin-
forms of knowledge that are not associated with ary, rather than
multidisciplinary,
a approach
typical disciplinary ways of knowing. For others, to food. Hinrichs notes that interdisciplinary
however, disciplinarity provides a strength to study and research require the articulation and
build on, not something to be surpassed. integration of knowledge and theory from all
Despite the common perception that food of the participating disciplines. While multi-
studies is a field that spans a broad range of disciplinary research does exchange informa-
disciplines, there is some clear disciplinary clus- tion between two or more academic disciplines,
tering. For instance, among the SSHRC projects the participants’ research goals and outputs are
identified as food studies, large proportions enerally framed in their own ‘home’ disci-
were in anthropology (15 per cent), geography
(13 per cent), and sociology (13 per cent). plinary work (2008).
Among SSHRC-funded food studies researchers,
the most commonly reported disciplinary affilia-
tions were sociology (21 per cent) and anthro- Conclusion
pology (21 per cent). CAFS faculty/researchers
were commonly housed in departments of nutri- Food studies is a field of multi-level systems
tion (27 per cent), geography (18 per cent), analysis that privileges applied work. Although
environmental studies (14 per cent), and soci- there seems to be agreement about food stud-
ology (14 per cent). These findings do not take ies spanning multiple disciplines, researchers
away from the possibility of inter/multi/trans- need to find clarity and consensus on the use of
disciplinary work; rather, they suggest that there the terms interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and
are likely some areas or departments where transdisciplinary. This confusion regarding disci-
it is easier to do work that crosses disciplin- plinarity may indicate a need for further work in
ary boundaries. Earlier research has identified defining the analytical boundaries of food stud-
some food-related disciplines, particularly agri- ies. Collective engagement among scholars, such
culture and nutrition, that are tightly bound to as in this volume, will continue to contribute to
traditional disciplinary paradigms, with a pre- the development of shared analytical insights
mium placed on conformity to those paradigms and methodological tools.
 1. What Is Food Studies? 13

Discussion Questions
How does food studies differ from earlier discipline-based approaches focusing on food?
What are the three key characteristics of food studies as identified by food studies researchers?
What are some of the advantages and challenges of an interdisciplinary approach to food
research?

Further Reading
i Agriculture and Human Values numerous disciplines in the humanities,
An interdisciplinary journal published since social sciences, and sciences, as well as in
1983. It covers a wide range of issues critic- the world of food beyond the academy. It
ally questioning the values that underlie and is one of the few journals that specifically
characterize conventional and alternative identify food studies as their focus.
approaches to the agri-food system, encom- . Food and Foodways
passing production, processing, distribu-
tion, access, use, and waste management. An interdisciplinary and international journal
publishing articles on the history and culture
. Alternatives of human nourishment. Since 1985, Food and
Published since 1971, it is Canada’s old- Foodways has published work by anthropolo-
est environmental magazine. It focuses on gists, biologists, economists, ethnobotanists,
issues of sustainability through a wide range historians, literary critics, nutritionists, psych-
of papers examining the impacts of the food ologists, sociologists, and others who use food
system on the environment. as a lens of analysis.

. Appetite . Food Policy

An international journal that focuses on Dating back to 1975, Food Policy is a
normal and disordered eating and drinking, multidisciplinary journal publishing original
dietary attitudes and practices, and all aspects research and critical reviews on issues on the
of the bases of human and animal behaviour formulation, implementation, and analysis
toward food. of policies for the food sector, dealing with
diverse issues dealing with production, trade,
. Cuizine: The Journal of Canadian Food Cultures/ food safety, food security, and food aid.
Revue des cultures culinaires au Canada
. Gastronomica
A relatively new entry (since 2008), Cuizine
is an interdisciplinary journal looking at Combining scholarship, humour, fiction,
Canada’s diverse culinary traditions from a poetry, and visual imagery since 2001, this
multicultural perspective. It includes papers journal brings together diverse voices and
from diverse social science, humanities, and an eclectic mix of articles. Gastronomica
environmental studies perspectives. views food as an important source of
knowledge about different cultures and
. Food, Culture and Society
societies, provoking discussion and
Published since 1997, this journal is dedi- encouraging reflection on the history,
cated to exploring the complex relation- literature, representation, and cultural
ships among food, culture, and society from impact of food.
14 Part |_The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

9, International Journal of Sociology of Food and Published since 2007, JHEN examines
Agriculture (SAF) hunger and the interconnectedness
among individual, political, and
An open-access journal published since
institutional factors that govern how
1991, IJSAF provides theoretical and
people produce, procure, and consume
empirical articles on the study of labour,
food and the implications for nutrition
production, market, policy, technology,
and health. It focuses on hunger and
and global and local change mostly from a
environmental nutrition issues—specifically
political economy perspective. Past issues
food access, food and water security, agri-
can be accessed online.
culture, food production, sustainable food
10. Journal of Hunger and Environmental systems, poverty, social justice, and human
Nutrition (JHEN) values.

Notes

1. We are grateful to the Social Sciences and 2. To explore the broad scope of food studies, see
Humanities Research Council of Canada for Hamelin et al. (2007), McIntyre (2003), Ostry
the support provided for this project. We (2006), Riches (2002), Tarasuk and Eakin
also thank Sara Dilauro, Kasia Bulgarski, and (2005), CAFS (2007), Koc et al. (2007), Barndt
Rebecca Merchant for their assistance in the (2002), Desjardins et al. (2002), Friedmann
project. (2000), and Kog and Dahlberg (1999).

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Changing Food Systems from
Teer to sorrem
Political Economy and Social Movements
Perspectives
Harriet Friedmann

Learning Objectives
Through this chapter, you can:
Gain an appreciation of the social context surrounding the study of food systems
Understand the strengths and shortcomings of commodity studies
Explain global change through the food regimes approach
ie
ees
Nag Understand how food regimes and actor-network theory can complement each
other in the analysis of food system change

Introduction
The study of food systems takes a broad view researchers track patterns of production, trade,
of all dimensions of food from soil to stomach, consumption, and ideas about a single commod-
and all scales of organization, from gardens, ity such as wheat, milk, or tomatoes. A larger
farms, and cooking pots to international organ- approach called food regimes combines com-
izations. The social and political context for the modity studies with world-systems analysis to
academic field was a series of ‘food crises’ begin- identify long periods of stability and change in
ning in 1973, which created a period of volatile agri-food systems. Actor-network theory, which
prices after decades of stability, and which raised tracks human and non-human ‘actants’ from
issues of hunger and food security. The same per- below, is increasingly seen as complementary to
iod saw an ongoing farm crisis and environmental food regimes theory. Together, the two approaches
critiques of industrial agriculture. Academically, help to analyze food system change, which is an
national studies were proving too limited as trade unusual combination of economic change and
grew, culminating in the 1990s in international social movements.
agreements that changed food production and This chapter first explores the social context
consumption in all countries. One transnational of the study of food systems, followed by an over-
approach was commodity studies, in which view of commodity studies. It then discusses food
 Changing Food Systems from Top to Bottom WA

regimes as a way to understand global change, to reduce hunger have been undertaken again
and briefly discusses actor-network theory. The and again (most recently in the United Nations
chapter concludes by combining these two Millennium Development Goals), but have not
approaches to help us think about food system been met either in Canada or in many other
change, focusing on the concept of ‘communities countries (Friedmann 2005). The goal of food
of food practice’. security, however, provides focus for social
moveme i uality,
and justice, including a new set of movements
Social Context for the Study and institutions focused specifically onhunger.
of Food Systems
In the 1970s, big changes brought food to the
Promoting Food Security
Cae
forefront of world affairs for the first time in dec- The United Nations World Food Programme
ades. The first ‘world food crisis’ was declared (wFP)-was-foumded in 1974 to promote food
in 1972-3 when the prices of the most import- security through multilateral food aid. Food
ant traded food crops of the time—soy, maize, aid up to that time had been provided from one
and especially wheat—doubled or tripled. This country to another. As a result, humanitarian
change interrupted a longpettod-of Tow and motives were mixed with the need to dispose
declining prices, in which even poor people of surplus farm products and requirements
could afford to eat and Third World countries that recipients buy farm machines, fertilizers,
happily became dependemt—onm food imports and pesticides from the donor country. This
Ostered the growth of cities and form of food aid thus did harm as well as good.
industries. High prices suddenly confronted The WFP is multilateral and focuses on food
those relyirrg on Cheap food ancimports with emergencies. Nonetheless, subsidized exports
the-prospect of growing hunger; even middle- continue, and the European Union countries
class-peeple-complained about the high cost of joined the United States as major donors of
e nsive because surplus agricultural products. These dona-
of feed-grain prices. Yet farmers did not bene-
fit from these prices; it was Corporations, espe-
See
‘aid’ in international
a
trade negotiati in
es
the
cfatty those in international Fe aornerent
Prices fell at the end of the decade, but they is important to note that emergency aid usu-
remained volatile. ‘Food crises’ marked by dra- ally takes the form of buying food from farm-
matic, sudden price rises have recurred ever ers in distressed areas rather than sending food
since. The world of food became unstable and that undercuts their prices and incomes. In
unpredictable. response to apparently worsening conditions,
The first World Food Summit was held in small farmers in both the global North and
Rome in 1974 in response to the crisis, launching South, including Canada’s National Farmers
national and international movements for food Union, launched the largest social movement
security. The ‘right to food’ had been agreed in the world, Via Campesina (McMichael 2010,
to by governments
in 1948 in Article 25 of Patel 2007, Desmarais 2002 and this volume),
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and defined a new goal of food sovereignty.
(UNHCR 1948), but had not been top of mind Meanwhile,
the goal ofending hunger, despite
as long as hunger seemed on a steady decline. regular restatements, receded ever farther into
Agreeing that a food crisis existed, governments the future (Friedmann 2004).
signed commitments in 1974 to ensure food Hunger was hardly restricted to the global
security for their populations. Commitments South. Food insecurity came to so-called rich
 18 Part |_The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

countries, including Canada, as incomes grew election in 2011. This was the first time that all
more unequal. In the 1980s, Canada’s first food political parties (except the Conservatives, the
banks were created (Riches 1986). As hunger party that won!) had a food policy. The Greens,
worsened, especially among families and chil- with the most extended food policy of any party,
dren, it became clear that food banks were not, as elected their first Member of Parliament in that
everyone had hoped, temporary. When politicians election; the Liberals and New Democratic Party
peed thatRancer Fadhessinea permanent fact (NDP) each had excellent food policies, which
for many Canadians, some of the most creative despite some differences shared a focus on
community organizations of our time began to health as the link between farming and food.
emerge. Notable were FoodShare Toronto and the
Toronto Food Policy Couricif,tecognized across Promoting Healthy Food — \e yell bo bed
North America as pioneer non-profit and munici-
pal organizations. FoodShare was created in 1985 Not only quantity but also quality of food
by Toronto mayor Art Eggleton as an alternative became important in the 1970s. ‘Organic agri-
to food bank charity, and has fostered innumer- Galture’ and ‘health foods’, as well as concern
able individual and organizational initiatives. The for global food security, were popularized by
Toronto Food Policy Council, a volunteer citizen writers such as Frances Moore Lappé in Diet
council established in 1991 and supported by for a Small Planet (1975 [1971]) and Food First:
Toronto Public Health staff, has facilitated and Beyond the Myth of Scarcity (Lappé et al. 1977),
coordinated numerous food-related initiatives Susan George in How the Other Half Dies (1976),
in the non-profit, public, and private sectors. Its and Wendell Berry in The Unsettling of America:
: Seas Food Charter has been adopted by cit-
~ Culture and Agriculture (1977). Of the many
ies across thé continent, and now an innovative llions against the individualism and
Food Strategy promises to spark another wave of alienation of industrial capitalist society, one
\S innovation. Another large non-profit, The Stop, strand aimed to create communities centred on
grew trom a food bank (which it still is) into a growing, cooking, and shating food.
Itspro-
complex organization devoted to empowering ponents were early critics of industrial food
people and communities through community and agriculture, focusing on soil loss, water
food centres. Since agriculture and food are an pollution, dangers to wildlife from agricultural
economic ee es at eet chemicals (Carson 2002 [1962]), and dangers
innumerable creative individuals have formed to human health from additives and increased
successful for-proht and non- ta enter- fats, sugar, and salt in industrial foods. They
prises (Murray 2009). experimented with conscious ways of returning
~~Meanwhile, similar initiatives have been to farming without chemicals and to cooking
growing across the country, showing how fresh meals from scratch. Vegetarianism, hardly
regional food systems can pursue goals of sus- a new phenomenon, took on new meaning in
tainability, food security, and food justice. Food an era that also witnessed the emergence and
Secure Canada was created in 2006, the culmina- rapid growth of standardized fast-food chains,
tion of almost a decade's efforts to bring together led by McDonald’ and Kentucky
Fried Chicken,
food security initiatives across the country. Soon and early confined animal-feeding operations.
after, it led a project to update the popular People formed food co-operatives as an alterna-
cross-country research of the 1970s called ‘The tive to the growing dominance of supermarkets
Land of Milk and Money’. The People’s Food which accompanied the growth of suburbs and
Project, which was the work of many writers dependence on cars. Several food co-ops, such
and editors based on ‘kitchen table talks’ around as Karma Co-op and the Big Carrot in Toronto,
the country, was launched during the federal are still active, and the number of health food
 Changing Food Systems from Top to Bottom 19

stores has multiplied. Serving many small co-ops Journal of Sociology, expanded their coverage to
was the Ontario Natural Food Co-op, which still include what we now recognize as food stud-
connects small, diversified farms, health-food ies. These were later joined by a multitude of
stores, and consumers. international journals, notably International
Journal of Sociology of Agriculture and Food. The
The Growth of Food Studies Canadian Association essay collections on food
studies have proliferated in the United States
Many researchers became interested in food since the pioneering studies of the 1980s (e.g.,
issues of all kinds. One early paradigm in food Busch and Lacy 1984). The present volume and
studies originated with the French agricultural its contributors are among those defining the
economists, especially Louis Malassis (1973; field in Canada.
Malassis and Padilla 1986) and his concept
of the systéme agro-alimentaire, later taken up Commodity Studies
by other researchers (e.g., Winson 1993) and
termed in English the agri-industrial complex The 1980s saw a wave of new research on
or agri-food complex. This paradigm centred on specific foods. In a groundbreaking article,
relationships between farming and processing Counihan (1984) showed how changes in the
in particular, with Canadian contributions from ways that bread is produced, distributed, and
Tom Murphy (1982), David Glover (1983), consumed could serve as a ‘lens’ to understand
Michael Gertler (1991), and Anthony Winson massive changes in family, community, and work
(1988, 1990, 1993). Rather than providing in a small community in Italy. Complementing
in-depth examination of a single commodity, this microcosmic view, other scholars traced
these studies offer a holistic view of the com- complex global patterns by following a single
plex of sectors involved in producing, process- food making its way through a food system. Two
ing, and retailing food, and the shifting power books set the standard for many to come.
relationships among these sectors. Around the In the pioneering work Sweetness and Power:
same time that these Canadian studies were The Place of Sugar in Modern History (1985),
published, a group of American researchers anthropologist Sidney Mintz shed new light on
involved in the NC117 project, which focused capitalism and colonialism. Mintz showed how
on the organization and performance of the the African slave trade and New World sugar
American food system, made an important con- plantations underpinned industrial capitalism
tribution to understanding the food system of in England by making possible new foods for
the world’s leading capitalist economy (see, for emerging working classes, such as jams, which
example, Hamm 1981; Marion 1979, 1986, were rich in calories but poor in nutrition. He
Connor et al. 1985). showed how sugar reshaped culture both of
In addition to more popular books, such as the rich—for example, through astoundingly
those by Michael Pollan (2005, 2008), schol- complicated giant sugar sculptures for enter-
arly food researchers could increasingly com- taining guests—and the poor—for example,
municate their findings in academic collections through combining the energy boost of sugar
and in interdisciplinary journals founded in with other colonial imports such as tea and
the 1980s and 1990s, such as Agriculture and opium to compensate for the suffering caused
Human Values, Journal of Peasant Studies, Journal by appalling living conditions, diets, health,
of Agrarian Change, Food and Foodways, and and work. The book is written in a lively,
Food, Culture and Society. Many older journals accessible manner, and is still a staple of food
such as Rural Sociology, the Canadian Review of courses in history, anthropology, sociology, and
Sociology and Anthropology, and the Canadian other disciplines.
20 Part! The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

In the same decade, sociologist William of (mainly) British colonies in North America,
Friedland and his colleagues produced a trail- Australia, New Zealand, and South America.
blazing book called Manufacturing Green Gold: McMichael (1984) shows how the class struc-
Capital, Labor, and Technology in the Lettuce ture, land ownership, exports, and eventually
Industry (Friedland et al. 1981). Building on independence of Australia were shaped by migra-
Friedland’ earlier research into migrant labour in tion from Britain, British investment, and most
the eastern United States and Carey McWilliams’s important, the monetary system (gold standard)
study of the structure of California agriculture, that favoured Britain and underpinned its rule.
called Factories in the Field (1939), they showed Friedmann (1978) shows how family farms in
how systems of large-scale crop production in Canada, the United States, Argentina, Australia,
California were fully industrial in their labour and other parts of the world were caught up
relations, finances, and distribution systems. in the changing diets of industrial workers in
Eventually, industrial organization of large- England—a paradoxical link between family
scale monocropping would overtake California labour on one side of the world and wage labour
organic produce as well (Guthman 2004). on the other. This situation was partly due to
This work opened up two important direc- migration, railway building, new forms of credit,
tions. First, sociology of agriculture broadened and so on. But it all began with an 1840s policy
beyond ‘family farms’ to study all the determin- decision by the British government, then the
ants of agriculture, including inputs, such as centre of a dommrant world empire, to sacrifice
machinery and chemicals, and sales, which were eSee
coordinated on a continental scale. Lettuce was market it-stapte toods, as Steet 2009) recently
bred to be easily harvested by machines and emphasized, was something quite new. Not
shipped across the continent. Labour was not since the Roman Empire, which ended more
family labour, except that of families of migrant than a thousand years earlier, had any govern-
Mexican and Hispanic labourers with limited ment felt so confident of its ability to control a
rights. Canadian contributions to the litera- world-system
that it could risk the food supply
ture on the role of migrant farm labour include THE peoples Shite Then, thete havesbeen per-
Basok (2002), Wall (1994), and Preibisch (2007, iods of national management of food and agri-
2010). The low cost made possible by indus- culture, followed by periods of increased trade.
trial systems (through hidden subsidies of oil The present era forced the opening of national
and water, as well as through exploited labour) markets and a shift towards exports through the
allowed lettuce—and many other crops—to World Trade Organization, but these efforts are
become concentrated in California in large faltering over agriculture.
monocropping operations at the expense of Many commodity studies draw on the
small and mixed farms closer to urban consum- research tradition of Canadian Harold Innis
ers. Durability and ease of shipping and storing (1956 [1930], 1940), whose staples theory
took precedence over consumption; thus var- inspired others such as Vernon Fowke (1944),
ieties such as iceberg lettuce (rather than mul- who traced the role of wheat in Canadian pol-
tiple varieties better for health or taste) became itical economic history. Commodity or value
dominant in supermarkets, shaping consumer chain_studies are now proliferating, because
choice. they allow researchers
to follow the food wher-
In the second direction, researchers began ever it goes, to understand the food systems at
to reinterpret the history of the capitalist world- all scales, and thus to discern lar terns
system thro a food Jens, focusing on the of production, distribution, and consump-
worldwide wheat, meat, and dairy trade of the tion (Collins 2005, Bernstein and Campling
1800s made possible by European settlement 2006a, 2006b). Among these are Sanderson's
 Changing Food Systems from Top to Bottom 21

1986 study of the ‘world steer’, Wells’s 1996 capitalism is not something that emerges in any
study of strawberries, and DuPuis’s 2002 study one country and then spreads to others. Rather,
of milk. In the Canadian context, MacLachlan the capitalist_era began when countries_and
(2002) has contributed a valuable study on the
beef commodity chain. Barndt’s 2008 study colonial expansion about 500_years_ago. the
of the tomato chain from Mexico to Canada is Orld market ever since is bigger than any state,
another particularly important Canadian con- and the hierarchy of power among states both
tribution. Barndt connects the gender, race, shapes the market and is shaped by it. In other
and class distinctions that underpin trans- words, capitalism _emerged on a world scale in
national tomato chains, from the tomato fields the years after 1500, because of the relation-
in Mexico, through the trucking industry of ships among industrial wage labour in England,
North America, to the workers at McDonald’s Slavery in the Caribbean, servitude in Eastern
and Loblaws in Canada. Most important, Barndt Europe, and sharecropping iit Italy; each region
introduces the key theme of bigdiversity, show- ‘andcommodity
each complex (sugar, cotton,
ing that industrial systems select a small number textiles, iron, wheat) existed only because of
of crop varieties based on production and ship- the relations among them, including the differ-
ping requirements. But another way is possible: ences in the powers of states. These relations are
by transplanting tomatoes around the world, the spatial dimension of the world-system. The
gardeners and small farmers have for centuries time dimension of the world-system is equally
increased the genetic variety of tomatoes. Seed important. Researchers have documented how
saving and seed exchanges now serve the the world-system as a whole goes through
phases of economic expansion and contraction,
and how contractions coincide with shifts in
power among states (Arrighi 1994; Arrighi and
Food Regimes. Understanding Silver 1999). These shifts are called transitions
Global Change between hegemonic powers.
Friedmann and McMichael (1989: 85) define
Are commodity chains related through a global food regimes as the link between ‘international
food system? How can analysts link not only relations of production and consumption of
all stages of specific production-distribution- food’ and ‘periods of capitalist accumulation’
consumption of commodities such as wheat, (which are also periods whose rules are set
beef, tomatoes, and fish, but all those commod- by a hegemonic power). The most import-
ity systems too? Commodity studies show how
—
ant historical food regimes were those centred
specific changes in food systems happen globally on imperial power under British hegemony
and historically; by tracking commodities along (1870-1914) and on national regulation of food
supply chains we get a picture of regional spe- and agriculture under US hegemony (1947-73)
cialization, class relations in production and (McMichael 2009).
consumption, and inter-state power, but only Food regimes built on world-systems theory
as these shape each specific food. Putting them tend to make two major contributions. First,
together is an approach to the study of food sys- following the great theorist Polanyi (1944),
tems called food regimes. researchers show through food regime analysis
Food regime analysis combines the how ‘markets’ (with their specific mix of com-
‘bottom-up’ approach of commodity studies modity prices) are shaped by historically specific
with the ‘top-down’ approach of world-systems rules governing power, money, trade, labour,
theory. In world-systems theory (Wallerstein and more (Magnan in press; Pritchard 2009b).
1974; Arrighi 1978, 1994) it is argued that Food regimes are relatively stable periods in
Se SS SS
 22 Part | The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

which all actors, whether they like it or not, can system is desirable and which rules will secure
Srieth ci(eomicganthedipactiousyaith
iiepam ges it (e.g., Campbell 2009; Dixon 2009; Pritchard
sonable a tons ton- 2009a; Lang and Heasman 2004). Indeed, Lang
tradictions, but these are stabilized during the and Heasman, see ‘food wars’ between two pos-
regime; but when old tensions and new issues sible futures: ‘industrial
the life science’ route
cannot be handled within institutions of the based on individual consumption and ‘func-
regime, actions become unpredictable, and the tional foods’ versus the ‘ ical public health’
regime goes into crisis. route based on public policies.
Second, food regime analysis shows that This long crisis has led to many changes
periods of crisis (or ‘transition’) last_as_ long in the food system since the 1980s. First,
as
periods
of stability. The transition between new ate sectors have become power-
British-
and US-cenitred food regimes lasted Til:Supenniactevdamtamierta toad eeote
more than three turbulent decades. It began in and are more influential than branded manu-
1914 with the outbreak of the First World War, facturers, such as Kraft and Nestlé, which pre-
which disrupted the new world market even vailed in all countries in the US-centred food
as that world market affected the outcome of regime. Canadian supermarkets led the trend
the war (Offer 1989); encompassed the Great in offering their own brands such as Loblaws’s
Depression of the 1930s; and ended in 1947. It President’ Choice (Winson 1993; Barndt
was brought to an end by the defeat of a wartime 2008). Since then, supermarkets have moved
plan to manage international food trade, and into financial and real-estate markets, too
therefore national production and consumption (Burch and Lawrence 2007, 2009). With social
(Friedmann 1993) and the creation instead of a changes_in_ work and family, supermarkets
clause excluding agriculture from the main trade ase replaced mothers andSEAdMOTheS as a
agreement of the era, the General Agreement on source of advice on what to eat (Dixon 2003).
Tariffs and Trade. Governments turned over many of the respon-
sibilities for regulating food quality to the ever-
The Current Transition larger corporations formed through mergers
and acquisitions (Lang et al. 2009; Marsden,
The crisis of the US-centred food regime, Flynn, and Harrison 2000). Supermarkets
beginning with the food crisis of 1973-4, has began to make their own food quality regula-
not been accompanied by the dramatic wars tions-and enforce them on farmers and-manu-
and economic depression of the earlier tran- acturers aroun € world (Friedmann 2005).
sition. However, no stable, agreed rules and Other corporations _ controlling agriculture
institutions governing global food relations have gained considerable power through new intel-
emerged. Food and agriculture have been a lectual property rules of the WTO, including
source of conflict and confusion ever since 1973, rules that, for the first time, allowed patenting
and, since the creation of both the World Trade of life forms (Tansey and Rajotte 2008). Genetic
Organization (WTO) and the North American
Free Trade Agreement in the 1990s, food safety
technologies
became anew source ofprofit and
a new basis for mergers and acquisitions, even-
and agricultural trade have been major sources tually repositioning agriculture with its seeds,
of international and class conflict, especially chemicals, and pharmaceuticals as part of a
with the rise of the new food sovereignty move- new ‘life sciences industry’ (see Chapter 16 in
ment (McMichael 2010; Patel 2007; Desmarais this volume).
2007). Cascading financial, ecological, energy, Second, new commodities have become
and health problems have afflicted the food sys- important in international trade, creating new rela-
tem, and disagreements multiply about what tions between North and South. Debt collection
 Changing Food Systems from Top to Bottom 23

in the 1980s forced_countries_in

Africa, Asia, Another new set of problems is the
and South America to shift from national food compounding environmental costs of the
and agriculture policies to promotion of exports industrial Tood system, which now outweigh
> pile Gee)Noni CoricneTe APHSGH epee the advantages—of—past productivity gains
‘tables, fruits, fish,and shrimp began to appear (Sustainable Development Commission 2011).
year-round in supermarkets, made available Between the clearing of forests in the Amazon
through the retailers’ transnational commodity and elsewhere for
farming-and the massive use
chains. Instead of growing food crops for domes- of fossil fuels on industrial farms and feedlots,
tic consumption, farmers began to shift to export agriculture is now understood to contribute
commodities ranging from mangoes to shrimp to substantially to greenhouse gases and global
cut flowers, and consumers began to buy imported warming, to pollution and overuse of water,
processed foods rather than fresh local products. to loss of precious soil, and to drastic loss of
In recent years, these supermarkets have been species, both wild and cultivated. Today’s farm-
Opening stores in poor countries (Reardon et al. ers, who have inherited the wisdom of those
2005; Friedmann 2004). who managed ecosystems and helped crops
Third, completely new problems have arisen and livestock co-evolve with humans for ten
that cannot be solved by existing divisions of thousand years, are being displaced in frighten-
govermmentrThespoliciesl
ofthat isodhHegine ing numbers (Araghi 1995). Yet they are also
that lasted until 1973 were designed to address resisting and adapting (van der Ploeg 2008)
food scarcity for consumers and low prices for and have many allies among people advocating
farmers during depression and war. The goal for healthy food and farming (IAASTD 2008;
was to help farmers produce lots of grains and De Schutter 2011).
livestock (and support their prices) to ensure
that people would get adequate calories and Toward a New Food Regime
protein. This goal was achieved: the glut of
grains made it cheap to feed them to animals Can a new food regime arise to solve these prob-
(and eventually to produce fuels for cars), and lems? The answer is not yet clear. One area of
the hamburger became the iconic food of the conflict is certification systems and standards.
regime. By-products of subsidized corn made Certification systems began outside govern-
high-fructose corn syrup _a cheap sweetener ments, to promote qualities beyond those trad-
in SACD TOR alate Bee to itionally regulated by governments such as the
increase availability of grains and meats suc- permitted levels of contaminants (e.g., from
ceeded ait too welt” nutrient-poor products agricultural chemicals or animal manure) in
now saturate food environments (Winson food or water. The earliest certifications were for
2004, 2008). Costly health problems caused organics, created by ‘alternative’ farmers to help
by industrial diets heavy in fats, sugar, and salt their customers identify their products, and for
have become a burden_on individuals and on fair trade, created by social justice organizations
health-care budgets, while public health and to help farmers in the global South get better
medicine are only beginning to incorporate diet prices for products such as coffee and cocoa.
into health care (Baker et al. 2010). Now pro- As demand for these certified, value-based
cessed foods, along with chronic diseases related products grew, however, corporations were
to obesity, are spreading to the global South able to take them over as profitable ‘niches’ at
(Hawkes 2010; Popkin 1998). Most important premium prices (Guthman 2004). And as cer-
of all, lapses in food safety have caused public tifications multiply, from seafood- to forest- to
fears and become the focus of consumer politics animal-friendly products, consumers are in
(Blay-Palmer 2008). danger both of ‘label fatigue’ (Goodman 2003)
24 Part | The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

and uncertainty that any certifications really Canada (see, for example, the work of Marshall
deliver promised benefits. 2006, Taylor et al. 2005, and Winson 2008).
As problems of health and environment have Shamefully, Canada is the only so-called rich
multiplied, governments have found it increas- country that has never had a national school
ingly difficult to keep up. Corporations, led by meal program; fortunately, if the government
supermarkets, are taking on the role of making, creates one now, it can learn from the experi-
implementing, and monitoring quality stan- ences, good and bad, of all the other countries.
dards, and social movements have shifted their As well, FoodShare Toronto is pioneering a
advocacy from public policy to corporations; multi-stakeholder campaign to make food lit-
for instance, Greenpeace and Environmental eracy, including hands-on gardening and cook-
Defense Fund have pioneered tactics to shame ing skills, part of the school curriculum from
corporations into adopting better practices. In kindergarten to graduation.
Canada organic farmers and consumers have These are only two of many strategies
demanded a higher standard than in the United adopted by a growing food movement to bring
States for eventual adoption by government together the fragments of a dying food regime
(Hall and Mogyorody 2001). Not only do gov- to find synergistic solutions to many social
ernments lag behind the social and private sec- problems. Food regimes is a perspective that
tors, but also the certification game is open to focuses attention on food as a lens, to see ways
anyone to play. Never in history until now have to address many social problems at once, from
corporations been able to regulate themselves. promoting health to managing ecosystems, and
‘Public policy is as important as it is elu- to move toward a wise agri-food system as the
sive. As mentioned earlier, all parties except the foundation for a sustainable and just society.
Conservatives adopted food policies in the 2011
Canadian federal election (Leeder 2011), after Actor-Network Theory
20 years of advocacy and food system changes.
Of course, a national food policy is still distant, Actor-network theory became important in food
but there are signs that this may come. studies in the 1990s as a way to address food
Morgan and Sonnino (2008) advocate the challenges. Researchers following the theories of
‘power of the public plate’ to encourage schools, Bruno Latour have made large contributions to
hospitals, and municipal agencies to provide agri-food studies (Goodman and Watts 1994).
healthy meals for students, patients, and work- They have gone beyond classical commodity
ers, and at the same time create demand for studies to insist on a much more balanced atten-
local ingredients grown by sustainable farm- tion to natural processes and natural sciences,
ers. Alliances between non-profit food advocacy what Latour calls ‘hybrids’ of social and natural
organizations and public institutions are effect- ‘actants’. Researchers follow specific networks of
ive means to this end. For example, in Canada, human and non-human ‘actants’ to reconstruct
Local Food Plus is one such non-profit that has relationships, innovations, and discoveries that
grown very quickly since its founding in 2006 are not easily contained within other theories.
to facilitate public procurement of local, sustain- Actor-network theory (and related science and
able foods (Friedmann 2007). And hospitals technology studies) initially defined itself in
that are finally preparing fresh meals are dis- opposition to food regimes and other political
covering along the way that they actually save economy theories (Goodman and Watts 1997),
money through waste reduction. In fact, however, the two are quite complement-
School meals have been publicly shown ary (Wilkinson 2006; Morgan et al. 2006). Actor-
to be inadequate and unhealthy in the United network studies follow threads of relationships
States and the United Kingdom, as well as in from the bottom up, much like commodity
 Changing Food Systems from Top to Bottom 25

studies do, and the empirical method yields and quelled unrest and demands for bread in
important insights for food regimes as it moves the working classes of Great Britain. Together,
ever deeper into aspects such as health and eco- these international movements of wheat and set-
systems, which have been the domain of natural tlers created the first food regime of 1870-1914,
science. Food regimes give global and historical which, in turn, created new classes of special-
shape to the many empirical studies, as food ized export wheat farmers in the United States,
regimes incorporate analysis of biophysical lim- Canada, and other settler regions.
its to the industrial food system (Weis 2007 When the world wheat market collapsed
and this volume). Food regimes also encompass a few decades later, in the 1920s, it heralded
synergistic new combinations of practical know- a decade of general crisis called the Great
ledge and formal science that allow ecological Depression. Prairie wheat farmers were hard-
farmers to manage ecosystems and create food est hit, since they depended on export mar-
security (Altieri 1987, Pretty 2002). kets which had failed. Farmers created strong
social movements, such as the Co-operative
Commonwealth Federation in Canada, which
Thinking About Food later joined with labour to become the NDP.
system Change Such political coalitions were key to defining
the policies and rules of the second food regime,
Analysis of how the food system is changing in especially (but not only) in the United States
Canada, in its regions, and in the world involves (Winders 2009). These included price supports,
at least two questions: What is changing? How marketing boards, supply management, import
does change happen? Both food regimes and controls, and the whole array of programs now
actor-network approaches guide research to called subsidies, including export subsidies. In
answer thesé questions. In addition, we need to this regime, agri-food corporations became large
think about how economic actors, social move- and powerful through industrialization of agri-
ment organizations, and public agencies are culture and food manufacturing with the cre-
linked through communities of food practice. ation of the GATT in 1947. When in turn the
second regime began to falter about 25 years
What Is Changing? later in 1973, it ushered in another period -of
transition, in which social movements arose in
Food system change is at once a social movement the 1980s to criticize the industrial food sys-
and a set of practical activities to transform the tem, comprising consumers, environmentalists,
food sector of the economy (Baker 2009). From alternative agriculture practitioners, and advo-
a food regimes perspective, specific historical cates for food security, food safety, and healthy
social movements have been agents of large-scale food. The most important of these is the food
change or transitions from one regime to another sovereignty movement of small farmers around
(Friedmann 2004). Seeing how these changes the globe—the largest social movement in the
happened can help us ask useful questions about world (Patel 2007; McMichael 2008),
change today. As mentioned earlier, the first These new movements are studied through
food regime began when the British government food regimes and actor-network theories. They
removed tariffs on grain in the early 1840s, seek creative ways to live within natural limits,
which sacrificed its own powerful farm sector which the industrial food system tends to over-
to imports, and promoted grain production in ride (Weis 2007). Food scholars study both these
its colonies, including Canada, by encouraging change initiatives and the industrial food system
huge populations to migrate. At one stroke, these itself, examining, for example, how to meas-
two policies created a world market in wheat ure and evaluate risks related to hormones and
26 Part! The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

antibiotics in livestock, to pesticides and gen- persists, most organizations are converging on a
etically modified crops, to food system workers concept of food citizenship (Lang et al. 2009;
and consumers, and to health systems. These Hinrichs and Lyson 2007).
initiatives include certifications for fair trade Another tension exists between farm renewal
ee

and organic products, and new networks of pro- and meeting the needs of an increasingly urban
duction and distribution, such as food co-ops, &md—diverse_population of eaters; Waves of
farmers’ markets, and community-supported immigrants,
from the founding of Canada until
agriculture (CSA). The CSA is an innovation that the middle of the last century, arrived in a rural
came of age during the 1990s, in which custom- country. Many became farmers; the rest were
ers buy a farmer's crops in advance of the grow- closely connected to the farms and ate what
ing season and receive produce throughout the local farmers grew and sold. Historically, most
season (see Fieldhouse 1996). CSAs help farm- immigrants came from Europe. About 30 years
ers invest and plant without borrowing from a ago, immigrants began to arrive in large num-
bank, and allow customers to share the risks and bers from all over the world, mostly settling
benefits of agriculture. in large cities. As these cities grew, sprawling
New distribution systems create closer across farmland, the new residents found them-
connections—food networks near home for selves very far from remaining farming areas
both farmer and eater—and combine social both geographically and culturally. These recent
(market) with natural (crops, animals, weather) immigrants began arriving as food markets were
factors. They support a revival of small, artisanal becoming global in the crisis of the US—centred
processors of foods made from local farm prod- food regime. It was easy, therefore, for them to
ucts. In other words, they create short, local, import their familiar cultural foods. Meanwhile,
alternative supply chains (Marsden, Banks, and local vegetable farmers, such as those in the
Bristow 2000). Social movements recreating the fertile Holland Marsh near Toronto, began to
infrastructure of a regional food economy (Baker specialize in two crops—carrots and onions—
et al. 2010) thus provide opportunities for entre- and export them, while nearby supermarkets
preneurs from farm to table. These movements were importing them! As wheat farmers before
may be the seeds of a new food regime. them had discovered, growing for export is not
a reliable livelihood. We now have an economic
How Does Change Happen? problem: How can farming be renewed so that
farmers can have a decent livelihood? How can,
Change always involves tensions. One tension good incomes for farmers be reconciled with
in the food movement exists between alleviating solving hunger? There.is also a cultural problem:
injustices in the current food system and build- How can farmers discover what foods consum- ~
ing a new food system. On one side, the food ers want and learn how to grow them? How can
urban cooks, shoppers, and chefs find what they

y
bank communities, which form the front line of
emergency hetp for hungry people, would like to want from local farmers (Friedmann in press)?
end hunger, and they advocate for better incomes Two other important tensions are less fre- w
so that everyone can afford to buy food. On the quently noticed. First, much of the revival of
other side, organizations like FoodShare and The local food production has relied on tempor-
Stop, which also guide people to food banks or ary migrant workers. These workers lack the
even operate food banks themselves, nonethe-
less focus on helping people become self-reliant
rightS-of citizens (Sharma 2006; Barndt 2008).
Organizations such as Justice for Migrant
“)
through education and through community gar- Workers are just beginning difficult conversa-
dens and kitchens. Even ‘middle-class’ organiza- tions with other food citizenship organizations.
tions such as Slow Food advocate for food that is Second, Indigenous people, who have been
‘good, clean, and fair’. But although this tension displaced and marginalized since the first food
= —
 2 Changing Food Systems from Top to Bottom 27

regime, have by far the deepest knowledge of system change. Its own initiatives include the
howto
im-ea tivech-eeosyst
ofemt
Canada. The Toronto Food Charter, widely adopted by cit-
resuof rgen
First Nations,
ce both in cities and on ies across North America, and most recently, the
reserves, embraces farming and healthy food as Toronto Food Strategy, which seeks to take its
part of their pursuit of justice and sustainability. support for food system change to a new level.
‘\First Nations are potentially the centre in Canada Communities of food practice support cre-
of an emerging circle of food system change. _— ative solutions to a food regime in crisis. The
future of food can go one of two ways. Either
‘Communities of Food Practice large-scale food production units will continue
to dominate, with their hierarchies of a few good
Economic and social movement initiatives for jobs and many poor jobs, including those of
food citizenship are linked in communities of migrant workers with few.rights; or local com-
food practice (Friedmann 2007). These consist munities of food practice will connect and form
of networks of individuals and organizations— a ‘joined-up food economy’ (Roberts 2008).
te, and non-profit—engaged in The growing number of people in commun-
creating a regional, integrated, inclusive agri- ities of food practice cannot know each other—
food economy. A community of food practice there are too many. But they can easily meet
is most successful when it is anchored by cre- each other and trust each other to work together
ative, values-based organizations. Individuals to improve and innovate (People’s Food Policy
within these organizations—founders, staff, and Project 2011). Trust is especially important in
ae others in the food com- easing the tensions among movements, W z
munity even if it is too large for everyone to be € communities of foo practice,1
personally acquainted. Food change organiza- coming years. The most important insight of ite
tions tend to be fluid and to encourage individ- éomcept-ctommunity of food practice’ is that by
ual creativity, including assisting individuals to training ourselves to see the links among many
move through and beyond them, leaving behind diverse initiatives and individuals and organiza-
(and taking with them) experiences and projects tions, we can discover deep changes underway
that foster the movement as a whole. These in the food system.
individuals in turn help the organizations to
evolve quickly and encourage others to emulate Conclusion
successful experiments. Many of these organiza-
tions are non-profits, with an increasing number This chapter has described the food regimes
of small, values-based businesses that respond approach to the study of food systems. To pro-
to opportunities within an emerging food system vide background to and a holistic view of this
based on social economy (Murray 2009). approach, the chapter first explored the social
At the centre of such a network, however, we context of food systems. The chapter then
often find a public organization. For example, outlined commodity studies, which provided
the Toronto Food Policy Council (TFPC) is a groundbreaking research on specific foods within
citizens’ council with members from all parts of a food system. The main focus, however, was on
the food system—including the farm sector— food regimes as a way to understand changes
located within municipal government. Staff of in the global food system. This approach can
Toronto Public Health coordinate the TFPC’s be complemented by the use of actor-network
volunteer activities. The TFPC thus straddles the theory. The chapter concluded by combining
line between municipal government and citizen these two approaches to help us analyze food
organizations, and facilitates and anchors net- system change, and introducing the concept of
works of individuals and organizations. This role ‘communities of food practice’, which support
has made it an acknowledged pioneer in food creative solutions to a food system in crisis.
28 Part | The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

Discussion Questions
i Why is social context so important to the study of food systems?
Ze What are commodity studies? Describe the strengths and weaknesses of using this approach to
study food.
3. Define the term food regime and explain the advantages of using this approach to study food.
How are communities of food practice linked to food system change?

Further Reading
Ie Weis, Tony. 2007. The Global Food Economy: other tomato is called by the Indigenous
The Battle for the Future of Farming. London: word tomatl. Today gardeners and small
Earthscan and Halifax: Fernwood. farmers across the world continue the
centuries-long adaptation of tomatoes.
Weis uses food regime analysis to show
They save and exchange seeds and thus
the ecological and social consequences
increase the genetic, cultural, and culinary
of linking North and South through
diversity of the plant.
commodities. Two main commodity chains
are the foundation of most global food 3S Morgan, Kevin, Terry Marsden, and
trade: wheat and livestock. Since most Jonathan Murdoch. 2006. Worlds of Food:
grains in fully commercial systems like Place, Power, and Provenance in the Food
North America are fed to animals, corn Chain. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
and soy are part of the livestock complex.
The authors use actor-network theory
In both systems production of grains and
and political economy to compare three
meat is concentrated in a few regions, and
regional farming systems, in California
neither are sustainable. As international
(industrial-export); Tuscany, Italy; and
trade and investment organize the global
Wales (a ‘placeless foodscape’ with
South along the lines of the global North,
‘short supply chain’ alternatives—much
the world food supply becomes increasingly
like most regions of Canada). These
vulnerable.
international comparisons together show
Barndt, Deborah. 2008. (2nd ed). Tangled how a global economy of values-based,
Routes: Women, Work, and Globalization on short supply chain, networked regions
the Tomato Trail. Lanham, MD: Rowman & could work. |
Littlefield.
. McMichael, Philip. 2009. A Food Regime
Using commodity chain analysis, Barndt Geneaology. Journal of Peasant Studies 36(1):
follows the trail of two tomatoes from field 139-69.
to table through stories and photographs.
The first tomato is ‘corporate’: a standard A good place to get an up-to-date overview
fruit designed to grow, travel, and be sold
of food regimes approaches, their origins,
in large-scale operations from Mexican and their evolution.
fields to Canadian supermarkets. Workers . Lang, Tim and Michael Heasman. 2004.
along the commodity chain are organized Food Wars: The Global Battle for Mouths,
by gender, race, class, and nationality. The Minds and Markets. London: Earthscan.
x
 Changing Food Systems from Top to Bottom 29

Although data are from the United national food systems for decades is no
Kingdom, this book offers such a clear longer viable, because it took no direct
analysis of present dilemmas and choices account of human or ecosystem health.
about food systems that it is a good They outline two trajectories for a new
starting point for understanding Canada, food system: the ‘life sciences integrated
too, Lang and Heasman show how the paradigm’ and the ‘ecological public health
‘productionist paradigm’ that dominated paradigm’.

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 Canada's Food History Through |
Cookbooks
Nathalie Cooke

Learning Objectives
Through this chapter, you can:
4 Recognize cookbooks as offering more than cooking instruction, and look
to them for insight into changing social roles (particularly within families and
communities) and food tastes over time
Through examples of close reading of the titles and cookbook prefaces and
introductions provided here, be alert and prepared to recognize moments when
cookbooks identify their strategic objectives. After all, cookbooks are addressed
to a particular audience for a particular purpose
Armed with a brief overview of five periods of Canadian history as seen through
Canadian cookbooks, and introduced to some of the most significant Canadian
cookbooks, place Canadian cookbooks you encounter going forward into the
context of the complex history of Canadian foodways that includes moments of
pivotal change often linked to successive waves of immigration

Introduction
What factors have influenced our eating habits to serve fare that promotes health and well-being.
over time in Canada? The question is not an But over the decades of the twentieth century
innocent one, posed out of idle curiosity. Rather alone, perceptions of how to achieve health and
it is an urgent question, posed during a time well-being have varied dramatically. For early
when, despite the increasing knowledge about Canadian settlers, for example, well-being meant
nutrition and health, we are unable to stem rising a full belly. In the 1920s it depended upon
rates of obesity and illnesses born of poor dietary milk, the ‘perfect’ food. By 1942, when Canada’s
habits. We surely cannot identify how we make dietary guidelines were introduced, it was per-
food choices today and improve our choices ceived as resulting from a varied, full diet. By
without understanding how and why we made the 1980s, cookbook writers were promoting
food choices in the past. After all, most would ‘lighter fare’ and guidelines
to limit—rather than
agree that the goal of the home food provider is increase, Canadians wigod intake: For those of us
34 Part | The Changing Meanings of Food and Food Studies

interested in charting the history and shaping of were mortally wounded in what is often
taste, food choices serve as a precise indicator described as the Conquest of New France
of changing tastes and signal key factors motiv- 4. 1860 to 1960, when one ate ‘a la canadienne’,
ating and defining moments of pivotal change. and the Daminion of Canada set about estab-
Canadian cookbooks, first published in 1840, lishing its own distinctive traditions
serve as a window through which to glimpse 5. 1967 to the present, when Canadian food-
changing food tastes and habits during the last ways were shaped by international culinary
150 years.! influences (145)

Overview Desloges’s model is effective in part because

Zt of its clear focus. However, as one ponders ways
Canadian foodways)have involved a fine bal- to expand the model beyond New France to
ance between-change and continuity, the adop- reference Canadian foodways more generally, the
tion or refusal of exotic foods, food innovations, notion of a singular Canadian culture becomes
or new food traditions. This is true ofthe earli- increasingly problematic. Under what conditions
est days, when Europeans encountered the First can we justifiably use the first person plural—
Nations who had long made their home in what ‘we Canadians——about a country of such divers-
we now call Canada, to the dawning decades of ity? With a multicultural population formed by
the twenty-first century when we continue to successive waves of immigrants from around the
revisit historical food practices. However, since a world, as well as the land's First Nations, skepti-
comprehensive overview of Canadian foodways cism about a singular culinary culture is under-
is beyond the limited scope of this study, this standable. Nevertheless, Canadian cookbook
chapter addresses the opening question—What bibliographer Elizabeth Driver finds considerable
factors have influenced our eating habits over evidence of similarity or homogeneity in varying
time in Canada?—by looking closely at cook- degrees in cookbooks across regions and over
books, which are rich resources of information time. She writes, ‘I looked at over 2,200 individual
about foodways at a given time and place. works and noticed little regional variation in the
In A table en Nouvelle-France, Yvon Desloges, form and content of the daily meal in works pub-
looking specifically at the foodways of New lished before 1950’ (Driver, Culinary Landmarks,
France and later Quebec, posits and credibly 198). Further, after 1950, considerable energy
defends a framework of five periods of culinary and emotion have been spent in articulating a
practice: distinctively Canadian culinary tradition over
the years—with an emphasis on the singular,
1. 1605 to 1690, beginning when the first and the connotation of commensality—‘ating
French settlers arrived and there was an at the same table-—evoked by such a tradition.
encounter between French and Amerindian As Rhona Richman Kenneally points out, the
food practices centennial celebrations of 1967 prompted an
2. 1690 to 1790, when one ate ‘a la francaise’, outpouring of such nationalistic narratives, iron-
or in the French style ically at a time when Canada was recognizing not
3. 1790 to 1860, when there was an exchange only its multicultural heritage but also its pride
between French and British foodways in the cultural wealth afforded by such a herit-
resulting from the influx of British in Quebec age (168-9). National distinctiveness is evoked
City following the fateful battle on the Plains in these narratives through reference to shared
of Abraham in 1759 during which both the foodways traditions as well as reliance on specific
victorious Britain’s General James Wolfe and and readily available ingredients (for example,
French General Louis Joseph de Montealm the bacon colloquially dubbed ‘Canadian bacon’
Another Random Scribd Document
with Unrelated Content
sur l'étendue de mes connaissances, sur la profondeur de mes
jugements, sur la richesse de mon imagination. Les anciens
libraires qui avaient refusé mon manuscrit philosophique
accoururent pour acheter mes madrigaux.
«Leur publication fut un véritable événement; le sultan des
critiques, lui-même, daigna faire retentir en leur faveur toutes
les cymbales du feuilleton. Après avoir donné une longue
analyse de mon livre sans en parler, il s'écria:

«Enfin nous avons un second honnête-homme de style,

et quel style! Oh! la belle forme cornue, pour nous autres,
les jeunes écrivains, qui aimons l'attaque brave; l'heureux
et charmant monstre de génie, dont le génie même est une
monstruosité!»

«Cette importante approbation détermina les chefs du

gouvernement à utiliser mes hautes facultés. Je m'étais occupé
de littérature et de beaux-arts; on me plaça, en conséquence,
dans les haras. Je fus nommé grand conservateur des étalons
de la république.
«Ces nouvelles fonctions me donnaient une position sociale
dont je profitai pour me produire dans les assemblées
politiques, les sociétés de tempérance et les clubs
philanthropiques. Partout où je devais prendre la parole, la foule
accourait. Ma corne recommandait mon éloquence.
«Enfin, le jour des élections arriva. Le quartier des
droguistes s'était toujours distingué par le choix de ses députés
à l'assemblée nationale. Il y avait successivement envoyé le
géant Pelion, qui s'était un jour retiré en emportant la tribune
sur ses épaules; le mime Perruchot, habile à prendre toutes les
voix et à imiter toutes les physionomies; enfin le prestidigitateur
Souplet, qui faisait les majorités en escamotant, dans l'urne, les
boules du scrutin. Pour succéder à de tels hommes, il fallait un
candidat non moins extraordinaire; l'honneur de
l'arrondissement électoral y était intéressé. Quelqu'un prononça
mon nom, on le couvrit aussitôt d'applaudissements, et je fus
nommé représentant des droguistes à l'assemblée nationale des
Intérêts-Unis.
«Ce ne furent pas, du reste, mes seuls succès; j'en obtenais
ailleurs, de moins bruyants peut-être, mais de plus aimables. La
curiosité des femmes ne s'était point ralentie. Après avoir vu
comment je savais écrire, les plus aventureuses voulurent savoir
comment je saurais aimer. Le monstre est aussi rare que
l'Antinoüs, et l'expérience valait la peine d'être tentée. J'en
sortis probablement sans trop de désavantages, car ma
réputation ne fit que s'accroître.
«Cependant ces conquêtes faciles ne pouvaient me faire
oublier ma cousine Blondinette. C'était la seule femme qui m'eût
repoussé, honni, et, par conséquent, la seule dont le souvenir
me fût précieux: car il y a toujours une part de contradiction
dans l'amour.
«Elle-même regrettait une rupture imprudente. J'avais
désormais trop d'avantage sur Mirmidon pour le regarder
comme un rival sérieux. Je me présentai hardiment, on me
reçut avec émotion, et, au bout de quelques jours, Blondinette
s'était complétement habituée à ma nouvelle forme. A mesure
que je lui faisais le calcul de mes rentes, mes jambes lui
semblaient plus égales, ma corne moins apparente. Au premier
million elle me trouva passable, au second elle me déclara
charmant.
«Notre mariage fut célébré avec toute la pompe que
réclamait un pareil événement, et l'archevêque de Sans-Pair
voulut lui-même nous bénir.
«Depuis, mon bonheur n'a éprouvé ni interruption ni
mélange, et la constance de la bonne fortune a fait substituer
au nom de roi Extra celui d'heureux monstre!
«Quant aux lecteurs qui me demanderaient pourquoi j'ai
raconté longuement, en tête de ce volume, l'histoire de ma vie,
je leur répondrai que je l'ai fait pour donner à tous un
enseignement; et cet enseignement le voici: c'est qu'on réussit
moins par ce qu'on vaut que par ce qu'on montre, et que la
première condition du succès n'est point de faire, mais
d'attacher un écriteau à ce que l'on fait! Or, pour cela le génie
peut être utile, un ridicule sert quelquefois, un vice suffit
souvent; mais rien ne remplace une monstruosité.»
 X
Un empoisonneur de bonne société.—Palais de justice de Sans-Pair.—Carte
routière de la probité légale.—Procédés de fabrication pour l'éloquence des
avocats.—Tarif des sept péchés capitaux.—Le vieux mendiant et son chien.

Maurice venait d'achever sa lecture, lorsque son hôte et M. Le

Doux ressortirent de chez le banquier. Le philanthrope les avertit
qu'il était forcé de les quitter pour se rendre au palais de justice.
«Y a-t-il quelque grande affaire? demanda M. Atout.
—Comment! s'écria M. Le Doux, mais vous ne savez donc pas?
c'est après-demain qu'on juge ce fameux empoisonnement…
—Du docteur Papaver?
—Précisément. L'accusé a envoyé des lettres d'invitation à tout le
monde, et il m'a oublié! Comprenez-vous cela? moi, un ancien
collègue!… car nous avons été ensemble vice-présidents de la
Société humaine. Mais je veux réclamer! D'autant qu'une vingtaine
de dames qui me savaient ami du docteur m'ont demandé des
places. Ce sera, dit-on, magnifique; six cents témoins et soixante
avocats! Le président a fait prendre des mesures pour que l'on
distribue, pendant les débats, de la limonade et des petits gâteaux;
dans les suspensions d'audiences, on pourra même déjeuner à la
fourchette.
—Et ce docteur Papaver est accusé d'avoir empoisonné
quelqu'un? demanda Maurice.
—Toute une famille, répliqua le philanthrope; sept personnes…
dont on exposera les restes parfaitement conservés. On doit essayer
le poison sur les témoins, lire des lettres qui compromettent une très
grande dame; enfin la fille du docteur, qui a six ans, déposera contre
son père. Ce sera la cause la plus intéressante dont on ait parlé
depuis dix ans! Aussi les billets d'enceinte se vendent-ils déjà deux
cents francs.»
M. Atout déclara qu'il voulait en avoir absolument, et il suivit le
philanthrope au palais.
La porte d'entrée était décorée par la statue colossale de la
Justice. Elle avait les yeux couverts d'un bandeau, afin que l'on ne
pût douter de sa clairvoyance; sa main gauche portait une balance,
et sa main droite une épée, comme pour exprimer qu'elle tenait
moins à bien peser qu'à bien frapper.
Au fronton qu'elle surmontait on avait gravé ces mots:

L'ADMINISTRATION DE LA JUSTICE EST GRATUITE.

Et au-dessous étaient affichés les tarifs des différents actes sans

lesquels on ne pouvait se faire juger. Tant pour l'enregistrement, tant
pour le greffe, tant pour le timbre, tant pour les experts, tant pour
l'avoué, tant pour l'avocat! Le tout produisait une somme qui ne
permettait qu'aux riches de faire valoir leurs droits.
Heureusement que les pauvres avaient pour dédommagement la
maxime imprimée sur chaque porte:

TOUS LES CITOYENS SONT ÉGAUX DEVANT LA LOI.

Maurice traversa d'abord une salle où les avoués soumettaient

leurs états de frais à la vérification d'un juge chargé d'auner les
procédures; l'étendue de chacune était fixée d'avance.
Trente mètres de rôles pour les affaires sommaires, cent pour les
affaires graves, mille pour les affaires compliquées. Quant au moyen
de remplir toutes les pages, les gens de loi en avaient trouvé un fort
simple: il consistait à faire suivre chaque mot de tous ceux qui
pouvaient avoir avec lui quelque rapport de signification; ce qui leur
permettait de passer en revue une partie du dictionnaire à propos
d'une phrase.
Qu'ils eussent, par exemple, à annoncer l'assignation d'un témoin
à huitaine, ils ne manquaient pas d'écrire:
 «En conséquence desquels motifs ci-dessus donnés, et de
tous autres qui pourraient l'avoir été ailleurs, ou que nous
trouverions convenable d'émettre plus tard;
«Faisant toutes réserves que de raison, tant implicitement
qu'explicitement:
«Avons désigné, appelé, sommé, assigné par les voies pour
ce fixées, tant par l'usage ou coutume que par les décrets,
ordonnances et lois, le sieur…
«A venir se présenter et comparaître, sans qu'il puisse
opposer aucune objection, aucun récusement ni aucune fin de
non-recevoir;
«Afin de répondre sincèrement, librement, catégoriquement
et clairement, soit sur ce qu'il peut savoir par lui-même
relativement à l'affaire, soit sur ce qu'il en aura entendu dire,
soit sur ce qu'il aura induit à l'aide du raisonnement ou de la
comparaison;
«Lesquelles assignation et sommation lui sont faites pour
huitaine, c'est-à-dire pour le huitième jour à partir de celui-ci;
ou autrement dit, afin de ne laisser lieu à aucun doute ni fausse
interprétation, pour le… février de l'an…
«Lequel jour reste bien et dûment fixé, sauf erreur dans la
date ou supputation des jours.»

Cette ingénieuse amplification était écrite sur papier timbré, en

caractères de huit millimètres, avec interlignes et alinéa! Le tout
dans le but de mieux éclairer la Justice… et de faire monter le prix
des charges!
Pendant que M. Atout et le philanthrope se rendaient au parquet
pour obtenir les billets désirés, Maurice entra dans la salle des Pas-
Perdus, où il trouva une foule d'avocats en robes, livrés à différentes
occupations.
Il y avait d'abord les stagiaires qui entouraient de vieux praticiens
chargés de leur enseigner les limites rigoureuses de la loi. La
démonstration était facilitée par un immense tableau synoptique,
renfermant la législation entière de la république des Intérêts-Unis.
Des lignes coloriées, semblables à celles qui marquent, sur nos
cartes géographiques, les conquêtes d'Alexandre ou l'invasion des
barbares, indiquaient la marche de la probité. On voyait figurer les
routes de traverse au moyen desquelles on tournait les articles trop
formidables, les passages mal gardés qui permettaient d'échapper à
la poursuite, les gorges peu fréquentées où l'on pouvait attendre un
adversaire et l'assassiner légalement.
Une autre carte réglait l'honneur de l'avocat par numéro d'ordre.
Il y apprenait comment il pouvait injurier et qui injurier; quand il
pouvait mentir et pour qui mentir; à quel prix il devait s'échauffer, à
quel plus haut prix s'irriter, à quel plus haut prix s'attendrir!
Il y avait ensuite les formules de défense.
S'agissait-il d'un cas de médecine légale, on parlait de
l'incertitude des sciences! Fallait-il justifier un voleur, on le présentait
comme une victime de la police! Voulait-on sauver un assassin, on le
proclamait atteint de folie!
Quant aux mouvements d'éloquence, ils étaient invariables.
Si la cause exigeait de l'onction, on s'écriait:

«Mon client n'a rien à craindre, Messieurs, car il est entré ici
enveloppé de son innocence comme d'une auréole.»
(Un geste indiquait la tête de l'accusé, qui croyait qu'on lui
reprochait son bonnet et se découvrait.)
«Il a franchi le sanctuaire de la loi, gardé par l'humanité et la
justice.»
(La main de l'avocat montrait les deux gendarmes placés à la
porte.)
«Il a enfin devant lui la croix du Dieu de vérité, mort pour
sauver tous les hommes.»
(L'avocat général s'inclinait avec respect.)

Cherchait-on, au contraire, le dramatique:

 «Oui, mon client peut braver toutes les preuves!… S'il est
vrai que sa main ait frappé, que le mort se lève pour l'accuser!»
(Ici une pose: le mort ne paraissait pas.)
«Qu'il se lève et qu'il crie:—Voilà mon assassin.»
(L'avocat se rasseyait, et les bonnes d'enfants se
regardaient, convaincues de l'innocence du prévenu.)

Fallait-il de l'audace:

«Que si, malgré tant de preuves, la calomnie et la haine

persistaient à poursuivre mon client, il ne résisterait point
davantage! Sûr du jugement de la postérité, il présenterait
tranquillement sa tête à ses ennemis!»
(Les écoliers qui faisaient partie de l'auditoire approuvaient
par un geste.)

Voulait-on enfin du pathétique:

«Et après avoir convaincu vos esprits, Messieurs, j'en

appellerai à vos cœurs. Songez au père de l'accusé, noble
vieillard dont vous ne voudrez pas souiller les cheveux
blancs!…»
(Tous les jurés chauves s'attendrissaient.)
«A sa mère, qui a veillé si longtemps sur son berceau!»
(Les pères de famille se mouchaient.)
«A ses enfants surtout, innocentes créatures auxquelles vous
ne laisserez point pour seul héritage le déshonneur!»
(Émotion générale; les portières qui se trouvaient dans
l'auditoire applaudissaient.)

Après les avocats stagiaires, occupés à recevoir cette instruction,

venaient les avocats dont la réputation était déjà faite et la fortune
en train de se faire, toujours parlant, toujours plaidant, même dans
la conversation, mêlés aux grandes comme aux petites choses,
indispensables partout et ne servant à rien nulle part. Ils avaient
pour chefs de file ces vieux praticiens gorgés de places, d'honneurs
et de richesses, vautours aux serres fatiguées qui ne pouvaient
suffire aux proies qu'on leur offrait, et qui faisaient faire antichambre
au plaideur avant de daigner le manger.
Les procureurs, mêlés à tous ces groupes, allaient de l'un à
l'autre comme des pourvoyeurs chargés de leur fournir la nourriture;
puis venaient les huissiers, rongeurs subalternes mangeant les
miettes laissées par les maîtres.
Maurice se promena quelque temps au milieu de cette foule
gaiement sinistre qui vivait de troubles, de crimes, de ruines, comme
les médecins vivent de fièvres et d'ulcères: tristes docteurs de l'âme,
toujours la main dans quelque plaie morale, et nourris par les
malheureux ou par les fripons.
Il s'était insensiblement approché d'une salle où l'on rendait la
justice, et, trouvant la porte ouverte, il entra.
Les murs étaient tapissés d'inscriptions empruntées aux articles
du Code, et destinées à faire connaître les peines infligées à chaque
faute. On pouvait aller étudier là le tarif de consommation de ses
mauvais instincts; les sept péchés capitaux avaient leurs prix
marqués en chiffres, comme les marchandises des magasins de
nouveautés.
L'image du Christ, conservée par la tradition, apparaissait au
milieu de ces sentences légales, le front meurtri et tristement
penché. Près de ce flanc dont le sang avait coulé pour l'égalité des
hommes, on lisait:

Les prévenus trop pauvres pour donner caution seront

emprisonnés.

Et au-dessous de cette bouche qui avait proclamé la fraternité et

la solidarité humaines étaient gravés ces mots:
 Nous ne devons d'aliments qu'à nos ascendants et
descendants directs jusqu'à la seconde génération!

Les juges avaient pour siéges des lits de repos garnis de coussins
moelleux; la plume en était entretenue par les accusés, qui savaient
devoir être jugés d'autant plus doucement que le tribunal se
trouverait plus à l'aise. L'avocat général, au contraire, était assis sur
un fauteuil dont les angles aigus excitaient chez lui une inquiétude et
une irritation qui entretenaient son humeur agressive. Quant aux
avocats, on avait suspendu devant leur banc un tarif de plaidoirie
dont la vue les tenait en haleine.
Lorsque Maurice entra, la sellette des prévenus était occupée par
un vieillard. C'était un paysan que l'âge avait courbé et dont les
cheveux blancs tombaient sur une cape de coton écru en lambeaux.
Le menton appuyé à ses deux mains, que soutenait un bâton de
bambou, et les lèvres entr'ouvertes par ce vague sourire des
vieillards, il tenait les yeux baissés vers un chien roulé à ses pieds, et
qui, la tête à demi soulevée, le contemplait en agitant la queue. Il se
faisait évidemment entre eux un de ces échanges d'amitié et de
souvenir qui n'ont besoin, pour se poursuivre, que du regard et du
sourire. Le vieux maître et le vieux serviteur s'entendaient.
Cette intimité était même l'objet des débats.
Trop faible et trop vieux pour vivre encore de son travail, le
paysan avait dû recourir à la charité légale. Après cinquante années
de fatigues, de probité et de patience, la société eût pu le laisser
mourir au revers de quelque fossé, comme une bête de somme hors
de service; mais la philanthropie était venue à son secours; elle lui
avait ouvert un de ces asiles où l'on accorde gratuitement aux
invalides du travail ce qu'il faut de paille et de pain noir pour faire
attendre la mort.
Malheureusement le vieillard avait essayé de partager avec son
chien, et l'administration s'y était opposée. On avait voulu enlever au
paysan son compagnon, il avait résisté, et cette résistance l'amenait
devant les Juges.
 L'avocat général prit la parole pour l'administration.
Il fit d'abord l'énumération des services rendus par la Société
humaine, dont il avait l'honneur d'être membre. Après avoir signalé
le nombre toujours croissant de ses asiles comme un indice
incontestable de la prospérité nationale, il annonça avec une haute
satisfaction que la dépense occasionnée par leurs pensionnaires
venait d'être réduite de moitié, grâce à un moyen aussi simple
qu'ingénieux. Il avait suffi, pour cela, de leur retrancher une partie
de la nourriture, de substituer des paillasses aux matelas, et de
remplacer le calicot par de la grosse toile!
Mais ces améliorations devenaient inutiles si elles étaient
combattues par la prodigalité de quelques privilégiés!… Et, se
servant de cette transition pour arriver au chien du paysan, il s'écria
que ce chien était un scandale humanitaire! Il calcula ce qu'il pouvait
consommer en os rongés, en écuelles léchées, en miettes grugées,
et trouva que le tout eût pu nourrir les trois cinquièmes d'un
vieillard!
Puis, voyant les juges frappés de cet argument, il soutint que,
puisque l'administration avait pris la charge et la tutelle du vieux
paysan, elle avait droit de vendre son chien; que c'était une faible
compensation de tant de sacrifices, un exemple indispensable pour
la moralité et pour la dignité humaines. Il termina, enfin, en adjurant
le tribunal de ne point encourager chez le pauvre ce luxe d'un
compagnon inutile, et de l'accoutumer à manger seul la soupe
économique de l'asile, assaisonnée par la sympathie des
philanthropes, ses bienfaiteurs.
Après ce réquisitoire, que les magistrats avaient écouté avec une
faveur visible, le président invita le vieillard à faire valoir ses moyens
de défense; mais celui-ci ne parut point l'entendre et ne répondit
rien. Les regards attachés sur le vieil ami qui se reposait à ses pieds,
il semblait s'oublier dans une contemplation mélancolique.
Le chien comprit sans doute l'émotion de ce silence, car il se
redressa lentement, regarda son maître de plus près, et fit entendre
un de ces soupirs plaintifs qui semblent interroger.
 Le paysan abaissa sa main ridée et la posa sur la tête joyeuse de
l'animal.
«Tu as entendu, dit-il avec une tristesse tendre et sans regarder
les juges; tu as entendu, n'est-ce pas? Il faut nous séparer. La
république se ruinerait à te nourrir! Quelle raison donnerais-je,
d'ailleurs, de te garder? Est-ce parce que depuis quinze années tu
partages mon pain, mon eau et mon rayon de soleil? parce que je
suis habitué à entendre à mes pieds le bruit de ton haleine? parce
que tu es le dernier être vivant qui ait besoin de moi et qui m'aime?
Ce qui ne sert qu'à nous aimer est inutile, ami! on vient de te le dire.
Ah! si nous vivions dans un pays barbare, j'irais avec toi par les
campagnes; je m'arrêterais aux portes des cabanes; et, en voyant
mes cheveux blancs, les hommes se découvriraient, les enfants
viendraient te caresser, les femmes nous donneraient le pain et le
sel! Nous boirions tous deux aux fontaines courantes; nous
dormirions à l'ombre des rochers, réchauffés l'un par l'autre; nous
marcherions sur les fleurettes des sentiers, à travers les parfums des
bois, les chansons des oiseaux et les gazouillements des sources!…
Mais nous sommes sur une terre civilisée, et toutes les routes nous
sont fermées. Attendrir les heureux est défendu, dormir sous le ciel
est un crime. On nous a ôté les chances de la compassion avec les
embarras de la liberté, et la bonté des hommes nous a ouvert une
prison où l'on mesure à chacun de nous le pain, l'air et le jour. Toi,
seulement, ami, il n'y a point de place pour toi! On peut manger,
dormir; mais aimer! à quoi bon? Les règlements supposent-ils jamais
que l'homme ait, entre la gorge et l'estomac, quelque chose qui
s'appelle le cœur? Va, ami, je voulais te garder près de moi pour
sentir qu'il m'en restait encore un; mais on te l'a dit: le règlement
n'en passe pas! Cherche donc un nouveau maître, et puisse-t-il te
faire oublier l'ancien!»
Le vieillard saisit, à ces mots, la tête du chien dans ses deux
mains tremblantes, il la souleva sur sa poitrine, y appuya les lèvres
et resta quelques instants immobile.
Quand il se leva, une petite larme roulait sur chaque joue à
travers ses rides.
 Maurice ne put retenir une exclamation d'attendrissement.
«Ah! laissez-lui son chien pour l'aimer!» s'écria-t-il
involontairement.
Mais les juges s'étaient consultés pendant cet adieu muet du
vieillard, et l'arrêt de séparation venait d'être prononcé.
 XI
Logis des Trappistes.—Moralisation des condamnés par l'idiotisme; première
diatribe de Maurice.—Les Pantagruélistes; avantages de la profession de
criminel; seconde diatribe de Maurice.—M. Le Doux ne répond rien et garde
ses opinions.

En sortant, Maurice rencontra M. Philadelphe Le Doux qui le

cherchait. Il venait de se rappeler que c'était l'heure de sa visite aux
prisons, et voulut y conduire le jeune homme.
La maison de détention de Sans-Pair, bâtie derrière le palais de
justice, était composée de deux établissements distincts, et soumis à
des systèmes contraires.
Le premier dans lequel M. Le Doux entra portait le nom de Logis
des Trappistes, et la tristesse de son aspect justifiait complétement
ce nom.
On n'y apercevait aucune fenêtre, tous les jours ayant été
ménagés sur les cours intérieures. Le pavage de bois qui l'entourait
assourdissait les moindres rumeurs, et l'enveloppait, pour ainsi dire,
d'un silence sinistre. La porte d'entrée, elle-même, glissait sans bruit
sur des rails polis, et les tapis épais des corridors éteignaient le
retentissement des pas. Les murs étaient matelassés de manière à
intercepter tous les sons, les portes garnies de triples nattes, et une
inscription, qui reparaissait à chaque détour, avertissait les visiteurs
de parler bas.
Le jour n'avait pas été moins ménagé que le bruit. Partout
régnait une sorte de lueur crépusculaire qui agrandissait les formes
et éteignait les contours. Enfin, l'air lui-même arrivait
imperceptiblement sans rafale et sans murmure.
 A mesure que Maurice avançait dans ces longs couloirs muets et
sombres, il se sentait gagné par un malaise croissant. Cette
atmosphère, que ne traversait aucun bruit, aucune lueur,
l'oppressait: une atonie glacée coulait dans ses veines. Le jeune
homme frissonna malgré lui!
«Ce calme fait peur, dit-il, on se croirait dans un sépulcre.
—Et cependant dix mille prisonniers vous entourent, fit observer
M. Le Doux. Voyez plutôt!»
Il avait tiré un rideau, et Maurice se trouva au milieu d'une
lanterne vitrée, formant le centre d'un immense cercle de loges qui
renfermaient les condamnés. A voir ces lignes de cellules
superposées, tournant comme une gigantesque spirale, et allant se
perdre dans les combles de l'édifice, on eût dit l'enfer du Dante
renversé. Seulement, pas de cris, aucun gémissement, nulle prière!
un silence glacé planait sur cette étrange ruche de pierre. On voyait
chaque prisonnier s'agiter sans bruit, dans son alvéole grillé, comme
un mort que le galvanisme soulèverait dans sa tombe. Tous avaient
le visage pâle, les mouvements inquiets, le regard hébété ou hagard.
Muets et mornes, ils faisaient mouvoir les bras de machines dont ils
ne connaissaient même pas l'action. Telle était la disposition des
cellules que chaque prisonnier ne pouvait apercevoir celle qui
l'entourait. Les gardiens échappaient également à ses yeux. Entouré
d'une surveillance mystérieuse, il se savait toujours vu sans pouvoir
jamais voir.
M. Le Doux expliqua à Maurice tous les avantages de ce système
perfectionné de confinement solitaire.
«Par son moyen, dit-il, nous faisons fléchir les plus énergiques
natures. Muré dans l'obscurité et le silence, le captif résiste d'abord,
mais il se raidit en vain; l'ennui, comme une eau souterraine et
croupissante, mine insensiblement sa volonté. Il sent ses muscles se
détendre, son sang se refroidir. L'immobilité de ce qui l'environne
finit par se communiquer à tout son être; il s'épouvante du vide qui
s'est fait autour de lui; il regarde, et ne voit que les murs de sa
prison; il appelle, et n'entend que sa propre voix! Quelques-uns ne
peuvent résister à cette épreuve, et deviennent fous; mais c'est le
petit nombre; la plupart s'assoupissent dans une espèce de torpeur.
Sûrs que leurs moindres actions seront épiées, n'ayant plus la
possession de leur propre pensée, ils y renoncent. Le règlement
devient leur conscience, l'habitude se substitue au désir; ils oublient
jusqu'à leur langue; ce ne sont plus que des animaux domestiques,
obéissant d'instinct à la règle de la maison. On a effacé leurs
souvenirs, éteint leurs passions, coupé au pied leurs espérances; il y
a désormais table rase dans ces esprits; notre but est atteint.
Devenus, grâce à nous, des idiots, il ne leur reste plus qu'à être
instruits et moralisés!
—Hélas! je le vois, dit Maurice, vous avez fait pour les hommes
ce que la châtelaine de Valence avait voulu faire pour son fils. La
châtelaine de Valence était une sainte femme restée veuve avec un
seul enfant pour lequel elle eût donné jusqu'à sa part de paradis.
Mais l'enfant, dont le sang brûlait les veines, s'échappait souvent du
château, où ne retentissaient que les cloches et les prières, afin de
goûter aux joies de la vie. Insensiblement il prit tant de goût au mal
que sa seule tristesse était de ne pouvoir assez pécher. Il connaissait
les trois grands chars qui portent le genre humain aux abîmes: le
premier conduit par l'orgueil, le second par l'impureté, le troisième
par la paresse, et il avait successivement pris place dans chacun,
sans jeter même un regard sur celui du repentir, qu'un attelage
boiteux traînait bien loin en arrière!
«La sainte châtelaine, voyant la perte de son fils assurée,
s'adressa avec larmes à l'archange saint Michel, patron spécial de sa
famille, et lui demanda d'assurer le salut du jeune homme, fût-ce
aux dépens de sa vie. L'archange, qui avait pitié des pleurs des
mères depuis qu'il avait vu Marie au pied de la croix, se laissa
toucher, descendit vers la sainte femme et lui dit:
«—Reprenez courage, votre fils peut encore être sauvé. Le Christ
a compté ses jours, il ne lui en reste désormais que trois cents à
passer sur la terre; faites qu'ils soient sans péché, toutes les
anciennes fautes seront remises au coupable, et, à l'heure indiquée,
je viendrai moi-même enlever son âme pour la conduire au ciel.»
 «Cette révélation causa à la châtelaine une grande joie. Son fils
pouvait encore aspirer au bonheur des élus! Cette pensée lui faisait
accepter, presque sans chagrin, une mort prochaine; les espérances
de la chrétienne consolaient les regrets de la mère!
«Mais, pour mériter cette récompense, il fallait que le pécheur fît
trêve à ses offenses contre la loi de Dieu; et comment, hélas!
l'obtenir? La châtelaine avait déjà inutilement employé les
supplications, et les prières de l'Église n'avaient point été plus
puissantes. Elle songea à un docteur arabe dont les charmes
exerçaient, disait-on, une souveraine puissance sur toutes les
volontés, et elle alla à sa demeure pour lui exposer son désir.
«Après l'avoir écoutée, le docteur se fit conduire vers son fils,
encore plongé dans le sommeil, et il commença les conjurations
puissantes qui devaient le délivrer de ses passions.
«D'abord, il toucha les flancs du dormeur, et la châtelaine en vit
sortir une nuée de génies à l'air violent ou hardi: c'étaient la force, la
colère, l'audace et avec elles le courage et l'adresse!
«L'Arabe toucha ensuite le front, duquel s'élança l'imagination,
revêtue des couleurs de l'arc-en-ciel; le raisonnement, armé de
l'épée à double tranchant; la mémoire, tenant à la main la chaîne
d'or qui lie le présent au passé.
«Enfin, il toucha le cœur, qui s'entr'ouvrit aussitôt pour donner
passage à la nuée des désirs enflammés, des amours changeants,
des illusions aux ailes d'azur, troupe folle et charmante, qui s'enfuit
avec un cri plaintif.
«Lorsque le jeune homme se réveilla peu après, il était
complétement transformé! Toutes les idées que sa mère avait
combattues, tous les goûts dont elle s'était affligée, avaient disparu;
il n'avait plus de volonté que la sienne, plus de goûts que ceux
qu'elle lui inspirait. Cet esprit était devenu semblable à la nacelle qui
va où le flot l'emporte, où le vent pousse, où la main conduit. Sa
mère disait de marcher, et il marchait; de prier, et il priait! Les
tentations passaient en vain près de lui, il les regardait passer
comme des inconnues auxquelles il ne doit ni un regard ni un salut!
 «Les trois cents jours s'écoulèrent ainsi pour lui dans une sorte
de sommeil éveillé, et, quand la châtelaine aperçut l'archange
Michel, elle s'écria:
«—La condition imposée a été remplie, il a gagné sa place dans
le ciel; venez donc, maître, et, sans plus de retard, emportez son
âme.»
«Mais l'archange secoua tristement la tête, et dit:
«—Hélas! pauvre mère, il n'y en a plus. On n'enlève point les
pierres qui composent une maison sans que la maison croule. Ce
que le docteur arabe a enlevé à votre fils formait l'âme elle même,
dont il a fait don à Satan; il ne vous a laissé que le corps!»
«Cette légende est l'histoire de ceux qui ont élevé votre prison.
Sous prétexte de racheter le coupable, vous lui avez
frauduleusement soutiré son âme! Depuis quand l'amélioration de
l'homme peut-elle venir de la destruction de ses instincts? Si ces
malheureux ont failli, c'est que la sociabilité n'était point assez
développée chez eux, et vous les condamnez à la solitude; c'est que
les bonnes passions étaient plus faibles que les mauvaises, et vous
les égorgez indifféremment toutes; c'est que leur raison n'avait pas
assez mûri au soleil de l'expérience, et vous la condamnez à
l'inaction! Dans les premiers siècles, on réduisait un ennemi à
l'impuissance en coupant les muscles de ses membres avec le fer;
vous avez perfectionné le moyen: vous coupez aujourd'hui les
muscles de l'âme avec l'ennui, et, parce que ces énervés ne bougent
plus, vous les déclarez guéris! Mais qu'en ferez-vous après une
pareille guérison? A quoi peuvent servir des hommes qui ont perdu
leur personnalité, qui ont oublié de vouloir, que vous avez réduits à
l'état d'animaux domestiques vivant sous l'œil du maître? Où vous
aviez des ignorants, des coupables peut-être, il ne vous reste plus
que des fous, des idiots ou des hypocrites!
«Sans doute la solitude pouvait être employée pour apaiser la
première effervescence d'un cœur révolté; c'était une douche glacée
sous laquelle le furieux se serait calmé; mais vous avez voulu faire
un régime de ce qui ne devait être qu'un remède; vous avez imité
ces mères anglaises, qui, pour se débarrasser des cris d'un enfant,
l'abreuvent d'opium! Et ne dites pas que vous l'avez fait dans
l'intérêt des coupables, pour leur rachat! Non, vous l'avez fait dans
l'intérêt de vous-mêmes, pour votre repos! En respectant chez
l'homme les puissances extérieures qui font sa vie, la tâche était
difficile: il fallait discipliner des esprits sans règle, apprivoiser des
cœurs endurcis, remettre l'ordre enfin dans un intérieur bouleversé.
Vous avez mieux aimé en murer les portes pour en faire un
tombeau. De notre temps, on enchaînait les corps en laissant les
âmes libres; le moyen était brutal; vous avez dit: «A quoi bon ces
chaînes qui meurtrissent, qui tintent aux oreilles! délivrez-en le corps
et tuez tout doucement l'âme: cela ne se voit pas, et, l'âme morte, le
corps ne bougera plus!» O pharisiens! qui feignez d'ignorer que
l'abrutissement n'est point une régénération! Hommes de peu de foi,
qui ne savez point ce que l'amour et la patience peuvent obtenir des
plus criminels! Cherchez le cœur le plus endurci, frappez au point
voulu, et il en sortira une source vive. Tant qu'un homme vit, tant
qu'il aime quelque chose de la création, Dieu ne s'est point
complétement retiré de lui, et son âme n'est point perdue sans
retour.»
M. Philadelphe Le Doux avait profité de cette longue
improvisation de Maurice pour remettre à M. Atout son rapport
annuel, constatant les excellents résultats obtenus par le système
cellulaire, et pour écrire au crayon quelques notes sur la nécessité
de supprimer les numéros des loges, qui pouvaient distraire encore
le condamné. Lorsqu'il eut achevé, il releva la tête et regarda le
jeune homme avec ce vague sourire des gens qui veulent avoir
entendu sans avoir écouté.
«Ah! fort bien, dit-il, je vois que vous avez étudié la question…
Mais, aujourd'hui encore, deux systèmes se partagent les esprits et
les prisonniers. Nous avons vu le Logis des Trappistes, il nous reste à
visiter celui des Pantagruélistes. Allez devant vous, de grâce, puis
prenez la porte à gauche, nous arriverons justement pour les voir
dîner.»
 Maurice, ayant suivi les indications données, se trouva dans une
cour, qu'il traversa; puis à l'entrée d'un bâtiment à colonnade de
marbre, entouré de jets d'eau et de promenades: c'était la seconde
prison de Sans-Pair, récemment fondée pour les scélérats réputés
incorrigibles.
On n'y entendait que musique, chants et éclats de rire. La
première salle était un parloir, où les condamnés recevaient les
visites. Il y avait là de charmantes grandes dames attirées par le
désir de causer avec des scélérats d'élite, ou de les faire écrire sur
leurs albums; des artistes occupés à peindre les plus célèbres
criminels; des hommes de lettres rédigeant, pour l'instruction du
public, les mémoires intimes des faussaires et des meurtriers. Les
prisonniers faisaient les honneurs de chez eux avec la politesse fière
de gens qui comprennent leur importance.
Tout à côté se trouvait la salle de concerts, dans laquelle
retentissaient les chansons d'argot, avec accompagnement de
clarinettes et de vielles organisées. Puis venaient l'estaminet, dont
les habitués fumaient le narguillé à bec d'ambre, étendus sur des
divans de velours; le billard garni de queues à procédés, et la galerie
de consommation, où l'on servait, d'heure en heure, aux
condamnés, des sorbets, du vin chaud ou des punchs à la romaine.
Le soir il y avait spectacle, puis bal masqué sans gardes
municipaux.
Ainsi que M. Le Doux l'avait annoncé, les visiteurs trouvèrent les
Pantagruélistes à table. Ils dînaient, à trois services, de petits pieds
et de primeurs, avec dessert, café et liqueurs fines.
«Vous le voyez, dit le philanthrope en souriant, le système de
moralisation est ici tout contraire. Là-bas nous améliorons le
coupable en lui ôtant le nécessaire, ici nous atteignons le même but
en lui prodiguant le superflu. Chaque méthode a son avantage, et
les résultats sont, des deux côtés, également satisfaisants. Chez les
Trappistes, nous obtenons la soumission en atténuant l'homme; chez
les Pantagruélistes, en le comblant. Celui-là perd l'énergie nécessaire
pour échapper à la captivité, celui-ci y est retenu par le lien du
plaisir. Il n'y a point encore d'exemple d'un Pantagruéliste qui ait
essayé de fuir sa prison, et la plupart ne la quittent qu'en pleurant.
Aussi a-t-on soin de compter à chaque libéré, pour adoucir ses
regrets, une somme proportionnée au temps qu'il a passé en prison,
de sorte que les grands bandits sortent d'ici électeurs et souvent
éligibles. Quelques esprits chagrins ont blâmé cette générosité
envers des condamnés; mais, ainsi que je l'ai fait observer dans mon
dernier rapport, ces scélérats n'en sont pas moins nos semblables:
Homo sum, et nihil humani a me alienum puto. Philanthropique
maxime, que la Société humaine a écrite dans le cœur de tous ses
membres et en tête de toutes ses circulaires. Ah! que n'est-elle
comprise de tous! Homo sum! c'est-à-dire je pourrais être un voleur,
un incendiaire, un assassin; nihil humani a me alienum puto: donc,
je dois regarder comme des frères tous ceux qui assassinent, volent
et incendient.
—Soit, dit Maurice; mais comment regardez-vous alors ceux qui
édifient, travaillent et font vivre? Si indulgent pour les pauvres
criminels, serez-vous impitoyable pour les pauvres honnêtes gens?
La philanthropie s'occupe beaucoup de ceux qui ont succombé au
mal; elle leur ouvre des asiles, elle leur fournit des ressources, elle
leur offre des patronages; et ceux qui ont résisté aux tentations, ou
qui les combattent, restent abandonnés! Pour obtenir votre
protection, il faut le certificat d'un crime, comme il fallait autrefois un
certificat de civisme. Ah! soyez bons pour les coupables: le Christ a
pardonné à la femme adultère et relevé la Madeleine; mais pensez
aussi un peu aux innocents! Faites que le devoir ne leur devienne
pas trop difficile. Pour leur tendre la main, n'attendez pas qu'ils
soient tombés; ne les exposez point à trouver que la société fait plus
d'efforts et de sacrifices pour ses fils ingrats que pour ses fils pieux;
ne tuez pas, enfin, tous les veaux gras au profit de l'enfant prodigue,
et gardez-en quelques-uns pour ses frères, qui ne vous ont ni
dépouillés ni flétris. Ce qui m'étonne, ce n'est pas que vos
Pantagruélistes acceptent le bonheur que vous leur faites; mais que
vos travailleurs se résignent à la misère où vous les laissez. Ah! pour
accomplir le devoir si difficilement et avec si peu d'aide, il faut, quoi
qu'on en dise, que le bien ait aussi sa saveur. Combien de
malheureux peuvent envier le pain quotidien, l'habit de drap, la salle
chauffée du bagne, et s'acharnent pourtant à leur douloureuse
probité?
—Vos souhaits ont été prévus, dit M. Le Doux, notre bienfaisante
tutelle s'est également étendue sur le travailleur. Puisque nous
sommes en cours d'études philanthropiques, je veux vous montrer la
colonie industrielle de notre vice-président, l'honorable Isaac
Banqman. Ce n'est point seulement un grand capitaliste et un
homme politique influent, la république n'a pas de membre plus zélé
pour le perfectionnement des machines et des classes laborieuses.
Nous allons prendre le chemin de fer du quartier, qui nous conduira,
en trois secondes, à la porte de son établissement.
 XII
Usine de M. Isaac Banqman; supériorité des machines sur les hommes.—Souvenirs
de Maurice; le soldat Mathias.—Pupilles de la Société humaine; hommes
perfectionnés d'après la méthode anglaise pour les croisements.—Une femme
dépravée par les instincts de maternité et de dévouement.

L'usine d'Isaac Banqman occupait le revers d'une montagne

percée en tous sens de voûtes souterraines où mugissaient les
locomotives et que traversaient sans cesse les wagons rapides. Cent
cheminées vomissaient des torrents de fumée qui se réunissaient
plus haut, se condensaient, et formaient, au-dessus de la colline,
une sorte de dôme flottant. Des roues immenses tournaient
lentement à la hauteur des toits, tandis que des retentissements
sourds et réguliers ébranlaient la montagne.
Tout ce bruit, tous ces mouvements et toute cette fumée étaient
employés à la confection de moules de bouton! C'était là la spécialité
à laquelle M. Banqman devait sa fortune et son importance politique.
A la vérité, le célèbre industriel avait apporté à cette fabrication
des perfectionnements qui ne pouvaient manquer d'en rehausser
l'importance. D'abord, il avait ruiné tous les fabricants moins riches
qui s'étaient hasardés à soutenir la concurrence; ensuite, une fois
seul, il avait augmenté de cinquante pour cent le prix de vente de
ses produits; enfin, grâce à son influence politique, il venait d'obtenir
du ministre une ordonnance qui obligeait tous les fonctionnaires
publics à ajouter trois boutons à leurs caleçons.
Il avait, du reste, mérité cette faveur en annonçant qu'il fournirait
gratuitement aux hôpitaux de Sans-Pair tous les moules de bouton
dont pourraient avoir besoin les malades, les morts ou les enfants au
maillot.
 Il s'était, de plus, décidé à établir dans son usine même cette
colonie de travailleurs dont M. Philadelphe Le Doux avait parlé à
Marthe et à Maurice.
En arrivant à la fabrique, le philanthrope fit avertir l'honorable M.
Banqman, qui se trouvait alors dans son cabinet, occupé à regarder
des poissons rouges dans un bocal.
M. Banqman continua son intéressant examen tout le temps
qu'un homme important doit faire attendre pour paraître occupé. Il
ne descendit qu'au bout d'une demi-heure, et s'excusa sur les
innombrables affaires qui l'accablaient. Le Gouvernement avait
recours à lui pour toutes les questions difficiles; il était victime de sa
réputation d'homme pratique. On avait compris le danger de
consulter des théoriciens, des penseurs; on ne voulait plus écouter
que ceux qui avaient étudié, comme lui, les grands principes
d'économie politique en fabriquant des moules de bouton. Aussi
n'avait-il plus un seul instant; tout son temps appartenait à l'État et
à l'humanité!
M. Le Doux l'arrêta à ce mot, pour lui faire connaître le but de
leur visite. M. Banqman, flatté, déclara qu'il était prêt à leur montrer
la colonie modèle, dont l'organisation généralisée devait un jour
réaliser l'âge d'or pour tout le monde.
Il leur fit, en conséquence, traverser l'usine, dont il leur expliqua,
en passant, les différents travaux exécutés par des machines de
toutes grandeurs et de toutes formes.
On voyait leurs immenses bras s'avancer lentement et soulever
les fardeaux, leurs engrenages saisir les objets comme des doigts
gigantesques, leurs mille roues tourner, courir, se croiser! A regarder
la précision de chacun de ces mouvements, à entendre ces
murmures haletants de la vapeur et de la flamme, on eût dit que
l'art infernal d'un magicien avait soufflé une âme dans ces squelettes
d'acier. Ils ne ressemblaient plus à des assemblages de matière,
mais à je ne sais quels monstres aveugles, travaillant avec de sourds
rugissements. De loin en loin, quelques hommes noircis
apparaissaient au milieu des tourbillons de fumée: c'étaient les
cornacs de ces mammouths de cuivre et d'acier, les valets chargés
d'apporter leur nourriture d'eau et de feu, d'étancher la sueur de
leur corps, de le frotter d'huile, comme autrefois celui des athlètes,
de diriger leurs forces brutales, au risque de périr, tôt ou tard,
broyés sous un de leurs efforts, ou dévorés par la flamme de leur
haleine! Maurice suivait d'un regard attristé ces victimes de la
mécanique perfectionnée. Il comparait instinctivement ces
merveilleuses machines dont il voyait les membres polis, luisants,
bien nourris, à ces hommes flétris et hagards qui s'agitaient à
l'entour. En entendant le concert terrible de vapeur sifflante, de fer
froissé contre le fer, de grondements de flammes, de
bouillonnements d'onde, de vents attisant la fournaise comme un
orage, il se sentait saisi d'une sorte de terreur. Il cherchait en vain la
vie au milieu de cette tempête de la matière en travail; il en
entendait bien le bruit, il en voyait bien le mouvement, mais tout
cela était comme une imitation artificielle; cette activité n'avait point
d'élans contagieux. Loin qu'elle excitât, vous vous sentiez devant elle
saisi de torpeur. Le mouvement uniforme de ces machines ne vous
parlait pas; il n'y avait rien de commun entre elles et vous; c'étaient
des monstres aveugles et sourds, dont la force vous épouvantait.
Maurice se rappela alors, tout à coup, la petite fabrique placée
autrefois près de la maison de son oncle; le bruit des métiers
conduits par des mains d'enfants ou de jeunes filles, les rires
prolongés qui couvraient le croassement des navettes; les chansons
qui couraient d'un banc à l'autre, les joyeuses malices et les
confidences faites tout bas! Il se rappela surtout Mathias, le vieux
soldat!—doux et joyeux souvenir, qui faisait revivre pour lui les
impressions de son adolescence!
Mathias s'était promené quinze ans à travers l'Europe, souffrant
la faim, vivant dans la mitraille, conquérant chaque matin à la
baïonnette la place où il dormait le soir; et tout cela, Mathias l'avait
fait pour un mot qu'il n'était pas bien sûr de comprendre, mais qu'il
sentait: la France! Il l'avait fait jusqu'au jour où son pays, vaincu par
le nombre, avait dû accepter la paix; et ce jour-là Mathias, le cœur
gonflé de douleur et de colère, avait détaché, avec une larme, la
cocarde qui le condamnait depuis quinze ans à combattre et à
souffrir!
Rentré en France, il se rappela une sœur, seule parente qui lui
restât, et prit la route du village qu'elle habitait.
Là, il apprit que sa sœur était morte, laissant un garçon et une
fille que le fermier voisin avait recueillis par charité.
Mais la charité, sans cœur, est un prêt à usure; il n'enrichit que
celui qui donne. Quand Mathias arriva à la ferme, il trouva, sur le
seuil, les deux orphelins qui se disputaient un morceau de pain,
tandis que le paysan s'indignait de leur débat et criait:
«Ces enfants ne peuvent se souffrir!
—Dites qu'ils ne peuvent souffrir la faim», répliqua Mathias.
Et, prenant par la main les deux affamés, il les emmena.
La charge était lourde pour le vieux soldat, mais il ne s'en effraya
point. Il se rappelait la maxime de son lieutenant, que pour faire la
plus longue route il suffisait de remettre sans cesse un pied devant
l'autre, et il l'avait appliquée à toutes les choses de la vie.
Arrivé à Paris avec les enfants, il les nourrit de son travail,
jusqu'au moment où ils purent s'atteler avec lui à cette roue qui
broyait le pain de chaque journée. Mathias les avait placés tous deux
dans la même fabrique. A l'heure où les métiers s'arrêtaient, on ne
manquait jamais de le voir arriver, portant à la main le panier
couvert qui renfermait leur repas. En l'apercevant, les petits garçons
se plaçaient au port d'armes et battaient la charge, tandis que les
jeunes filles répétaient en souriant:
«C'est le père Mathias! bonjour, monsieur Mathias!»
Car jeunes filles et jeunes garçons aiment également ces vieux
lions qui ne rugissent que contre les forts.
Après avoir répondu à tous par un signe, par un mot, par un
sourire, le vieillard allait s'asseoir dans quelque coin abrité avec
Georgette et Julien; puis l'on découvrait le panier. Mais non tout d'un
coup! il fallait d'abord deviner ce que Mathias apportait! et Dieu sait
quels efforts pour ne point rencontrer juste et lui laisser la joie de la
surprise. Enfin, quand les enfants déclaraient avoir épuisé la liste de
leurs suppositions, le vieux soldat soulevait le couvercle d'osier, tirait
lentement le mets inconnu et le présentait aux regards de ses
convives!
«Ah! ah! vous ne vous attendiez pas à ça! s'écriait-il! c'est
aujourd'hui fête à la cantine; nous avons mis des nœuds de rubans à
la marmite.»
Et il étalait avec complaisance, sur le panier transformé en
guéridon, ce pauvre dîner dont la bonne volonté de tous faisait un
festin.
Puis, en mangeant, on causait! Les enfants racontaient les
nouvelles de l'atelier, et Mathias y trouvait toujours l'occasion de
quelques bons conseils. Car pendant les longues nuits de bivouac,
quand la faim ou le froid le tenaient éveillé, le vieux soldat avait
réfléchi pour se distraire, et il s'était fait une philosophie formulée en
quelques axiomes, qu'il appelait la charge en douze temps de la vie.
Parmi ces axiomes, il y en avait quatre surtout qu'il répétait sans
cesse, comme comprenant tous les autres:
1o Tu seras fidèle à ton drapeau jusqu'à la mort;
2o Tu tiendras moins à ta peau qu'au triomphe de ton régiment;
3o Tu ne feras point la guerre à ceux qui n'ont point de
cartouches;
4o En temps de pluie, tu ne demanderas pas de soleil.
Et, afin que les orphelins pussent comprendre ces maximes, il
leur expliquait comment le drapeau, pour eux, c'était l'honneur;
comment leur régiment comprenait tous les hommes; comment les
cartouches manquaient aux pauvres et aux faibles, et comment la
pluie et le soleil étaient la destinée rude ou facile que Dieu nous
avait faite.
Il ajoutait encore beaucoup de précieux enseignements sur la
persévérance, sur l'orgueil, sur les liaisons, et finissait toujours par
encourager au travail Georgette et Julien.
 «La semaine, disait-il, est un caisson de vivres traîné par sept
chevaux: si vous en détachez un, le caisson marchera encore; deux,
il n'avancera que difficilement; trois, il demeurera dans l'ornière et
laissera l'armée sans pain.»
Les enfants écoutaient religieusement les leçons du vieux soldat
et les retenaient. Pendant trois années Maurice les avait vus revenir
tous les jours à la même place, aussi soumis, aussi joyeux! Mathias
était leur expérience, et ils étaient l'avenir de Mathias. Tandis que
l'âge courbait son épaule et dépouillait son front, les deux enfants
grandissaient à ses côtés, jeunes et vivants, comme des rejetons
vigoureux jaillissant d'un tronc à demi desséché.
Souvent aussi les autres enfants de la fabrique venaient s'asseoir
autour du soldat, en lui demandant de raconter une de ses batailles,
et ils assistaient alors aux leçons du vieillard, qui, avant de quitter la
terre, leur laissait ainsi les semences de son âme! Perpétuelle école
ouverte pour le peuple près du foyer ou sur les seuils, et dans
laquelle celui qui s'en allait initiait doucement ceux qui venaient
d'arriver à cette vie de courage, de patience et de sacrifice.
Hélas! Maurice cherchait vainement quelque chose qui pût lui
rappeler la petite fabrique d'autrefois. Ici plus de masures sombres,
plus de métiers imparfaits; mais aussi plus de rires, ni de chants! Il
s'efforçait en vain de découvrir un père Mathias, une Georgette, un
Julien!… Il n'apercevait que des machines parfaites et des ouvriers
abrutis!
Après avoir tout montré et tout expliqué à ses hôtes, M.
Banqman arriva enfin, avec eux, au quartier des pupilles de la
Société humaine.
C'était une série de loges, dont chacune renfermait un ménage,
sans enfants: car ceux-ci étaient séparés de leurs parents dès la
naissance, et élevés à forfait. Ainsi dégagée des soins de mère, la
femme l'était également des soins d'épouse. Elle n'avait à préparer
ni la nourriture, ni les vêtements, ni le logis: tout cela se faisait à
l'entreprise. Elle n'était point non plus chargée d'épargner les gains
du mari: il y avait un économe qui réglait les dépenses et les
salaires; de veiller à sa santé: il y avait un médecin qui faisait
chaque matin sa visite; d'entretenir en lui les bonnes pensées: il y
avait un aumônier qui prêchait toutes les semaines! De son côté, le
mari était exempté de prévoyance, de protection, de courage.
«De cette manière, dit M. Banqman, le travailleur reste sous
notre tutelle, bien logé, bien nourri, bien vêtu, forcé d'être sage, et
recevant le bonheur tout fait. Non-seulement nous réglons ses
actions, mais nous arrangeons son avenir, nous l'approprions de
longue main à ce qu'il doit faire. Les Anglais avaient autrefois
perfectionné les animaux domestiques, dans le sens de leur
destination; nous avons appliqué ce système à la race humaine, en
la perfectionnant. Des croisements bien entendus nous ont produit
une race de forgerons dont la force s'est concentrée dans les bras,
une race de porteurs qui n'ont de développés que leurs reins, une
race de coureurs auxquels les jambes seules ont grandi, une race de
crieurs publics uniquement formés de bouche et de poumons; vous
pouvez voir dans ces loges des échantillons de ces différentes
espèces de prolétaires, auxquels nous avons donné le nom de métis
industriels.
—Et l'on n'a pas apporté moins de soins à leur instruction, ajouta
M. Le Doux, qui se fatiguait d'écouter des explications au lieu d'en
donner. Nous avons écarté de l'enseignement populaire tout ce qui
n'avait point d'application pratique et immédiate. Autrefois on perdait
un temps précieux à lire l'histoire des grandes actions, à apprendre
des vers qui remuaient le cœur, à répéter des maximes de morale et
de religion; nous avons substitué à tout cela l'arithmétique et le
code! Tous les pupilles apprennent à lire et à écrire, mais seulement
pour lire les prix courants et écrire les mémoires de frais.
—Et ils se soumettent patiemment à ce régime? demanda
Maurice.
—Quelques natures dépravées résistent seules à notre paternelle
direction, répliqua Banqman; vous en avez là devant vous un
exemple.
 —Quoi! demanda Maurice, cette jeune femme, dont le regard est
si fier et si caressant?
—Rien ne peut la dompter, reprit le fabricant; elle prétend que
nous lui avons ôté le repos en la déchargeant des soins pénibles
qu'exigeait son enfant, et que nous l'avons dépouillée de ses plus
douces joies en ne lui laissant aucune des charges du ménage!»
Maurice tourna les yeux vers la jeune femme.
«La voix de Dieu n'est donc pas étouffée dans tous ces cœurs?
pensa-t-il; il en est encore qui ont conservé l'instinct des grandes
lois! Oui, résiste toujours, courageuse femme, contre la tranquillité
et l'aisance qu'on t'a faites, car tu les payes de tes plus saintes
jouissances. Ne peuvent-ils donc comprendre que ces veilles et ces
soins de la mère, ces labeurs et ces économies de l'épouse, sont les
plus précieux anneaux dont se forme la chaîne domestique? Ne
regardent-ils donc l'union de l'homme et de la femme que comme
une association commerciale, dont le premier but est le gain? Le
fonds social, ici, ne se compose point seulement d'argent, mais de
patience, de bonne volonté, d'affection; c'est là surtout le capital
qu'il faut accroître, pour que l'association prospère. Ah! laissez à la
femme son utilité de chaque instant, pour que l'homme la sente à
chaque instant plus précieuse! Laissez-la faire le travail même qu'un
étranger ferait mieux, afin d'obtenir le salaire sans lequel elle ne
saurait vivre, la reconnaissance de ceux qu'elle aime! Pourquoi
vouloir régénérer le pauvre en l'affranchissant des devoirs de
famille? Ne sentez-vous pas que ces devoirs sont la source d'où
découle tout bien? Loin de les amoindrir, rendez-les plus saints à ses
yeux, en lui facilitant leur accomplissement; ne vous substituez pas à
sa conscience, mais éclairez-la; n'achetez pas, enfin, ces âmes à
fonds perdus, mais donnez-leur au contraire plus de volonté, plus de
vie! Le peuple n'est point un prodigue qu'il faut interdire, c'est un
enfant qu'il faut diriger et aider à grandir!»
Banqman et Le Doux continuèrent leur explication en montrant
aux deux visiteurs la maison de retraite des travailleurs, où l'on
utilisait les restes de leur force jusqu'au moment de l'agonie, et
l'amphithéâtre, où leurs corps étaient livrés au scalpel des élèves-
médecins pour un prix convenu: car, les pères ne s'étant point
occupés du berceau des enfants, les enfants ne s'occupaient point
de leurs tombes!
Mais Maurice regardait sans voir, écoutait sans entendre! Une
sourde tristesse s'était glissée dans son cœur, et il rentra chez M.
Atout découragé.
Marthe, de son côté, avait aperçu de plus près que le jour
précédent la sécheresse et les misères de la vie domestique; quand
Maurice lui eut raconté ce qu'il avait vu, elle se jeta dans ses bras les
yeux mouillés de larmes.
«Ah! qu'avons-nous fait? s'écria-t-elle. Dans le monde où nous
vivions, tous n'avaient point encore abandonné le Dieu des âmes
pour le veau d'or; les chaînes de la famille n'étaient point partout
brisées; les inspirations du cœur n'étaient pas complétement
éteintes; quoique riant du mal, on connaissait encore le bien; mais
ici, Maurice, tout est perdu sans retour!
—Pourquoi cela? demanda le jeune homme, qui eût voulu douter.
—Hélas! répliqua Marthe, parce qu'on ne sait plus aimer.»
DEUXIÈME JOURNÉE
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