Dr. Jillian R. Cavanaugh, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center CUNY, will conduct research exploring how the production of and demand for locally-important, or "heritage" foods, influences cultural and political economic change. Recently, various types of specialty foods - local, organic, sustainable, heritage - have become increasingly important for understanding the cultural and economic transformations associated with globalization; yet not all foods that fall in these categories enjoy the same type of cultural and economic success. The research will investigate the different types of labor that are required for everyday foods to become both successful commodities as well as emblems of local heritage and tradition. This project will focus on the work of local food producers in Northern Italy, as well as the food activists and government officials who aid them, in order to examine why people invest in their past in order to prosper in the present and future.
The project will employ a range of social science research methods, including participant observation, audio-recording of naturally occurring conversation and public events, interviews, and the collection and analysis of documentary practices. Field research will take place across a variety of sites, including farms, processing plants, government offices, and heritage events.
This research will contribute to social scientific literature that has explored how entrepreneurs make choices that are driven by concerns about the preservation of heritage and culture, as well as by economic motivations. This project will also promote international scientific collaborations, and aid in the training of undergraduate and graduate students. The results of this research will deepen understandings of how food production has become part of a range of important debates about the value and meaning of food today.
