Culinary Traditions as UNESCO Intangible Heritage. Hmm.
UNESCO seems all set, judging by the rumors, to begin adding culinary traditions to its Intangible Heritage category. Here’s why I think the project is not feasible, not desirable, and,to put it mildly, lacks transparency. Written for Zester Daily Soapbox and also slightly condensed and published as an LA Times editorial.
And here are links to two earlier posts, What is culinary heritage? and Migrants, nationalism, and culinary heritage.
- The Spanish Origins of Bread for Day of the Dead?
- What Can the Culinary Historian Learn from the Linguist? Preamble
Rachel, whether we like it or not, it will be accomplished. The real impetus for this initiative is economic and ties into protection of products with protected origin designations.
I agree that it will be implemented. I agree that the driving force is economic. Still important to point out, though, that it’s intellectually incoherent and administratively opaque. Thanks for the good wishes for my recovery. It’s going faster than I had any reason to expect thanks to a fine surgeon and a persistent rehabilitation doctor.
Thank you for pointing out the, well, foolishness of this whole thing….uncontaminated culinary tradition, indeed! If it were so, we’d all be eating roots and bugs, raw.
Economic translates as gastro-tourism and no one knows that better than Italy, home of Slow food. I am currently sitting in Piazza Maggiore in Bologna listening to wood flutes, a la South America, played by Ecuadoreans, dressed as American TV “Indians” in made-in-Taiwan beaded items, a la Cree or Blackfeet, playing “The Way We Were.” Is this developing world music? Who knows! No one can stop change, not Slow Food, not UNESCO. And the way these things are designated, as you point out, is exactly the way they are designated for foods (at least here in Italy): a group gets backing, gets permission from producers, or some producers (this can rip villages apart), and gets a “license” to make all the rules re production, from then on.
Thanks for the comments. Yes, it’s just so hard to deal with culinary heritage in a way that is intellectually honest, fair to everyone involved, and without stifling necessary change. Would love to talk to you more about this.
Yes, I would love to discuss more on this, too. I am a big fan of yours, I might say, since I heard you speak at Oxford Food Symposium in 2009 and watched you cut straight through the horsefeathers of the designated topic, very pleasantly, and address the issues that everyone wanted to talk abou–but no one knew quite how to get there! What I find distressing about this new “culinary heritage” stuff is the whiff of “culinary cleansing” it carries…. Divisive, just another way of defining “other.”
Judy, it is Judy isn’t it?, Many thanks for the comments on my talk at the Oxford symposium. Why didn’t we meet then? Well there are always so many people at these meetings.
I couldn’t agree more about the divisiveness and the ways of defining the other. I am entirely happy with individual or group or even national efforts to record and inappropriate circumstances preserve company heritage. But handing out stars from UNESCO with all the weight of prestige and money associated with it seems to me to be a recipe for the increase of chauvinism in culinary matters.
Hello Rachel,
I read your article on Zester and I wanted to say that I agree with your opinion on the Unesco new culinary heritage recognition.
I was very surprised to hear you live in Mexico City. I am from Mexico City but I live in Canada for the moment. Me and my husband have been traveling around the world for business purposes. I have learnt a lot about culinary traditions mostly in Europe and I love this subject.
I just opened a blog and I might want to post your article since its very interesting and I bet quite a few people will love it. My blog is a fusion between fashion and food, and it is intended for the latin audiences.
Anyway, congratulations! Your work is very valuable to the community.
Sincerely,
Mariana Segovia
Thanks very much Mariana. I really look forward to seeing how your blog develops. I have several friends here in Mexico City who are going to love the food/fashion angle. And of course I would be delighted if you wanted to follow up on my Zester Daily article on UNESCO and culinary heritage.