Attention is being paid globally to unfamiliar ingredients emerging from Pre-Columbian Latin American foodways. Often these ancient ingredients are marketed for their nutritional value, exoticism and 'authenticity'. Global interest in crops such as quinoa and amaranth has created an economic boom for producers, but increased global demand often has the effect of driving those who traditionally consumed these crops out of the marketplace. Rural villagers' demands increasingly give way before those of first-world gourmets. The general name for such ingredients is 'Lost Crops', which begs the question, 'lost to whom?' While a great deal of traditional farming knowledge was lost during the Columbian Exchange, such as how to make terra preta de indio, and methods of construction and maintenance of chinampas, most of the ingredients being 'discovered' today have enjoyed a long history of uninterrupted cultivation and consumption in their lands of origin. This class seeks to address the culture of colonialism and globalization that allows such ingredients to be simultaneously 'discovered' and exploited, and the various issues of agency, ownership and social justice that underlie the adoption of new foods from Latin America.
Prerequisites
College Writing (LITC-100).