The Meshwork of Alternative Food Systems: Negotiating Sustainability in Chiapas, Mexico Público

King, Hilary Brooks (2017)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/d217qq32v?locale=pt-BR
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Abstract

The relationship of food to political, social and economic life makes it a powerful vector for exploring effects of and responses to agricultural industrialization. Critics of industrial farming have described ecological and socioeconomic crises such as loss of biodiversity, climate change, pollution of natural resources, negative health outcomes, and the displacement and dispossession of small-scale farmers. They see these crises as reasons to develop alternative agricultural systems grounded in different logics. An array of initiatives around the world have galvanized around food as a vehicle for promoting more just, connective, and sustainable food systems.

The nature and potential of "alternative food systems" (AFS) are debated and contested. Through an in-depth ethnographic study of AFS initiatives in Chiapas, Mexico, this dissertation uses the concept of meshwork to illuminate the achievements and tensions generated as people work to actualize competing and sometimes contradictory ideas of sustainability. This dissertation examines how different sustainability criteria - agroecological production methods, social embeddedness, relocalization, and education as a means to build commitment to change - are negotiated and operationalized in Chiapas.

This dissertation illuminates the everyday social change processes through which people and organizations attempt to foster particular values and behavior among varied stakeholders. Extended fieldwork centered on spaces of food production and consumption and initiatives engaged in activities of alternative food systems. Documenting the ways such initiatives succeed and fail to enroll a range of supporters over time reveals the complex and organic nature of these initiatives as they manifest on the ground.

This research contributes to existing anthropological work on social change, the anthropology of food and agrarian studies, and studies of sustainability. By examining diverse approaches to building more sustainable food systems, it explores how this diversity shapes and is shaped by broader economic, cultural, and political forces. This shows that many experiments within alternative food systems are ephemeral, they build upon each other to broaden bases of support and develop diverse, new solutions. Findings will be of mounting significance to scholars and practitioners as they work to understand the ideological and practical tensions that accompany the generation of alternative food systems.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements................................................................................................... i

Dedication............................................................................................................... iv

Table of Figures........................................................................................................ x

Table of Tables......................................................................................................... x

Abbreviations........................................................................................................... x

Chapter 1: Introduction............................................................................................. 1

The Globalization of Food.................................................................................. 4

Competing Pathways: Industrial and Alternative Food Systems.............................. 9

Defining Sustainability in Food Systems............................................................. 14

Paths Toward Sustainability: Policy, Processes and Everyday Social Change............ 20

Documenting Everyday Social Change in the Food System.................................... 24

Meshwork: A Relational Framing of Alternative Food Systems................................ 28

Engagement Ladders: Concretizing Understandings of Social Change Processes....... 31

An Ethnography of Everyday Social Change......................................................... 33

Organization of the Dissertation......................................................................... 36

Chapter 2 : Mexico, Maize and Mujeres: Background and Methods for an Ethnography of Everyday Social Change..39

San Cristóbal de las Casas: An Alternative Center................................................. 41

Contemporary Responses to Agricultural Industrialization in Mexico......................... 51

Maize as a Vector for Exploring Food Systems........................................................56

Mujeres y Maí-z: Host Organization...................................................................... 66

The Extended Case Method and Reflexive Science.................................................. 67

Positionality: My Roots in Food Movements........................................................... 71

Data Collection.................................................................................................. 75

Active Participant Observation............................................................................. 75

Interview Data.................................................................................................. 79

Casual Consumer Interviews............................................................................... 79

In-Depth Interviews: Producers, Consumers and Animators..................................... 81

Document Analysis............................................................................................. 85

Data Analysis.................................................................................................... 86

Anonymity........................................................................................................ 87

Limitations and Avenues for Future Inquiry........................................................... 88

Conclusion........................................................................................................ 91

Chapter 3 : The Social Economy of Handmade Tortillas: Webs of Relations in Food Systems in San Cristóbal... 92

Five Vignettes of Handmade Tortilla Sales............................................................. 93

1. Municipal Market............................................................................................ 93

2. Ambulant Sales.............................................................................................. 97

3. Pequeño Sol School - A Fixed, Independent Sales Location................................... 101

4. La Milpa Restaurant - A Project of the Mujeres y Maíz Collective........................... 103

5. The AgroEco Market - Tianguis Comida Sana y Cercana....................................... 107

A Social Economy of Handmade Tortillas............................................................... 113

Pricing.............................................................................................................. 113

Quality Evaluations............................................................................................. 118

Location............................................................................................................ 125

Degrees of Intimacy and Personal Connection......................................................... 131

Conclusion......................................................................................................... 144

Chapter 4 : Knots in Meshwork: Diversity in Alternative Food Systems ............................... 147

Origins of the Mujeres y Maíz Collective................................................................... 148

From a Basket to a Market to a Collective................................................................ 148

Roots in The Tortilla Crisis: Inspiring the Groundwork for a Regional Maize Economy...... 152

The Blooming of Mujeres y Maíz.............................................................................. 157

Knots in Meshwork: Diverse AFS Initiatives in San Cristóbal........................................ 162

La Casa del Pan - An Established Business with Alternative Food System Values............ 166

Cacao Solidario - A Solidarity Buying Group.............................................................. 170

Meal Vouchers and Healthy Eating Workshops at La Milpa........................................... 177

Engagement Ladders: Understanding Participation in Diverse Food Systems.................. 187

Conclusion............................................................................................................ 195

Chapter 5 : Skill, Benefit and Engagement in Mujeres y Maíz................................................ 196

Mujeres y Maíz: A Growing Collective....................................................................... 197

Roles and Relationships within MyM......................................................................... 202

Fitting into the Mesh: MyM Membership as Part of Diversified Livelihood Strategies........ 205

Programs and Projects of Mujeres y Maíz.................................................................. 209

From Connection to Action: Skill Development and Agency in Meshwork....................... 211

Engagement Ladders: Movement Within the Meshwork.............................................. 214

Benefits of Participation......................................................................................... 216

Paid Work............................................................................................................ 217

Infrastructure Support........................................................................................... 220

Skill and Experience Acquisition.............................................................................. 224

Expanded Social Networks..................................................................................... 229

Personal Development.......................................................................................... 231

The Affective Dimension of Collective Building.......................................................... 235

Expanding the Utility of Engagement Ladders........................................................... 246

Conclusion........................................................................................................... 249

Chapter 6 : Storied Knowledge in Meshwork: Consumer Engagement with Alternative Food System Values and Behaviors................................................................................................................................. 252

Storied Knowledge: Knowledge and Engagement in Meshwork..................................... 253

Demographics of La Milpa Patrons............................................................................ 256

The Storied Knowledge of AFS: The Many Paths of La Milpa Patrons.............................. 261

Food and Taste Preferences.................................................................................... 262

Health Concerns and Health Promotion..................................................................... 264

Economic Support and Solidarity............................................................................. 267

Cultural Heritage................................................................................................... 270

Care for the Environment....................................................................................... 273

Food Sovereignty and Anti-Globalization.................................................................. 275

The Context of Knowledge: Engaging with the Themes of AFS..................................... 278

Applying Storied Knowledge: Behavior Change Among Participants.............................. 283

Changes in Food Procurement and Eating Habits....................................................... 284

Education of Self and Others.................................................................................. 288

Participation in Different Communities and Events..................................................... 291

Adoption of New Food-Related Skills and Practices.................................................... 294

Multiple Ladders of Engagement: Knowledge and Behavior Change............................. 296

Putting Behavior Change in Context........................................................................ 297

Conclusion........................................................................................................... 301

Chapter 7 Conclusion: The Ever-Evolving Weave of Food Systems........................................304

The Ever-Evolving Weave: A Recap......................................................................... 304

Evolutions of Mujeres y Maí-z................................................................................... 306

A Return to Sustainability Criteria............................................................................ 310

A Meshwork of Diverse Food Systems....................................................................... 316

The Potential of Engagement Ladders....................................................................... 319

An Ethnography of Everyday Social Change............................................................... 321

References.................................................................................................................... 327

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