Food Heritage for Sustainable Futures: Women's Cultures and Knowledge as Hidden Pillars of Alternative Foodways

Hazareesingh, Sandip (2022). Food Heritage for Sustainable Futures: Women's Cultures and Knowledge as Hidden Pillars of Alternative Foodways. In: Cross, Charlotte and Giblin, John D. eds. Critical Approaches to Heritage for Development. Rethinking Development. London: Routledge, pp. 108–123.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003107361-8

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of the state of play in the field of food heritage. It considers some of the main problems arising from UNESCO’s recent inclusion of food as part of humanity’s ‘intangible cultural heritage’, focusing in particular on the marginalisation of women producers and local voices stemming from mainstream modes of national and global heritage governance. It also examines the status of food culture in heritage and development research literature, identifying a lack of attention to both cultural and gender issues. Suggestive examples of recent work highlighting the crucial cultural role of women in maintaining food heritage ecosystems are offered, reinforced by a case study of women’s stewardship of millet food systems in southern India. This intervention thus also contributes to an emerging research agenda aimed at achieving a stronger focus on women’s knowledges crucial to the cultivation of a wealth of biodiverse plant species and crops. These neglected and underutilised species (NUS) possess high nutritional value and are both carbon-absorbing and adaptable to climate change pressures. They keep local food traditions alive while being capable of sustaining future generations.

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