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Gastronativism: Food, Identity, Politics
Winner, Gourmand World Cookbook Awards - Food - Food Heritage - USA
Nominee, Book Award in Food Issues and Advocacy, James Beard Foundation
The Italian political right is outraged by halal tortellini and a pork-free lasagna served at the Vatican. In India, Hindu fundamentalists organize attacks on Muslims who sell beef. European anti-immigrant politicians denounce couscous and kebabs. In an era of nationalist and exclusionary movements, food has become a potent symbol of identity. Why has eating become so politically charged—and can the emotions surrounding food be redirected in a healthier direction?
Fabio Parasecoli identifies and defines the phenomenon of “gastronativism,” the ideological use of food to advance ideas about who belongs to a community and who does not. As globalization and neoliberalism have transformed food systems, people have responded by seeking to return to their roots. Many have embraced local ingredients and notions of cultural heritage, but this impulse can play into the hands of nationalist and xenophobic political projects. Such movements draw on the strong emotions connected with eating to stoke resentment and contempt for other people and cultures.
Parasecoli emphasizes that gastronativism is a worldwide phenomenon, even as it often purports to oppose local aspects and consequences of globalization. He also explores how to channel pride in culinary traditions toward resisting transnational corporations, uplifting marginalized and oppressed groups, and assisting people left behind by globalization. Featuring a wide array of examples from all over the world, Gastronativism is a timely, incisive, and lively analysis of how and why food has become a powerful political tool.
Nominee, Book Award in Food Issues and Advocacy, James Beard Foundation
The Italian political right is outraged by halal tortellini and a pork-free lasagna served at the Vatican. In India, Hindu fundamentalists organize attacks on Muslims who sell beef. European anti-immigrant politicians denounce couscous and kebabs. In an era of nationalist and exclusionary movements, food has become a potent symbol of identity. Why has eating become so politically charged—and can the emotions surrounding food be redirected in a healthier direction?
Fabio Parasecoli identifies and defines the phenomenon of “gastronativism,” the ideological use of food to advance ideas about who belongs to a community and who does not. As globalization and neoliberalism have transformed food systems, people have responded by seeking to return to their roots. Many have embraced local ingredients and notions of cultural heritage, but this impulse can play into the hands of nationalist and xenophobic political projects. Such movements draw on the strong emotions connected with eating to stoke resentment and contempt for other people and cultures.
Parasecoli emphasizes that gastronativism is a worldwide phenomenon, even as it often purports to oppose local aspects and consequences of globalization. He also explores how to channel pride in culinary traditions toward resisting transnational corporations, uplifting marginalized and oppressed groups, and assisting people left behind by globalization. Featuring a wide array of examples from all over the world, Gastronativism is a timely, incisive, and lively analysis of how and why food has become a powerful political tool.
237 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 5, 2022
13 people are currently reading
359 people want to read
About the author
Fabio Parasecoli
16 books11 followersFABIO PARASECOLI is President of the Association for the Study of Food and Society and teaches on food history, culture and the arts at the Città del Gusto School in Rome and at New York University. He is also a journalist for the food and wine magazine Gambero Rosso and author of Food Culture in Italy.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 15, 2022
Read courtesy of NetGalley.
This is a really fascinating book that takes food and issues of 'nativism' and looks at how they work together. It seems kind of obvious once you start thinking about it that food can be a political tool - even a weapon... one need only think of some of the racist insults that people use, which are either specifically or tangentially food related. Or the way politicians are publicised eating particular foods. Or the boycotting of foods...
One of the first things that I appreciated about this book is that Parasecoli is quite open about things needing much more extensive research to fully understand what's going on, and that "patterns [he identifies] are tentative, unstable, and shifting" (xi). That the book "raises questions rather than offering solutions... proposes one point of view, food and its ideological uses, to read events and and tensions that are obviously much larger" (xii). This sort of intellectual honesty is a delight, and also brings me hope that maybe the ways food is used and discussed in connection to politics may indeed become a greater field of investigation.
Parasecoli's idea of 'gastronativism' is a broad one, and encompasses political positions that are, at least to my mind, both arch-conservative leaning towards fascist, and at the other end much more progressive. The first limits what it means to be in a community (white supremacy, anti immigrant) - what he calls exclusionary gastronativism. On the other hand is what he calls nonexclusionary gastronativism (and I can't help but imagine what it would be like to give a speech on this topic): it looks at "extending rights, resources, and wellbeing to the disenfranchised and the oppressed" (22). Cross-national issues of worker rights, and such issues. I love that such seemingly different issues can be examined together, using similar thought-tools.
It must be acknowledged that this book challenged me to think about the way that I approach food. In one section, Parasecoli discusses the idea of authenticity - "a Thai restaurant feels more authentically Thai if the cook and staff are recognisably Thai" - and that being able to "distinguish authenticity becomes part of consumers' cultural capital" (89). And then you get arguments about what IS authentic, and things can get very messy. I don't think the author is saying that a desire for authenticity is automatically bad; but it did make me start thinking about what constitutes 'the canon' when it comes to food, and that sent me down a bit of a spiral, being something of an iconoclast in those issues.
There is a LOT in this book; Parasecoli touches on a broad range of issues and explores exclusionary and nonexclusionary examples from various parts of the world. As he says in the intro, he doesn't always go into huge detail about all of them - that's not really the point of the book. Instead he's trying to show what the very concept of gastronativism can be, how it might be interrogated, what sort of actions people use and thoughts it stimulates. And I think he is very persuasive in showing that food isn't always just something that someone like me eats for fuel. It's always much more than that.
This is a really fascinating book that takes food and issues of 'nativism' and looks at how they work together. It seems kind of obvious once you start thinking about it that food can be a political tool - even a weapon... one need only think of some of the racist insults that people use, which are either specifically or tangentially food related. Or the way politicians are publicised eating particular foods. Or the boycotting of foods...
One of the first things that I appreciated about this book is that Parasecoli is quite open about things needing much more extensive research to fully understand what's going on, and that "patterns [he identifies] are tentative, unstable, and shifting" (xi). That the book "raises questions rather than offering solutions... proposes one point of view, food and its ideological uses, to read events and and tensions that are obviously much larger" (xii). This sort of intellectual honesty is a delight, and also brings me hope that maybe the ways food is used and discussed in connection to politics may indeed become a greater field of investigation.
Parasecoli's idea of 'gastronativism' is a broad one, and encompasses political positions that are, at least to my mind, both arch-conservative leaning towards fascist, and at the other end much more progressive. The first limits what it means to be in a community (white supremacy, anti immigrant) - what he calls exclusionary gastronativism. On the other hand is what he calls nonexclusionary gastronativism (and I can't help but imagine what it would be like to give a speech on this topic): it looks at "extending rights, resources, and wellbeing to the disenfranchised and the oppressed" (22). Cross-national issues of worker rights, and such issues. I love that such seemingly different issues can be examined together, using similar thought-tools.
It must be acknowledged that this book challenged me to think about the way that I approach food. In one section, Parasecoli discusses the idea of authenticity - "a Thai restaurant feels more authentically Thai if the cook and staff are recognisably Thai" - and that being able to "distinguish authenticity becomes part of consumers' cultural capital" (89). And then you get arguments about what IS authentic, and things can get very messy. I don't think the author is saying that a desire for authenticity is automatically bad; but it did make me start thinking about what constitutes 'the canon' when it comes to food, and that sent me down a bit of a spiral, being something of an iconoclast in those issues.
There is a LOT in this book; Parasecoli touches on a broad range of issues and explores exclusionary and nonexclusionary examples from various parts of the world. As he says in the intro, he doesn't always go into huge detail about all of them - that's not really the point of the book. Instead he's trying to show what the very concept of gastronativism can be, how it might be interrogated, what sort of actions people use and thoughts it stimulates. And I think he is very persuasive in showing that food isn't always just something that someone like me eats for fuel. It's always much more than that.
January 20, 2023
In a chaotic world of hot takes and loud food opinions, Fabio Parasecoli seeks to categorize themes and present patterns in food-related discourse. It is well-researched and covers majority of food-related headlines in the past decade, and Parasecoli does a great job in tracing the origins of gastronativism and its effects on society, politics, and economy. Most regions of the world are represented, and the author sufficiently digs deeper into headlines of food scarcity and food fights. The bibliography alone is worth the read, and I appreciate the author's careful attention to detail and soundly made arguments. Reading it lends more weight to "lumpia nationalism", a running joke my friends and I had about many Filipino Americans who appropriate specific cultural icons as token representation. For reference, I am also a diaspora Filipino, but non-US.
However, it overlooks a big chunk of food history: colonization. Wars have been fought over spices, peoples have been slain and lands claimed for a foreign crown all over access to food. Though food by migrants has been covered in this book, it focuses on an unequal relationship, where the migrants are usually seen as "less powerful" outsiders to their host country. It would have been interesting to read about a smaller group of foreigners who impose their tastes on a larger community and have widespread effects on crops planted, dishes served, and food cultures branded as "barbaric" and "disgusting" despite actually being local to the area. I'm disappointed, but I'm also not surprised.
However, it overlooks a big chunk of food history: colonization. Wars have been fought over spices, peoples have been slain and lands claimed for a foreign crown all over access to food. Though food by migrants has been covered in this book, it focuses on an unequal relationship, where the migrants are usually seen as "less powerful" outsiders to their host country. It would have been interesting to read about a smaller group of foreigners who impose their tastes on a larger community and have widespread effects on crops planted, dishes served, and food cultures branded as "barbaric" and "disgusting" despite actually being local to the area. I'm disappointed, but I'm also not surprised.
February 26, 2024
A brief look at the intersection between cuisine and politics.
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August 1, 2022All places and people have their food traditions. And those food traditions define them and unite them. And with the travel of people through the millennia whether through nomadism, exploration, war and colonization, natural disaster, or other reason for displacement, the liminal spaces and the spaces where new people settle change with the exchange of ideas. The more movement that there is, the degree of change and the speed of change increase.
As long as this slow globalization is taking place, many food traditions can co-exist. But today Parasecoli sees a new way to define others through their food traditions. He identifies it with populism: savvy politicians who use it to take advantage of the dominant group’s dissatisfaction and fear of change, by defining the scapegoated groups who bear the burden of causing the discontent by their food customs. Especially when those food customs can be seen as profane or offensive to the discontented. Instead of dealing with the issues causing the discontent, the anger and fear is redirected against the food practices of others.
Imagine the lovely food traditions and practices that you treasure being transformed into something hateful and you becoming hateful because they are your practices. This is what Parasecoli has coined gastronativism.
This is not a long book, nor is it a book filled with academic jargon. It is very readable, accessible, and full of specific examples that you can find in the news. It is both frightening and enlightening to read about these practices that vilify something as necessary to life as food. I find it amazing that other people’s food habits can engender such hatred and fear in others.
The entire arsenal is thrown at food – religion, science, class envy, hygiene, and economics are a few of the areas used to encite fear and hatred.
And how do we combat gastronativism? Of course education and appeal to rational reasons for discontent can also help. But the best way to make people understand how alike we are to the demonized others is to sit down at a table together and share a meal. We must step over the arbitrary divide and make the effort to see the humanity in others. Food can heal us as well as divide us.
This is a book worth reading.
For a discussion of the book with the author, Fabio Parasecoli, listen to Tip of the Tongue #137 at https://southernfood.org/tip-of-the-t....
As long as this slow globalization is taking place, many food traditions can co-exist. But today Parasecoli sees a new way to define others through their food traditions. He identifies it with populism: savvy politicians who use it to take advantage of the dominant group’s dissatisfaction and fear of change, by defining the scapegoated groups who bear the burden of causing the discontent by their food customs. Especially when those food customs can be seen as profane or offensive to the discontented. Instead of dealing with the issues causing the discontent, the anger and fear is redirected against the food practices of others.
Imagine the lovely food traditions and practices that you treasure being transformed into something hateful and you becoming hateful because they are your practices. This is what Parasecoli has coined gastronativism.
This is not a long book, nor is it a book filled with academic jargon. It is very readable, accessible, and full of specific examples that you can find in the news. It is both frightening and enlightening to read about these practices that vilify something as necessary to life as food. I find it amazing that other people’s food habits can engender such hatred and fear in others.
The entire arsenal is thrown at food – religion, science, class envy, hygiene, and economics are a few of the areas used to encite fear and hatred.
And how do we combat gastronativism? Of course education and appeal to rational reasons for discontent can also help. But the best way to make people understand how alike we are to the demonized others is to sit down at a table together and share a meal. We must step over the arbitrary divide and make the effort to see the humanity in others. Food can heal us as well as divide us.
This is a book worth reading.
For a discussion of the book with the author, Fabio Parasecoli, listen to Tip of the Tongue #137 at https://southernfood.org/tip-of-the-t....
March 20, 2024
What makes French Cuisine "French" or Italian Cuisine "Italian"? Who has most authentic Jollof rice, Nigeria, Ghana or Senegal? Fabio Parasecoli attempts to answer these question in his book, "Gastronativism"? He describes this phenomenon as "the ideological use of food to advance ideas about who belongs to a community and who does not".
He further differentiates between exclusionary gastronativism - the defence of one community against internal and external perceived menaces - that's more of us vs them mindset such as. They are readily co-opted into authoritarian and autocratic projects that erode democratic norms ans institutions as seen in the waves of ant-immigrant movements in Italy, conservative identity politics in Poland and hegemonic efforts in India.
On the other hand, non-exclusionary gastronativism, like the Slow Food movement and other alternative food networks that strive for greater inclusivity and fairness so that individuals and communities can make better choices regarding food,and its impacts on jobs, health and the environment.
At the core, at individual what we eat and our perceptions around good food are at the very least determined by education, class, exposure to different contexts. On a broader scale, food is continually used a political tool to illuminate inequalities, influence electorate, exert different forms of national power as the evidence with the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war or even improve diplomatic relations. All these issues are considered against the backdrop of globalisation and liberalisation that the free movement of people, labour/skills and food as technology that has propelled culinary migration.
Throughout the whole book, it is clear that debates around food are not just about food but have deep and resounding implications across all layers of governance. Gastronativism is riddled with examples from across the globe which makes the book both timely and lively to read. I would recommend it anyone interested in the political economy of food.
Originally published on Netgalley
He further differentiates between exclusionary gastronativism - the defence of one community against internal and external perceived menaces - that's more of us vs them mindset such as. They are readily co-opted into authoritarian and autocratic projects that erode democratic norms ans institutions as seen in the waves of ant-immigrant movements in Italy, conservative identity politics in Poland and hegemonic efforts in India.
On the other hand, non-exclusionary gastronativism, like the Slow Food movement and other alternative food networks that strive for greater inclusivity and fairness so that individuals and communities can make better choices regarding food,and its impacts on jobs, health and the environment.
At the core, at individual what we eat and our perceptions around good food are at the very least determined by education, class, exposure to different contexts. On a broader scale, food is continually used a political tool to illuminate inequalities, influence electorate, exert different forms of national power as the evidence with the ongoing Russian-Ukraine war or even improve diplomatic relations. All these issues are considered against the backdrop of globalisation and liberalisation that the free movement of people, labour/skills and food as technology that has propelled culinary migration.
Throughout the whole book, it is clear that debates around food are not just about food but have deep and resounding implications across all layers of governance. Gastronativism is riddled with examples from across the globe which makes the book both timely and lively to read. I would recommend it anyone interested in the political economy of food.
Originally published on Netgalley
February 2, 2022
*This book was received as an Advanced Reviewer's Copy from NetGalley.
It shouldn't come as a surprise that you can't have political or socio-economic discussions without talking about food. That's because food ties so closely to culture and everything we do in life. Our traditions, memories, and special occasions are marked with food (often a certain type) and so the concept of Gastronativism is what explores these ties and how food has been used to "other" or politically and socially weaponized.
Parasecoli greatly focuses on the concept of Gastronativism. His definitions, ties to constructs around the world, and examples all emphasize how this concept plays out both in current times (he touches greatly on current conservative political ideologies) and how it has played out in the past to drive change or policy.
This is definitely what I would consider a scholarly work, rather than casual or hobbyist reading. It's dense, charged with nuance, and spends a lot of time assuming the reader has some background on historical and sociological context. Not that the average reader can't pick it up, they'll just be like me (another average reader) doing some outside researching of certain concepts and events that are mentioned in this book. I also will note that food is minimal in this book, it's more how food servers as a catalyst. While there are mentions of specific ways food is used or demonized (the sausage free lasagna mentioned in the description), it is at a minimum compared to the ways Gastronativism shapes human life.
A good book, but I think a targeted audience for this one. While I learned a good deal and have new concepts to think about when reviewing food history, it wasn't quite what I go for when sitting down with a book about food. I think I would have liked more examples and less theory or divination of the concept to make me fully take in what this book was expressing.
Review by M. Reynard 2022
It shouldn't come as a surprise that you can't have political or socio-economic discussions without talking about food. That's because food ties so closely to culture and everything we do in life. Our traditions, memories, and special occasions are marked with food (often a certain type) and so the concept of Gastronativism is what explores these ties and how food has been used to "other" or politically and socially weaponized.
Parasecoli greatly focuses on the concept of Gastronativism. His definitions, ties to constructs around the world, and examples all emphasize how this concept plays out both in current times (he touches greatly on current conservative political ideologies) and how it has played out in the past to drive change or policy.
This is definitely what I would consider a scholarly work, rather than casual or hobbyist reading. It's dense, charged with nuance, and spends a lot of time assuming the reader has some background on historical and sociological context. Not that the average reader can't pick it up, they'll just be like me (another average reader) doing some outside researching of certain concepts and events that are mentioned in this book. I also will note that food is minimal in this book, it's more how food servers as a catalyst. While there are mentions of specific ways food is used or demonized (the sausage free lasagna mentioned in the description), it is at a minimum compared to the ways Gastronativism shapes human life.
A good book, but I think a targeted audience for this one. While I learned a good deal and have new concepts to think about when reviewing food history, it wasn't quite what I go for when sitting down with a book about food. I think I would have liked more examples and less theory or divination of the concept to make me fully take in what this book was expressing.
Review by M. Reynard 2022
November 14, 2022
Reviewing this book isn’t going to be easy for me. Yes, it took me a long time to read and I had to start over.
There is a lot of information packed into this book. The e version I got was delivered in a weird format which made it harder for me to read. That is in no way the fault of the author.
At times I felt incredibly stupid while reading this. But now that I’m done, I want to know more. The impact politics has on food and vice versa was slightly mind boggling. I’m not a complete idiot and knew food was cause for all kinds of fighting. But seeing just how much it is linked to certain things really opened my eyes.
While this book was packed with a bit of information on many items, it only grazed the surface (I assume) or all the intrigue that goes with everything. My one critique is at times I felt like the book jumped around a lot. It gave me a bit of whiplash to try and keep up.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy. All thoughts are my own. I do plan to buy a copy and physically highlight the passages that spoke to me the most
There is a lot of information packed into this book. The e version I got was delivered in a weird format which made it harder for me to read. That is in no way the fault of the author.
At times I felt incredibly stupid while reading this. But now that I’m done, I want to know more. The impact politics has on food and vice versa was slightly mind boggling. I’m not a complete idiot and knew food was cause for all kinds of fighting. But seeing just how much it is linked to certain things really opened my eyes.
While this book was packed with a bit of information on many items, it only grazed the surface (I assume) or all the intrigue that goes with everything. My one critique is at times I felt like the book jumped around a lot. It gave me a bit of whiplash to try and keep up.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy. All thoughts are my own. I do plan to buy a copy and physically highlight the passages that spoke to me the most
May 5, 2022
This book was a fascinating overview of the interconnectedness between politics and food, between nationalism (or nativism) and culinary traditions. Parasecoli gives plenty of (positive and negative) examples of the symbols food can play within our political realms, jumping from Italy to the US, India, Thailand, and many other countries.
Reading this pushed me to think about how my food choices can play into these concepts, especially as someone with the privilege to experience numerous food cultures and not be directly impacted by exclusionary beliefs from gastronativist.
My only complaint is I felt like Parasecoli would sometimes jump between examples a little too quickly. I would have liked a bit more in-depth look at each country or culinary tradition. While reading about one, I would think "Wow, that's interesting. Please tell me more." but then we'd already be into another example.
Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for the Advanced Ready Copy!
Reading this pushed me to think about how my food choices can play into these concepts, especially as someone with the privilege to experience numerous food cultures and not be directly impacted by exclusionary beliefs from gastronativist.
My only complaint is I felt like Parasecoli would sometimes jump between examples a little too quickly. I would have liked a bit more in-depth look at each country or culinary tradition. While reading about one, I would think "Wow, that's interesting. Please tell me more." but then we'd already be into another example.
Thank you to NetGalley and Columbia University Press for the Advanced Ready Copy!
June 21, 2022
Can the food you eat, the connections between food and culture, celebrations, and holidays be abused? This is one of the connections between food and belonging, or more importantly defining “us vs them” that can be extended to create animosity between groups. Gastronativism presents and deep-dives as to how what and isn’t considered food can define social castes and determine how the aggregate social groups and political states.
June 21, 2022
Can the food you eat, the connections between food and culture, celebrations, and holidays be abused? This is one of the connections between food and belonging, or more importantly defining “us vs them” that can be extended to create animosity between groups. Gastronativism presents and deep-dives as to how what and isn’t considered food can define social castes and determine how the aggregate social groups and political states.
June 7, 2022
This book was about food and culture globally and how the two are closed linked to everything people. Well written and presented. I enjoyed this more than I would even though some parts dragged/boring.
Recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley, Fabio Parasecoli, and Columbia University Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available: 6/28/22
Recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley, Fabio Parasecoli, and Columbia University Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Available: 6/28/22
July 7, 2022
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. An interesting read since one doesn’t really think of how food comes into play with politics and creating tensions throughout the world at times. It is interesting to read what types of food some people find repulsive to eat, ie dog meat, beef, etc… and others who are ok with eating it.
January 15, 2026
Just felt like it lacked a bit of substance. Filled with many different stories of localized food/ag cultures playing out in protest/larger sociopolitical issues. Thesis is straightforward (food=identity, ok?)
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews