RU a terroirist? putting sense of place in food
Think Kona coffee tastes like any other coffee? Of course not.
Fact is, the French have a word for the special characteristics that geography bestows upon different foods: Terroir.
Loosely translated, terroir means as “a sense of place” which is embodied in certain qualities, and the sum of the effects that the local environment has had on the manufacture of the product.
Now it seems the idea that the social-ecological context of a food’s production shapes its character – is spreading to the USA (via resilience science).
According to ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan, who cofounded the US Slow Food movement:
“This idea is being promoted to enhance the profitability of agriculture, the quality of food, and the ecology of food production regions.”
Nabhan’s latest project, Renewing America’s Food Traditions, hopes to “offer a counterbalance to the commodity mentality that a strawberry from California is interchangeable with one grown in Florida.”
“Our farmers are competing in a global market, and everyone else is using the concept to their advantage,” says Nabhan, citing the success of French cheesemakers, Mexican tequila distillers and Egyptian date and olive growers.
Perhaps now folks will better understand why Kauai taro is unequaled…
Oh, and, of course there are also slow food groups on Oahu and Hawaii Island (mahalo to Ben Discoe!).
Published by Ken on August 23rd, 2007 tagged Community Initiatives, HI-specific
One Response to “RU a terroirist? putting sense of place in food”
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August 27th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Hi,
There is now a Slow Food Kauai. You can contct Patrick Quinn at:
icingonthecake.kauai@gmail.com for more information or to become a member.