Summer SAVY, Session 2 Day 3, Culinary Anthropology: Exploring Food and Culture (5th-6th)
Today, our classroom was buzzing with creativity as we continued to discuss cultural exchange through food, or how the blending of ingredients and traditions across cultures has sparked some of the world’s most delicious (and unexpected!) dishes. Students imagined and designed their own fusion creations, from ramen tacos to Alfredo hamburgers and chocolate pizza.
As a part of our coursework today, students reflected on a deeper question: Is all cultural exchange equal and fair? To explore this, we examined how an anthropologist named Sidney Mintz studied the history of sugarcane, from its origins as a rare luxury for the wealthy elite to its transformation into a global staple. We learned how this increased sugar consumption was only made possible by the displacement of Indigenous communities, large-scale environmental destruction, and the forced labor of enslaved Africans. This case helped students understand that cultural exchange isn’t always fair, and that even when a food tastes sweet, there may be hidden harm to people or the planet.
In the afternoon, students worked in pairs to trace the journey of a food of their choice. They created maps and timelines showing the global journey of their ingredient, considered what questions they might ask if they were anthropologists studying the people involved in growing and processing it, and wrote letters to a newspaper editor advocating for fairer labor practices or more sustainable environmental approaches. To end the day on a sweet note, we ate the beet cupcakes that we made together!
How you can support your student:
- Ask about their invented fusion dish: What inspired their creation? Would they try cooking or eating it?
- Discuss food chains: What did they find most surprising about the history of–or contemporary production, processing, and distribution of sugar or the food they researched?
- Watch a food justice documentary together: Documentaries which explore issues of justice and labor in food production include Food Chains (2014), A Place at the Table (2012), and Dolores (2017)
- Experiment in the kitchen: Make your own fusion cuisine together or try beet cupcakes! (https://weelicious.com/red-beet-cupcakes/)
Friday is our final day together. Weather permitting, we’ll be walking to the Latin American Ethnobotanical Garden on campus. Please make sure your student brings a water bottle and any sun protection they may need (hat, sunscreen, sunglasses, umbrella, etc.).
Thank you for being such supportive partners in your student’s learning journey!
Warmly,
Ms. Kathryn and Ms. Andrea
