Upon reading the article in the Freetimes (http://www.free-times.com/index.php?cat=1992912064227409&ShowArticle_ID=11012611083704007 ) about the specialty grits milled downtown, I was struck by the relevancy of Glen Robert’s approach as well as the ironies. For one, I am a Top Chef addict so any connection to chef Tom Colicchio is (embarrassingly) exciting to me.
Also, as an anthropologist who teaches Intro to Cultural Anthropology every semester, my classes at that moment were considering industrialism, globalization and the general push towards monocrop production—and the ultimate consequences of the industrialized agriculture trend (lack of biodiversity, lack of small scale/family farms, lack of local foods, etc). So, it was refreshing to have another source, one local and relevant to people’s sense of southern identity (grits!), to discuss as an existing counter besides my usuals—anti-globalization movements, freegans and websites on sustainability/consumption.
What I find ironic, however, is that if it were’nt for elitist food ideals (heirloom grits taste better even if they’re very, very expensive and time-consuming to make), this attention to the local might not exist. Plus, this elite market probably wouldn’t exist without tourism and other global food markets featuring a ‘taste of the old south.’ I guess for those who consider such issues regularly such ironies are the norm.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Sarah! I saw your blog link on Facebook. Do you mind if I forward this entry to my friend Eva who wrote the grits article? I think she would enjoy it. Laura
ReplyDeleteSure thang . . . would love interest/feedback
ReplyDeletehey Sarah, it is Sanquinetta:) my great grandmother used to get her freshly ground corn meal from a mill down in either LA (lower Alabama) or near Westville FL (where she lived) i am sure it is gone by now but when i was a teenager she was still talking about needing to go there to get her corn meal. she made these things that looked like hockey pucks but she called them johnny cakes. not sweet. just made like with the meal and water, it seemed like, and of course fried in an iron skillet. man they were so good. she also would eat an onion (raw) every day and lived to be almost 100. i loved the story about your grandfather. these stories are better than riches i think!
ReplyDeleteOMG Sanquinetta...I didn't see this until now (2012). I've been very sporadic with this blog. Thanks so much for posting this info on your grandma, I may try to interview you at some point when I get back to my food research
ReplyDelete