Biodiversity in the kitchen
Cooking and caring for African Indigenous Vegetables in Kenya: A feminist approach to Food Sovereignty
Meike Brückner
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Meike Brückner, Biodiversity in the kitchen (2020), oekom verlag, München, ISBN: 9783962387129
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Beschreibung / Abstract
The role of biodiversity in shaping a sustainable future has never been clearer. But to conserve biodiversity means more than to be able to use genetic diversity for medicines or agricultural production. This book challenges this view and reveals that biodiversity is also central for socio-cultural well-being. It critically assesses practice and politics of biodiversity and food while attending to questions of gender and practices of care. The focus is on African Indigenous Vegetables in Kenya, which play an important role in the daily nutrition and livelihood of communities but have been almost forgotten. The nexus between colonial politics, commercialization in agriculture and practices of reciprocity and collaboration is analyzed.
The rich empirical analysis stresses the relevance of a new entry point to the debate of biodiversity, food and gender. The approach of »meal sovereignty« is developed to set out a feminist vision of food sovereignty that takes careful socio-ecological relations and actors who produce and consume as staring point. This way the author uncovers inaccuracies and misjudgments of prevailing food policies and demonstrates that women†™s practice and knowledge is a critical in building meal sovereignty and maintaining biodiversity.
The rich empirical analysis stresses the relevance of a new entry point to the debate of biodiversity, food and gender. The approach of »meal sovereignty« is developed to set out a feminist vision of food sovereignty that takes careful socio-ecological relations and actors who produce and consume as staring point. This way the author uncovers inaccuracies and misjudgments of prevailing food policies and demonstrates that women†™s practice and knowledge is a critical in building meal sovereignty and maintaining biodiversity.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
- Biodiversity in the Kitchen
- Abstract
- Summary
- Zusammenfassung
- Acknowledgments
- Table of Contents
- Abbreviations
- 1 Setting the table: Introduction
- 1.1 Relevance of the topic
- 1.2 Research questions and terminologies
- 1.3 Thesis outline
- 2 African Indigenous Vegetables in Kenya: Forgotten, underutilized, commercialized?
- 2.1 The Kenyan agri-food system: Consuming meal politics
- 2.2 African Indigenous Vegetables: An introduction
- 2.3 The untold story: A colonialized agri-food system and its implications
- 2.4 Biodiversity at risk? When indigenous food becomes popular
- 2.5 Brief conclusion
- 3 Theoretical bites: Food Sovereignty, Feminist Political Ecology and Food Studies
- 3.1 Food Security and Sovereignty: Introducing the debates
- 3.2 Feminist Political Ecology: Meals, ecologies and care
- 3.3 Reflection: Mapping relationships and intersections
- 4 Empirical study: Researching meal practices in urban and rural Kenya with a qualitative-participatory approach
- 4.1 Access to the field and field work
- 4.2 Reflecting upon my own position
- 4.3 Developing a qualitative-participatory methodological toolbox: Finding the right method
- 4.4 The field work setting: Researching inand outside of the kitchen
- 4.5 Analytical strategy to interpret the data: Transcribing, coding and analyzing
- 4.6 Introducing the research sites: Nairobi and Kakamega
- 5 Results: Meal Practices of African Indigenous Vegetables in urban and rural Kenya
- 5.1 Contextualizing Practices of African Indigenous Vegetables
- 5.2 Brief conclusion
- 6 Analytical conclusion: Meal practices as socio-ecological care embedded in resources
- 6.1 Care and Feminist Political Ecology: Diverse meanings and practices
- 6.2 The gendered order of care
- 6.3 Food Sovereignty: A resource-based perspective
- 6.4 The gendered order of resources
- 6.5 Weaving together Feminist Political Ecology and Food Sovereignty
- 7 Meal Sovereignty: A new perspective
- 7.1 Introducing an innovative framework
- 7.2 Answering the research questions
- 8 Conclusion
- 8.1 Reconsidering narratives and debates
- 8.2 Practical applications: The power of cooking
- 8.3 A critical reflection on the research: Challenges and limitations
- 8.4 Directions for future research
- 8.5 Final thoughts: The way forward
- References
- List of participants
- Codebook
- Interview guide
- Background information
- Part A: AIVs in this area
- Part B: Socio-economics
- Part C: Preparation, cooking and serving of AIVs
- Part D: Food security
- Part E: Trends in preparation and consumption of AIVs
- Part F: Meal cartographies
- Observation checklist for households
- Instructions
- Part A: Background information
- Procuring, preparation and cooking of AIVs
- Consumption, eating order and storage of AIVs
- Recipes