Food Studies Matter, Meaning, Movement Case Food ni Kyrgyzstan, Christian Kelly Scott and Guangqing Chi

CASE FOOD IN CHRISTIAN KELLY SCOTT AND CHI THE MEANING OF FOOD IN RURAL MOUNTAINOUS Christian Kelly Scott is a postdoctoral associate in the Department of at Mississippi State . He holds a in Rural Sociology and International Agriculture Development from Pennsylvania State . His research focuses on societal issues of hunger and food insecurity . His dissertation focused on the nomic , environmental , and social of hold food security in the rural southern highlands . Chi is a professor of rural sociology and demography and director of the Computational and CHRISTIAN KELLY SCOTT AND CHI 201

Analysis Core at Pennsylvania State University . Chi is an environmental demographer with a focus on systems , aiming to understand the interactions between human populations and built and natural environments , and to identify important assets ( social , environmental , institutional ) to help vulnerable populations adapt and become resilient to environmental changes . Learning Outcomes After reading and discussing this text , students should be able to Examine practices of food gathering , eating , and making using the principles of political ecology . Explain how food , environments , and identities are related . Describe the importance of everyday experience to food studies . INTRODUCTION Cascading , rivers , along with and lush , fertile pastures are everyday aspects of rural life in southern . The community members whose experiences are discussed in this text reside in a village that lies in a valley overlooked by steep mountains on both sides . To the north lies a brightly colored slope of red , yellow , and orange and rocks . To the south are dark rock with 202 FOOD IN

clusters of ancient , stoic , juniper and spruce trees . Both sides show the telltale markings of landslides in the distant and recent past . The surrounding ecology shapes what each day and night bring for the people in southern . Life in the village and life in the mountain pastures are intimately tied to the passage of seasons . There is a close tie among humans , and food , which lends itself to the application of ical ecology study of environmental themes that are inherently tied to human political , economic , and social factors . Figure Scenes from the village ( photos Christian Kelly Scott ) Livelihoods in these rural communities are centered on mixture of sedentary agriculture practiced in mountain valley villages and stock management in mountain pastures . Environmental making and identities , explained in detail below , are reproduced in the types of food that are prepared , preserved , shared , or traded , and consumed in the villages and pastures . This text outlines the ways in which the theoretical foundations of political ecology are demonstrated in the meaning of food for the people in a rural community . The principles of political are demonstrated in Ways that the composite ings of food in multiple in this area . Drawing on data collected throughout four seasons of the same year in rural CHRISTIAN KELLY SCOTT AND CHI 203

southern , our examination of food demonstrates how diets and meals the surrounding mountain ment . 155 310 ' Russia , Figure Map showing the location of in Asia POLITICAL ECOLOGY The theory of political ecology enables the analysis of humans and the environment as innately linked together through actions among biophysical , cultural , economic , political , and social Five core concepts make up a framework for political ecology environmental knowledge , environmental and identity , environmental change , environmental , and environmental political objects and Environmental subject making and identity means that people . Neely 2015 . Gavin et al . 2015 Robbins 2012 . 204 FOOD IN

behaviors and livelihoods ( their actions ) within ence what they think about the environment ( their ideas ) which in turn who they think they are ( identities ) In food studies , political ecology is useful for the that people have in their food relationships within the context of their environment . This concept is brought to light here by examining how people perceive food in communities . By applying this framework to the study of food , we were able to focus on ways in which people derive meaning from what they eat , how they eat it , and where it comes from . We reached beyond the surface of merely analyzing interviews and embraced the connections and of political ecology . With this focus in mind , we analyzed interviews of local residents conducted in their homes and ( a round mobile dwelling used by nomads ) villages , and pastures to shape our understanding of food as a source of identity and practice . RESEARCH PROCESS We conducted 44 interviews with adults in a rural southern community . The interviews took place throughout the ter , spring , summer , and fall of 2019 , and aimed at understanding seasonal aspects of food security . Interviews were recorded in and translated into English for analysis . The interviews allowed for an open discussion about rural life , food systems , and relationships with the surrounding mountain Transcripts were coded to focus on identifying , describing , and linking . Robbins 2012 , 216 . Scott 2021 . 2016 . CHRISTIAN KELLY SCOTT AND CHI 205

Pastures and livestock Traditional livelihoods in rural are oriented around practices . These include sedentary agriculture duces a small yield of crops ( such as potatoes , which can grow in the harsh conditions with the limited growing season ) and seasonal vertical transhumance ( movement from higher pastures in the summer to lower pastures in the winter ) The latter takes place with livestock ( mostly horses , cattle , and sheep ) in mountain pastures . One mother of five highlighted the importance of livestock by saying , Well , our life revolves a round the livestock , each day , repeatedly . Thats the reality in the village . Thats the way we live . We have no other income apart from The mountain pastures are therefore key places of tal interaction . This interaction takes the form of spatial ment when traveling in pasture and staying in and villages , as livestock is grazed , slaughtered , herded , breed , sheared , and milked . The foundation of seasonal diets is derived from stock and livestock products . These ideals were voiced by one mother as she was baking bread with her daughter People love dairy products here in the village . Dairy products are our main diet . People call it , which means white The times when cows produce less milk we say , We are having a tough time without white Today our cows are out in pasture , so we are having tough times . To cope with the shortage of milk , once in a while we go to pasture to bring some milk , and examples of white foods . But the adaptive food preparation strategies that households deploy to make it through times of scarcity are also tied to identity and the historical legacy of the community . One father of six said , You can also preserve a mixture of yogurt , butter , and for years . This is why were called the 206 FOOD IN

nomad nation . Our ancestors practiced a lot of these methods because it was easy to take those foods Movement in pastures and the legacy of nomadic movements are tied to the meaning of food tion and food consumption . In this way , food preservation takes on a meaning not only as a source of resilience to food shortage but also as a celebration of the proud heritage among the people . Seasonal diets The passage of seasons in the mountains of the southern highlands the precise makeup of household diets . Another mother of five articulated this by saying , Of course , household diet changes seasonally . During autumn we have high harvest , so we have a lot to eat , and we eat a lot . In February and March our are over , so we have difficulties . Not difficulties actually , because we know spring is coming , so we will have food then . The local environment changes starkly with the season . Winter is characterized by thick snow cover , and summer is accompanied by lush pastures , so the food status of households also changes . Diets are closely related to the relationship that the community has with the environment through these changes . In winter , food is in short supply and diets need to change to consume fewer fresh foods . Community members said that the utilization and availability of foods often coincide with the processes of raising livestock in the mountain pastures . Another mother of five explained , When the fall comes , our livestock gets fat , times of abundance , everything is ripe . We cook a variety of dishes . In the winter and spring , consumption of meat and nutritious food decreases In eral , spring is a time of Here we see how livestock and pastures relate to the perceived abundance or scarcity of food throughout the year . The reference to fall and summer CHRISTIAN KELLY SCOTT AND CHI 207

dance is in stark contrast to the previous mother reference to times of difficulty when there may be an acute shortage of food in winter and spring . The importance of meat Food can take on a meaning reflective of the ethnic that links the mountain environment and pastoral movement through explicit statements that community members made about meat Meat is the most important ingredient in our meal . It should always be available . A meal without . is like a calorie food . We can live without meat . If we eat food with no meat in it , we can feel a With those words , this mother explained how meat is vital to making life possible in the and , without it , survival would be difficult . Meat comes from livestock that are well suited to life in the mountains sheep , horses , cattle , and goats . The type of meat that was available was also seasonal , depending on whether the livestock were in distant pastures during summer or in village stables during winter . But meat is about more than just also links the ethnic identity of the people to the surrounding mountain First of all , we consume the all people And , when asked about the foods they eat , one young mother of two said , Mainly we eat fried dough , rolled dough with , steamed potatoes , etc . We fry potatoes , meat . You know , foods . These are our main To these community members , to be , at least in these communities in the mountainous rural highlands , is to eat meat . Nature provides The final observation that demonstrates the meaning of food as a source of environmental identity among community members is how the respondents articulated their relationship with and 208 FOOD IN

of nature as a source of resilience and sustenance . One grandfather of eleven stated , We , people , are ancient people . We are resourceful . Even if we do not have flour today , for example , we will find a way to make it work somehow If we have no imported groceries , we can go to the mountains , hunt mountain deer , and still get by . Or we can set bird traps to hunt for This grandfather linked their identity and ancestral heritage to the resilience that the environment enables through foods . Another community member cussed the importance of nature in providing nutritious , sourced foods . Likewise , a young father of one son linked natural foods to previous generations and traditional medicines Today they also collect from the mountains . There are things to collect , thanks to God . For example , they collect black currant , green onions . They save some for winter , they eat some . In the old times , everything depended on the mountains People eat more things that are natural There are also special herbs for medical DISCUSSION Our observations and interviews show how the idea of mental subject making and identity is linked to the meaning of food in a setting . The livelihoods and personal of these community members are shaped by their surrounding mountain environment . One community member , a father of four , perhaps said it best and most simply Here everything is connected to . We eat clean . We have clean The fundamental implication of this research is that the meaning of food , as seen through a political ecology lens of subject making and identity , is not an abstract ideal . Community members stated clearly that food took on a meaning that how the surrounding ecology shaped their lives and their own environmental identities . It also speaks to the importance of incorporating everyday experience into food CHRISTIAN KELLY SCOTT AND CHI 209

studies , especially when examining something as complicated as the meaning of food and the role of food in shaping identities . CONCLUSION This study provides a practical example of how food is in a unique environmental and sociocultural context . The observations of pastures and livestock , seasonal diets , the of meat , and foraging from the landscape demonstrate the interconnected relationship between food , identity , and the . Food may not mean the same thing to everyone in the same community , let alone to different populations in different geographic . It is therefore helpful to bring critical perspectives to the forefront , particularly for research conducted in places that are in studies , such as Central Asian countries and , specifically , communities in rural Discussion questions What does food mean to the members of in rural ?

How do the meanings of food , the environment , and personal identity relate to each other in this context ?

Drawing on your own experience ( identify a food that is connected to both identity and the environment . How do the meaning of food , the environment , and personal identity relate to each other in this context ?

How does this relationship differ from example from rural . See Ellis Lee 2005 2015 . 210 FOOD IN described in the chapter above ?

How does each of the four and livestock , seasonal diets , the importance of meat , and nature the connection of food to everyday life in the highlands ?

What are some potential observations about everyday life and food that shape your ?

This research was supported by the William Foreign Scholarship Board , the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Research Project ( Accession 101325 ) the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( Award ) the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National of Child Health and Human Development ( Award ) Pennsylvania State University Libraries ( Whiting Indigenous Knowledge Student Research Award ) and the Social Science Research Institute . the Department Economics , Sociology , and Education ( ME . John Memorial Endowment Graduate Student Dissertation Research Award ) the College of Agricultural Sciences Office for Research and Graduate Education , the Office of International Programs , and the Institutes for Energy and the Environment of the Pennsylvania State University . The and conclusions do not necessarily reflect the view of the funding agencies . References Bridge , McCarthy , and . 2015 . Editors In The Handbook of Political Ecology , edited by Tom , Gavin Bridge , and James McCarthy . New York , CHRISTIAN KELLY SCOTT AND CHI 211

NY Ellis , and Lee . 2005 . Collapse of the Livestock In Prospects for Pastoralism in and From State Farms to Private Flocks , edited by . London , UK . Neely , 2015 . Internal and the Limits of Local A Political Ecology of Tuberculosis in the Time of Annals of the Association of American 105 ( Robbins , 2012 . Political Ecology A Critical Introduction . Ed West , UK well . Tyler , Ahmed , Harvey , 2011 . Situational sis Report Improving economic outcomes by expanding nutrition in the Republic . Washington , World . 2016 . The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers . ed . Los Angeles , CA Sage Publications . Scott , 2021 . The Pasture , the Village , and the People Food Security Endowments and in the Southern Dissertation . University Park , PA Pennsylvania State University . 2015 . Situation Analysis of Children in the 212 FOOD IN