Food and UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Program
Food and UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage Program
- Jenny L. HermanJenny L. HermanKU Leuven
- , and Raúl MattaRaúl MattaInstitut Lyfe
Summary
[This is an advance summary of a forthcoming article in the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Food Studies. Please check back later for the full article.]
Since the first inscriptions of food-related elements in UNESCO’s List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity (ICH) in 2010, the concept of food-as-heritage has grown and transformed, much like the field of food studies, to encompass an ever-expanding array of foodways, culinary products, and practices across the globe. Today’s social, digital, economic, and ecological realities have greatly transformed from the moment of these first inscriptions, which listed the “Gastronomic meal of the French,” the Mediterranean diet,” and “traditional Mexican cuisine.” Tracing its roots back to the 1989 “Recommendation in the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore,” and passing through the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, we can trace a shift from valorizing and giving visibility to cultural elements, with an eye on the Global South (departing from the dominant Western concept of built heritage, focused on churches or monuments) to an intention to preserve cultural practices through education and generational transmission. Food, however, according to Chérif Khaznadar (senior advisor for the French Cultural Commission to UNESCO) and other skeptics, was never intended to enter into this realm of internationally protected cultural recognition. Following inscription, critics worried about the inherent commercial component of foodways, the essentialization of practices, the impacts of tourism, and imbalances of power related to both representation and access to economic benefits. The state of UNESCO-inscribed ICH foodways today raises questions linking back to these initial concerns. This article will trace the emergence of food as part of UNESCO’s ICH program and outline key considerations and debates surrounding foodways and processes of heritagization. From discussing the concept of universal values and questioning top-down initiatives and power structures to exploring nation-branding, commodification, and links with culinary nationalism, this article presents the complexities of safeguarding food and of striking a balance between tradition and innovation. These discussion points will return to central questions relevant to the broader heritage field: By whom, for whom, and for what purposes is inscription sought?
Subjects
- Food Globalization and Industrialization