Enrique Salmon
"Eating is not only a political act, it is also a cultural act that reaffirms oneâ€™s identity and worldview," Enrique SalmÃ³n writes in ,Eating the Landscape,. Traversing a range of cultures, including the Tohono Oâ€™odham of the Sonoran Desert and the RarÃ¡muri of the Sierra Tarahumara, the book is an illuminating journey through the southwest United States and northern Mexico. SalmÃ³n weaves his historical and cultural knowledge as a renowned indigenous ethnobotanist with stories American Indian farmers have shared with him to illustrate how traditional indigenous foodwaysâ€”from the cultivation of crops to the preparation of mealsâ€”are rooted in a time-honored understanding of environmental stewardship.,In this fascinating personal narrative, SalmÃ³n focuses on an array of indigenous farmers who uphold traditional agricultural practices in the face of modern changes to food systems such as extensive industrialization and the genetic modification of food crops. Despite the vast cultural and geographic diversity of the region he explores, SalmÃ³n reveals common themes: the importance of participation in a reciprocal relationship with the land, the connection between each groupâ€™s cultural identity and their ecosystems, and the indispensable correlation of land consciousness and food consciousness. SalmÃ³n shows that these collective philosophies provide the foundation for indigenous resilience as the farmers contend with global climate change and other disruptions to long-established foodways. This resilience, along with the rich stores of traditional ecological knowledge maintained by indigenous agriculturalists, SalmÃ³n explains, may be the key to sustaining food sources for humans in years to come.,As many of us begin to question the origins and collateral costs of the food we consume, SalmÃ³nâ€™s call for a return to more traditional food practices in this wide-ranging and insightful book is especially timely. ,Eating the Landscape ,is an essential resource for ethnobotanists, food sovereignty proponents, and advocates of the local food and slow food movements.
Nonfiction,Food and Drink,Food,Anthropology
Eating the Landscape: American Indian Stories of Food, Identity, and Resilience