In this chapter students will learn:

• the connections between how people get their food and organize themselves socially
• the differences between food foragers and food producers
• about different types of foraging based on the resources of a given area
• the characteristics of food-producing societies, including horticulturalists, pastoralists, intensive agriculturalists, and industrialists
• the effects of globalization on food availability
• that diverse diets based on nutrient-rich foods can be healthy for the human body

Introduction: Food-Getting Practices

Seeking and producing food and eating are at the center of communal life in human societies. Therefore, human social organization can be identified based on food-getting practices.

Adaptive Strategies: Food Foragers and Food Producers

Foragers (also called hunter-gatherers) use the available resources in the environment by hunting, fishing, and gathering. Food producers transform nature in some way, whether through farming land or raising animals for food. Food procurement strategies are flexible and subject to change.

Food Foragers

Foragers live in bands, divide labor by sex, and have an egalitarian and cooperative system with a lack of specialization. They are nomadic and return to the same locations annually to take advantage of resources.

Food Producers: Horticulturalists

Horticulturalists plant gardens with basic tools to feed their families, often using swidden cultivation techniques. Groups may settle to plant crops once the carrying capacity of their land is overburdened.

Food Producers: Pastoralists

Pastoralists depend upon animal husbandry for their livelihood and nutrition. They are semi-nomadic groups who generally use horses to move herds of animals to pasture seasonally.

Food Producers: Intensive Agriculturalists

Intensive agriculture greatly increases the production capacity of land but requires more intense labor and advanced tools and strategies. Animal domestication, occupational specialization, and the growth of cities accompany the development of agriculture.

Food Producers: Industrialism

Industrialist food production uses highly mechanized processes. Massive fields are often monocropped with one or two crops such as corn or soy. These seeds may be genetically modified for increased protection against pests or for increased output. Industrial farms are commonly referred to as Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), which create challenges for both the health of the land and the farmworkers.

Globalization of Food

Today, producers and consumers of food are linked all over the world in an interconnected chain of supply and demand. In general, people in high-income nations benefit from the globalized food system, while people in low-income nations benefit less or experience negative effects. People—especially in high-income nations—may adopt a deliberate pattern of eating based on cultural values.

The Human Diet

Humans can be healthy eating a wide range of foods, as long as the foods are fresh and not processed.

1. What characteristics distinguish food foragers?

2. What characteristics tend to correlate with the five basic subsistence types: foraging, horticulture, pastoralism, intensive agriculture, and industrialism?

3. What are some of the major changes that have accompanied the industrial and globalized food systems?

4. Since humans everywhere eat different kinds of foods, what seems to be the requirement for a healthy diet?

1. What type of “tool kit” does a modern industrial eater need to survive?

2. Do alternative food movements today have any similarities to any of the traditional foodways?

3. Have you ever sought out foods that were produced, grown, or sold in a particular way due to environmental or health concerns?

animal husbandry (page 106): the use and breeding of animals for purposes that benefit humans

band (page 101): small egalitarian society of food foragers who live and travel together

carrying capacity (page 105): the number of people that can be sustained with the existing resources of a given area

chemical inputs (page 112): synthetic additives, such as pesticides and fertilizers, that raise the yield of crops in industrial agriculture

city (page 110): a settlement supporting a dense population with a centralized government, specialization, and socio-economic hierarchy

community-supported agriculture (CSA) (page 114): a direct-marketing program in which consumers pay up front for boxes of fresh produce that are delivered on a regular basis from the farms where the produce is grown

confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) (page 113): industrial farming enterprises in which large numbers of animals are prepared for human consumption; the basis of conventional meat production

conventional (page 112): a process of growing food in industrial societies that uses pesticides and other chemicals

cooperative society (page 102): a pattern of social life in which resources are shared among the group

domestication (page 109): shaping the evolution of a species for human use

egalitarian (page 102): describes a society in which every member has the same access to resources and status; non-hierarchical

fallow (page 106): describes land that has been cultivated and left unseeded for a season

food foragers (page 99): people who utilize the food resources available in the environment; roughly synonymous with hunter-gatherers

food producers (page 99): people who transform the environment with the goal of food production using farming and/or animal husbandry

foodways (page 99): the methods, knowledge, and practices regarding food in a particular society

genetically modified (GM) (page 112): altered at the level of the gene; refers particularly to food crops that have been modified by introducing genes from another organism to enhance or create desired traits in the species

globalization (page 115): the integration of economic, social, political, and geographic boundaries in complex chains of interconnected systems and processes

glycemic index (GI) (page 117): a measurement of how different foods affect a person’s blood sugar level. Foods that have high numbers on the index (56–100) are those that release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream, resulting in a sharper rise in blood sugar. A diet high in high-GI foods may lead to obesity, diabetes, and other diseases

horticulture (page 104): a method of producing food in which people cultivate the land in small-scale farms or gardens

hunter-gatherer (page 99): people who utilize the food resources available in the environment; roughly synonymous with food foragers

industrialism (page 111): methods of producing food and goods using highly mechanized machinery and digital information

intensive agriculture (page 108): a farming technique that can support a large population using advanced tools and irrigation, and requiring more preparation and maintenance of the soil

locavore diet (page 116): a diet that emphasizes the consumption of foods grown in one’s own community or region

monocropping (page 112): the practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same plot of land

monoculture (page 112): a technique used in industrial farming in which a single crop is planted on a large number of acres

nobles (page 111): high-status members of a society with rank often inherited

nomadic (page 102): moving within a large area frequently in order to access food resources

organic (page 114): a process of growing food that prohibits the use of chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers, irradiation, and genetic modification

pastoralism (page 106): a way of life that revolves around animal domestication and herding animals to pasture

peasants (page 111): low-status members of a society who farm for a living

pulses (page 116): legume seeds that are harvested when dry, includes most beans, chickpeas, and lentils

sexual division of labor (page 102): the sex-based division of tasks in a community

social density (page 101): the frequency and intensity of interactions among group members in a society

specialization (page 102): possessing certain skills that others in the group do not share; characteristic of complex societies

swideen farming/shifting cultivation (page 105): a farming technique in which plant material is burned and crops are planted in the ashes

technology (page 111): the tools, skills, and knowledge used by people to survive

terraced (page 111): a farming technique utilizing graduated steps on hilly terrain

transhumance (page 108): a pattern of seasonal migration in which pastoralists move back and forth over long distances to productive pastures

veganism (page 116): a diet composed of plant-based foods that restricts the consumption (and sometimes the use of) products made from animals or produced by animals (such as milk or eggs)

vegetarianism (page 116): a diet that emphasizes plant-based foods while restricting the consumption of meat and fish

whole foods (page 117): foods that are not processed by chemical or other means; foods in their natural state, either grown or raised

Culture and Agriculture, a section of the AAA
www.aaanet.org

Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition (SAFN)
www.foodanthro.ocom

Human Relations Area Files—Hunter-Gatherers (Foragers)
www.hraf.yale.edu

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)—Pastoralism in the New Millennium
www.fao.org

Anthropology of Food open access web journal
www.aof.revues.org

Anthropology of Food links compiled by Tim Roufs at the University of Minnesota, Duluth
www..d.umn.edu

Foodways

Anderson, S.E. (2005). Everyone eats: An understanding of food and culture. New York: New York University Press.

Counihan, C., & Van Esterik, P. (2013). Food and culture: A reader (3rd ed.). New York: Routledge.

Crowther, G. (2018). Eating culture: An anthropological guide to food (2nd ed.) Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Harris, M. (1985). Good to eat: Riddles of food and culture. Long Grove: Waveland Press.

Lee, R.B. (1969). Eating Christmas in the Kalahari. Natural History, December: 60–63.

Mintz, S.W. (1985). Sweetness and power: The place of sugar in modern history. New York: Viking-Penguin.

Mintz S.W., & Du Bois C.M. (2002). The anthropology of food and eating. Annual Review of Anthropology, 31(1), 99–119.

Diet

DuFour, D.L., Goodman, A.H., & Pelto, G.H. (2013). Nutritional anthropology: Biocultural perspectives on food & nutrition (2nd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press.

Messer, E. (1984). Anthropological perspectives on diet. Annual Review of Anthropology, 13(1), 205–49.

Popkin, B. (2001). The nutrition transition and obesity in the developing world. The Journal of Nutrition, 131(3), 8715–35.

Food-Centered Ethnographies

Cho, L. (2010). Eating Chinese: Culture on the menu in small town Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Counihan, C. (2010). A tortilla is like life: Food and culture in the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Austin: University of Texas Press.

McIlwraith, T. (2012). “We are still Didene”: Stories of hunting and history from northern British Columbia. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.

Paxson, H. (2013). The life of cheese: Crafting food and value in America. Berkeley: UC Press.

Stull, D.D., & Broadway, M. (2013). Slaughterhouse blues: The meat and poultry industry in North America (2nd ed.) Case Studies on Contemporary Social Issues. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Weismantel, M. (1988). Food, gender, and poverty in the Ecuadorian Andes. Long Grove: Waveland Press.

1. Describe the characteristics of a forager society.

Your answer should discuss aspects of the subsistence strategy, social organization, and relationship with the environment. These can include

• foraging of local resources is the primary subsistence strategy.
• living in small groups called bands.
• groups being generally egalitarian with a sexual division of labor.
• groups being generally nomadic.
• foragers who continuously relocate to new resources or collectors who gather resources at temporary base camps and transport foods to a main locale.

See pages 100-104 of your text.

2. What is the connection between subsistence strategy and social organization?

Your answer should be based upon the premise that the subsistence strategy determines the carrying capacity and mobility of people.

• The greater the carrying capacity, the more people can live in an area.
• The greater the mobility, the more people can move to new areas if they require additional food or resources.
• As population increases and mobility decreases, a greater number of people are living in a concentrated area. As the social density increases, there are more opportunities for interpersonal conflict.
• In these situations, groups develop social mechanisms (e.g., ability to join other bands or use new strategies for survival, such as farming) to ensure the group can function and survive.

See pages 98-105 of your text.

3. Describe the characteristics of an intensive agricultural society.

Your answer should discuss aspects of the subsistence strategy, social organization, and relationship with the environment. These can include the following aspects:

• An approach to farming in which the land has little to no fallow period.
• Soils requiring maintenance through fertilizers, crop rotation, and water management.
• Groups that use a variety of domesticated crops and animals.
• Groups that are considered truly settled or sedentary.
• A complex set of social hierarchies generally based on politico-religious leadership.
• Specialization that allows for individuals to practice a non-agrarian occupation.
• Often associated with a market economy.

See pages 108-111 of your text.

4. Describe the characteristics of an industrial food system.

Your answer should discuss aspects of the subsistence strategy, social organization, and relationship with the environment. These can include the following aspects:

• Large-scale farming that requires machines to maintain production.
• Reliant on bio-chemicals.
• The use of monocultured crops that emphasize quantity of produce in a limited space.
• A separation between food producers and consumers.
• Few people produce food for a large segment of society with the goal of profit.
• Negative environmental impacts.
• Associated with a market economy.

See pages 111-115 of your text.

5. How have changes in subsistence strategies affected the human diet?

Your answer should acknowledge that the shift toward agriculture and globalization has had many negative impacts for individuals, despite larger quantities of food being produced. These could include the following aspects:

• The fact that agricultural foods regularly decrease the level of nutrition.
• An increased emphasis on larger quantities of food and its association with obesity.
• The shift to domesticated plants and animals and a decrease in the quality of health.
• The rise in unproven fad diets (e.g., Paleo diet and raw food diet).
• Inequality of access to fresh, healthful food for certain sectors of the population in a globalized economy.

See pages 108-116 of your text.