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把子肉是什么
“To chew and swallow food to nourish oneself.” This generally accepted dictionary definition refers to the purely physiological aspect of eating. Inevitably reductive, it says nothing about the extent to which this daily act, shaped by cultural imaginaries, taboos and social representations, is at the heart of various crucial concerns.
Globalization and the expansion of the food industry since the second half of the 20th century have revolutionized our eating habits. In many societies, these habits have moved from local, seasonal consumption to the widespread use of processed and imported products. This shift has had environmental consequences, whose effects are being felt more keenly today than ever before. It also has an impact on the health of consumers, against a backdrop of climate crisis, famine and food shortages.
Each dish, each recipe, each ingredient carries within it the marks of a collective past, bearing witness to cultural influences bequeathed by history. The potato, tomato, corn and cocoa crossed the Atlantic to take root in Europe, where they revolutionized the cuisine. Conversely, Europeans also introduced new products, such as wheat, sugar cane and citrus fruits, which have transformed the habits of other continents.
It is no surprise, then, that so many culinary traditions, from the Mediterranean diet to the art of Neapolitan “Pizzaiuolo” and knowledge, know-how and practices pertaining to the production and consumption of couscous, are included on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, as a means of “creating society”, living together and nurturing dialogue between peoples. Flatbread making, inscribed in 2016 at UNESCO by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Türkiye, offers a fine example of the social, cultural, and symbolic role that food plays in everyday life and on special occasions, such as weddings, births, funerals or prayers.
Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are. Cookery speaks of us, of our emotions, of our pleasures and of our dreams. In the Lunyu, Confucius already pointed out that “One never tires of delicious and flavoursome food.” A few centuries later, the philosopher Gaston Bachelard asserted that “eating is . . . a feast for the senses”. Cooking is an invitation to a veritable round-the-world tour – dinner is served!
Agnès Bardon
Editor-in-Chief
