Grants and Contracts Details
Description
Project Summary:
Problem Statement: Macro-level analyses demonstrate that contemporary, unprecedented levels of
urbanization, departure from agrarian livelihoods, & industrialization in developing nations are linked to
post-WWII policies favoring farm consolidation, agricultural "modernization", & agro-export production
(over food self-sufficiency). While contemporary neoliberal policies perpetuate these trends, Hondurans
(like residents of other developing nations) face a growing "food crisis" & a global economic slowdown
that threatens recent, limited industrial gains. Despite growing concern & a proliferation of macro-level
analyses, much remains unknown about the niicro-leve~-individual, household, & community-dynamics
of contemporary agro-economic change, particularly among non-indigenous peoples in Latin America.
The proposed ethnographic, political-economic investigation of foodways in Petoa, an industrializing, pen-
urban mestizo community in northern Honduras, offers theoretical & practical insight on these micro-level
dynamics of agro-economic change. This investigation explores the social, cultural, & political-economic
dimensions of food use & acquisition among those on the front lines of the agrarian transition (including
families who rely on some subsistence production & those who have ceased to do so); it focuses, in
particular, on how food use, consumption, & acquisition practices in Petos relate to social & political-
economic forces in Honduras, Latin America, & the globe.
Method and Analysis: This ethnographic study employs observation, focus groups, case studies, &
semistructured interviews with specialized informants (e.g. farmers, food vendors) & all adult members of
30 households (selected through purposive sampling to represent differing socioeconomic statuses,
demographic compositions, & levels of reliance on subsistence farming). Semistnsctured interviews
provide data on how food is used, consumed, & acquired in Petoa, & by households & individuals with
different characteristics; household case studies supplement interviews by providing data on intra-
household dynamics & daily food-related behaviors and attitudes. Focus groups, along with daily
participant observation, help elucidate the dynamics of interpersonal interactions, "ongoing social
discourse[s}," & "collective meaning making" not present in one-on-one interview settings (Kamberelis &
Dimitriadis 2005:902). Both direct observation of food retailers & participant observation furnish details
about community dynamics & food-related behaviors &, thus, context for the analysis.
Intellectual Merit: Taking food as a lens of analysis, this study contributes to advancing social science
knowledge on agro-economic change & urbanization/industrialization in developing nations. In
anthropology, this study represents a much-needed move beyond analyses that focus solely on food
production or consumption (Lien 2004b, Phillips 2006); it moves beyond analyses that see people in the
developing world as food producers, & those in the developed world as consumers (see Phillips 2006). In
focusing on the various ways food is acquired-through farming/gardening, as a purchased commodity,
though gifts, barter, or other exchange-this study recognizes food as an item which is both a product of
local production and a market commodity. It also explores food practices in a community facing radical
changes in food acquisition, production, & consumption options associated with agro-economic change.
Broader Impacts: This study contributes to the education of a female graduate student who will pursue a
career in higher education in the US. Moreover, it investigates how relatively impoverished Honduran
mestizos, or Iadinos, an understudied group, negotiate foodways (& related socio-economic changes) in
their daily lives. All results will be returned to the community (in the form of Spanish-language reports &
presentations) & will be presented widely in Honduras & the United States; professional contacts with the
Honduran Institute of Anthropology & History & US anthropological associations will facilitate this process.
The project has practical value for those seeking to craft responsive social, agricultural, & economic
policies & programs. The project moves beyond macro-level analyses that attend to economic &
demographic dimensions of agro-economic change by providing information on the social, symbolic, &
political-economic dimensions of food use & acquisition. The researcher will give back to Petoa by
donating project supplies to the school & clinic (upon project completion) & by offering free English
classes, a scarce educational resource.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 4/1/10 → 3/31/11 |
Funding
- National Science Foundation: $10,500.00