Books in the L'Europe alimentaire/European Food Issues/Europa alimentaria/L'Europa alimentare series

The circulation of goods, ideas, and people has shaped a common European food culture. But practical questions pertaining to this process remain unanswered. How and why do changes in food habits occur and what are their implications? What are the social and cultural processes involved between hosts and migrants and how do they play out in the face of economic and political imperatives? This book addresses these questions through the combined study of food and migration in the past. By building on studies in the fields of anthropology, geography, history, and sociology, the present monograph analyzes the public foodways of Italian migrants in Brussels at the turn of the twentieth century as a way of exploring how migrants used the business of food to construct meaning and articulate sentiments of belonging. It describes and discusses Italian neighborhoods, migratory patterns, occupations, and food businesses (i.e. cafes, restaurants, shops, and peddling activities) by applying quantitative and qualitative methods of interpretation to archival, business, journalistic, and photographic sources. The study bridges a gap in the historiography of Italian food and migration by providing a Western European counterpoint to Italian experiences in North and South America and a thorough discussion of the forging of Italianness outside of Italy at a crucial time in that nation's history. This book ultimately underlines the creative and innovative role migrants play in the social and cultural processes that shape human societies.

Since the end of the nineteenth century the dairy sectors of some industrialised European and American countries have experienced a phase of growth that took place at a different rate and in a different manner in each country, and which was made possible by the availability of raw materials and a more widespread knowledge of scientific and technological methods. The sector¿s expansion was favoured by a revolution in transport networks, the beginning of globalisation in world markets and, decisively, by advances in packaging and refrigeration techniques. Italy in particular, despite its low availability of raw materials compared to other countries, rose quickly throughout the last century to become one of the largest international producers and exporters of cheese, especially of high value PDO cheeses. What factors were behind this achievement and which were the strengths and weaknesses of the sector during the twentieth century? The articles presented in this volume attempt to provide an answer to these questions from different points of view and using different interpretative approaches. The geographical range covered by these studies also reaches beyond Italy in order to look at other countries with relatively ancient dairy traditions. This comparative approach, although limited to just a few countries, is important in that it allows us to describe the evolution of a milk and dairy sector which has had such a large influence on the economic life of many regions in the Italian peninsula.

It discusses for the first time at a scholarly level the historical origins of typical food. Holding on a multi-disciplinary approach and a broad geographical scale, it unveils that typicality is the result of dialectical relations between places and savoir-faire, industrial innovation and traditional skills, quality and reputation.

Entre succès, déclin, relances et patrimonialisation, cet ouvrage pluridisciplinaire interroge les causes et les mécanismes des trajectoires des produits alimentaires en Europe et sur le continent américain. Il vise à comprendre comment et pourquoi certains produits déclinent, disparaissant totalement ou bien renaissant plus tard.La problématique du déclin permet de mieux comprendre comment un aliment s¿inscrit dans des modes de consommation en perpétuelle évolution, parvient à se diffuser sur le marché, à acquérir une certaine renommée, avant de se voir concurrencer par d¿autres, jusqüà devenir une culture résiduelle. Elle conduit à interroger les choix alimentaires et leurs contraintes, les orientations du secteur agroalimentaire, les questions de santé publique, d¿environnement, etc. Au carrefour des enjeux contemporains de l¿agriculture, de l¿alimentation et du développement territorial, les questions de la relance et de la patrimonialisation des produits sont largement présentes dans ce livre. Les études de cas proposées mettent notamment en lumière les ressources économiques, mais aussi patrimoniales, identitaires et politiques, que peuvent représenter ces produits oubliés. Success, decline, relaunche and cultural heritage; this multidisciplinary work asks questions as to the causes and mechanics of trajectories for food products in Europe and the Americas. The authors try to understand how and why certain products declined, were side-lined, disappeared or even found a second-wind, at a much later date. Questions of decline allow for a better understanding as to how a food fits into evolving consumer habits; demonstrating how such products arrive at the point of sale and how competition, ultimately, affects the market helps to reveal how renowned local products became part of the cultural heritage. Food choices and their constraints, the direction of the food production industry, public health, the environment ¿ all are questions vital to a complete understanding of the products.Situated at the crossroads of agriculture, food production, territorial development, relaunches and cultural heritage; all are present in this work. The case studies bring to light economic and cultural resources that discuss questions of identity and politics that can best