I now wish\nto briefly address the current state of affairs with regards to ethnic cuisine\nand cultural identity in progressive food movements. The primary focus of\nprogressive\/alternative food movements\u2014at least, the most widely recognized\ngoals of same\u2014has been combatting the total industrialization of the food\nsystem. Because such well-meaning efforts arose and are enacted specifically against<\/em> this system, it follows that\nsome of the industrialized (and specifically, American) food system\u2019s faults\nare reflected in opposition movements. The food production and consumption\ninfrastructure in the United States is designed to increase the profits of\nmega-corporations by addressing the demand of the \u201caverage\u201d consumer. This\n\u201caverage\u201d typically refers to the white, socio-economically mobile middle\nclass. Though there has been significant scholarship and advocacy with regards\nto food justice and security for underserved racialized communities, the\nprimary messaging in opposition to the existing system represents a white,\nprivileged perspective. The loudest calls for change come (as discussed above)\nin efforts to propagate eating local, eating organic, and increased attention\nto \u201csustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Immigrant and\/or transnational communities often factor into\nthese conversations only in response to criticisms of prevalent \u201cwhiteness\u201d and\nthe socio-economic privilege inherent in \u201cvoting with your fork.\u201d The mere presence of an apparently diverse\nparticipation is often touted by white advocates as \u201cproof\u201d that the movement\nis inclusive. This is dangerous and ultimately detrimental to the cause of\ntransnational inclusion, as Kolavalli points out: \u201cBy using visible phenotypic\ndifference as a marker of diversity, inclusion, and equity, this\nresponse\u2014whether intentional or unintentional\u2014diverts discussion away from the\nstructural, often invisible ways that racial inequity still exists in the local\nfood system.\u201d (65) In other words, pointing out that a market stand has\nimmigrant regulars is in no way a barometer of cultural inclusivity in the\nmovement. Simply stated, if the change that progressive movements seek is on a\nsystemic level, then the acknowledgement and inclusion of othered identities\nmust be as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The unnerving complications in discussions of diversity also\nplay a major role when examining Slow Food. Membership of this global movement\nadvocating local food and visceral pleasure is predominantly white and middle\nclass, much like the independent local food movements and arenas (such as\nfarmer\u2019s markets) discussed above. Due to this similarity, there can also be a\ntendency with Slow Food\u2019s rhetoric to \u201cfetishize cultural diversity in order to\nsatisfy the appetites of a privileged minority.\u201d (Donati, 229) Even projects\nwithin the organization that seek to protect culturally valuable flora and highlight\nthe efforts of individual food producers (Slow\nArk<\/em>, for example) can often become \u201cimperial encounters\u201d where\ninterviewer\/nominee relationships display the troubling scars of skewed\npost-colonial power dynamics. (Donati, 234)<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is important to note that these problematic interactions\nand forms of rhetoric are not intentional and conscious acts of aggression on\nthe parts of agents within progressive food movements. This acknowledgement,\nhowever, only further highlights just how much work must be done to attain true\ncultural inclusivity in movements such as these. Even in direct responses to\ncriticisms of whitewashing and white privilege, Slow Food\u2019s representatives\noften inadvertently echo the aforementioned post-colonial scars:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen\nI think of unity, I think of all the people unaware of Slow Food\u2019s mission for\ngood, clean, and fair food for all. I think of food deserts and low-income\ncommunities\u2014people with rich food narratives who live their lives aligned with\nSlow Food principles, but do not know about the global movement.\u201d <\/em>(Hernandez,\n2017)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Statements such as these reinforce savior\/savage notions,\nimplying a paternalistic relationship between those \u201cdoing good\u201d and those\nwhose unfortunate ignorance prevents their moral and social ascension. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When looking for examples of immigrant\nand transnational presence in food system reform, it might be more helpful to\nfocus on the realm of food justice. A branch of reform efforts which emphasizes\nthe human element of food production and acknowledges the diversity of\nchallenges facing different groups of people, food justice often finds its\nheavy lifting carried out by regional organizations. These smaller outfits\noften gain traction and become national movements, as in the case of the\nCoalition of Immokalee Workers, which began its farmworker advocacy in small-town\nImmokalee, Florida\u2014and has since swayed the policies of such big name players\nin the food chain as Walmart and McDonald\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Organizations like the Food Chain\nWorkers Alliance (Los Angeles), Community to Community Development (Washington\nState), and the Agricultural Justice Project are among many more groups that\nwork to improve the food system. They focus their efforts on improving\nconditions and pay for laborers\u2014often new immigrants\u2014which in turns increases\nequity across the board, from the farmworkers in the fields to truck drivers,\nto those stocking the shelves at your local grocery store. Soul Fire Farm in\nNew York is dedicated to training underserved communities in food growth and\nproduction, slowly eroding the overarching whiteness of the food industry. All\nof these groups and their efforts deserve praise and support, as each\ncontributes an important piece of the puzzle that my eventually come together\nto create a more sustainable food future\u2014for the planet and for the people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My original question asks how cultural identity\u2014specifically that of transnational communities and immigrant populations\u2014can become a fundamental tenet of progressive food movements. Despite acknowledging the work of the aforementioned organizations, it still feels as though this does not directly address the issue. Fighting for the rights of farmworkers and increasing representation for immigrants and their struggles for food sovereignty is incredibly important work, but how does this connect to those families who upon arrival wish to espouse the values of those fighting for a more equitable and sustainable food system, but feel unfairly excluded?<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the\nsignificant forms this has taken has been in the restaurant industry. Historically,\none of the main entry points for immigrants into the U.S. economy has been in\nfood service. This is irrefutably evidenced by the close relationship between\nChinese immigrants and the spread of Chinese-American restaurants, and also in\nthe more recent trend of \u201cexotic\u201d foods cropping up in urban food cart pods\nnationwide, and on the social media feeds of hip \u201cfoodies.\u201d As awareness for\nthe necessity of food system reform has grown, consumer demand has increased\npressure on restaurateurs to source their ingredients responsibly. In this way,\nvarious influences have created an environment in which a transnational\nidentity can truly thrive, creating new cultural hallmarks that enact aspects\nof the home and host countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The intersectional possibilities of a transnational identity can be put on full display in running a restaurant. Restaurateurs seek to address the demands of an increasingly aware customer base, both in terms of cultural identity and food system sustainability. Many businesses now aim to satisfy a growing list of interests: those guests who have never heard of the food, and come seeking education and discovery; first generation immigrants or international visitors who crave the authenticity of their childhood dinner tables; gourmands in search of the next \u201cbig thing\u201d in pop culture foodie-ism; and diners steeped in ideals of sustainable\/responsible eating and food service. We can conceive that this last grouping often adheres more strongly to these ideals than to their particular nationality, effectively putting \u201ceating identity\u201d on the same level of self-identification as place. This process creates a new node along the food chain; a locale where a variety of identities can come together, learn, and create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Restaurants like Archipelago<\/em> in Seattle, Washington exemplify this rich transnationality. Here Amber Manuguid and Aaron Verzosa\u2014Filipinx-Americans from the Pacific Northwest who met at the University of Washington studying their cultural roots\u2014created a space defined by an intriguing combination of tradition, innovation, and sustainability. Manuguid and Verzosa endeavor to revisit familiar Filipinx foods, tweaking recipes to include ingredients that can be produced locally. They might substitute verjus from Washington grapes for vinegar, for example, or use cranberries in place of tamarind. (Hill, 2019) They have also established fruitful relationships with local Filipinx farmers who are producing many ingredients familiar to a Filipinx eater, but are rare in typical northwest groceries. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What is the status of ethnic\/immigrant cuisine in ongoing progressive food movements? I now wish to briefly address the current state of affairs with regards to ethnic cuisine and cultural identity in progressive food movements. 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