Culture Agriculture Food and Environment最新文献

{"title":"Multispecies Solidarity: How People and Cinchona Survived the COVID-19 Pandemic in Loja, Ecuador","authors":"Katharine McNamara","doi":"10.1111/cuag.70011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cuag.70011","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article uses the case of <i>Cinchona officinalis</i> entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic to explore how dynamics of care and extraction figure within the construct of multispecies solidarity. <i>C. officinalis</i> is an endangered medicinal tree that holds global historical significance as a natural source of quinine. In Loja, Ecuador, <i>C. officinalis</i> trees were extracted for their bark or “casarilla” to the point of near-extinction in the late 1800s. Today, the trees continue to play a significant role in local health knowledge and practice, making them vulnerable to exploitation when disease events spike demand for medicinal resources. During the COVID-19 pandemic, entrepreneurs played a unique role fostering solidarities with <i>C. officinalis</i> by developing cascarilla-based products that reduced pressure on wild trees while enabling local health practices. Drawing on interviews and participant observation with entrepreneurs, cascarilla harvesters, and consumers, the author uses the phrases solidarity <i>through</i> and solidarity <i>with C. officinalis</i> to highlight how seemingly instrumentalist interactions with medicinal species are tied to practices of care that enable more-than-human communities to navigate global health crises. Yet, as the following analysis highlights, the ability to enact solidarities with nonhuman species is strongly shaped by social status and economic resources. Ultimately, this article diversifies understandings of what multispecies solidarity can look like while critically engaging in questions of who is best positioned to participate. Such considerations are essential as communities prepare for futures in which pressures on medicinal species become more frequent amid recurring disease crises.</p>","PeriodicalId":54150,"journal":{"name":"Culture Agriculture Food and Environment","volume":"47 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cuag.70011","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145779553","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Essential Work in Essential Oil Production: Ravintsara Distillation in Madagascar During the COVID-19 Pandemic","authors":"Chanelle Adams","doi":"10.1111/cuag.70010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cuag.70010","url":null,"abstract":"<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, global demand for ravintsara (<i>Cinnamomum camphora</i> ct 1,8-cineole), an introduced yet naturalized medicinal tree, surged due to its reputed antiviral properties. In Madagascar's highlands, informal distillers (<i>mpitanika ravina</i>) became essential workers, producing ravintsara essential oil around the clock with leaves supplied by equally informal collectors to meet urgent export orders. The labor of harvesting and distilling, or transforming leaves into a liquid therapeutic commodity for export, constitutes a critical but largely obscured node in the essential oil value chain. This article argues that the designation of essential extends beyond the product itself to encompass the work sustaining its production for alternative health markets during the pandemic. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic research in Madagascar's Central Highlands, I examine how Malagasy workers ensured the continued production of plant-derived anti-virals under volatile market conditions, precarious labor arrangements, and pandemic restrictions. Rather than focusing on smallholder farmers or industrial exporters, this study centers on those situated between cultivation and export, specifically leaf collectors, still builders, distillery owners, and distillation workers. By attending to essential oil extraction, and the labor, infrastructures, and technical expertise it requires, the article demonstrates how informal workers sustain global supply chains, adapt to public health crises, and shape the production and circulation of alternative medicine commodities.</p>","PeriodicalId":54150,"journal":{"name":"Culture Agriculture Food and Environment","volume":"47 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cuag.70010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145779422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Special Issue Introduction: Ethnographic Perspectives on Pharming: How Farmers Participate in the Cultivation and Circulation of Plant-Derived Pharmaceuticals","authors":"Megan A. Styles","doi":"10.1111/cuag.70009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cuag.70009","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;Not long after I began researching hemp agriculture in Illinois, I found that some CBD growers refer to themselves as “pharmers.” This term reflects their fervent belief in the health benefits and transformative potential of CBD. They view themselves as farmers who are growing medicine, and they work to legitimize the pharmaceutical value of CBD hemp. They often argue that CBD is fundamentally more natural and effective than synthesized commercial drugs and share stories of customers who have replaced “a list of prescriptions as long as your arm” with just one remedy for their anxiety, chronic pain, or related disorders—CBD. Being a pharmer is more than just a play on words. It is a powerful identity that underscores their commitment to both farming and expanding access to plant-derived medicinal products they believe are cheaper and more effective than many prescription drugs developed by “Big Pharma.” After these conversations, I kept thinking about the possible theoretical and rhetorical value of the concept of “pharming.” Who else could be considered pharmers, and how might it be valuable to think about their activities through this lens?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anthropologists have long been interested in medicinal plants and diverse healing paradigms. A rich tradition of ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological research in anthropology focuses on the medicinal uses of plants within particular cultural contexts, how communities care for these plants, and debates surrounding intellectual and cultural property rights in the context of drug development (c.f., Etkin &lt;span&gt;1993&lt;/span&gt;; Etkin et al. &lt;span&gt;2011&lt;/span&gt;; Hsu and Harris &lt;span&gt;2010&lt;/span&gt;; Posey &lt;span&gt;2002&lt;/span&gt;). Ethnographers have also investigated the large-scale cultivation of medicinal plants for global markets. For example, recent research focused on two different plants with anti-malarial properties (cinchona and artemisia) reveals how colonial-era cinchona plantations in India transformed landscapes and communities (Middleton &lt;span&gt;2021&lt;/span&gt;, &lt;span&gt;2024&lt;/span&gt;) and how postcolonial artemisia cultivation shapes politics and farmer livelihoods in Madagascar (Robbins &lt;span&gt;2025&lt;/span&gt;). The concept of “pharming” brings these sometimes divergent research traditions into productive conversation with one another and encourages us to focus more closely on what it means to intentionally cultivate or harvest plants with medicinal properties that have become (or are in the process of becoming) global commodities. Some of these plants may be deeply connected to local healing and subsistence traditions; others may be novel and/or non-native cultivars. In all cases, local and global discourses about health and well-being shape the ways that pharmers and consumers perceive the value of these plants and embrace their role(s) in the development and circulation of plant-based remedies.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The four articles in this special issue help us think more deeply about the phenomenon of pharming, defined as the cu","PeriodicalId":54150,"journal":{"name":"Culture Agriculture Food and Environment","volume":"47 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cuag.70009","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145779385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"CBD Hemp Pharming in Illinois: Working to Legitimize an Enduringly Illicit Crop","authors":"Megan A. Styles,&nbsp;Courtney R. Roberts","doi":"10.1111/cuag.70008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cuag.70008","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Based on interviews and participant observation activities conducted in 2024, this article investigates the perspectives and experiences of Illinois farmers cultivating CBD (cannabidiol) hemp. The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill legalized hemp, defined as cannabis containing &lt; 0.3% delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the intoxicating compound found in marijuana. Hemp includes both non-intoxicating CBD varieties used to help alleviate anxiety, pain, and related disorders, and industrial varieties grown for fiber and food. Illinois passed a bill legalizing hemp agriculture in 2018, inspiring an explosion of interest among farmers in growing CBD. The first several years of CBD agriculture in Illinois followed a “boom and bust” cycle, with many farmers struggling to process and market their hemp. Six years after legalization, CBD growers remained suspended in a difficult transitional moment. They successfully overcame many of the initial challenges associated with growing and processing CBD hemp, but they still face profound legal gray areas and uncertainties. CBD may technically be legal, but it is enduringly <i>illicit</i>, as it is subject to lingering stigmatization and regulatory ambiguities that pose serious challenges for farmers. These issues have been exacerbated by the legalization of recreational marijuana in Illinois. The perspectives and experiences of these Illinois CBD farmers reveal the hidden political and social work involved in “pharming” cannabis, how farmers navigate regulatory uncertainty, and how the current structure of the U.S. cannabis industry pits smallholders and subsector stakeholders against one another, furthering trends toward corporate consolidation. This case study also illustrates how small farmers in the U.S. face pressures to innovate and diversify but often struggle to benefit from agricultural policies and programs that promote the adoption of novel crops.</p>","PeriodicalId":54150,"journal":{"name":"Culture Agriculture Food and Environment","volume":"47 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cuag.70008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145779500","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Changing Role and Challenges of Women in Agriculture in the Era of Agricultural Transformation in Northern Ghana","authors":"Gloria Afful-Mensah,&nbsp;Joseph Awetori Yaro,&nbsp;Ibrahim Wahab,&nbsp;Michael Ben Awen-Naam","doi":"10.1111/cuag.70007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cuag.70007","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Ghana is one of the few countries in Africa that is experiencing rapid agricultural transformation, in farm size expansion and commercialization, though it is unclear yet whether this transformation is proceeding in an inclusive manner. Using both quantitative and qualitative data collected in 2020 from Northern Ghana, which is predominantly made up of patrilineal communities, this study analyses how social norms interplay with agricultural transformation to influence women's role in contemporary agriculture. Our findings suggest that while women are actively engaging in the transformation, their progress is slowed by sociocultural norms and economic-technical challenges. Patriarchal norms, especially in areas like Karaga, restrict women's independent land access, as land rights remain controlled by traditional leaders. Women also face labor conflicts, which compel them to prioritize work on their spouses' farms over their own, which in turn hampers their productivity. Furthermore, inadequate storage facilities, which all farmers face in the study areas, impact women the most, compelling them to sell their produce immediately after harvest, which reduces their incomes. To improve women's roles in the new commercial agricultural landscape, both informal local and formal national institutions need to evolve in tandem with the new realities.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":54150,"journal":{"name":"Culture Agriculture Food and Environment","volume":"47 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145772376","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Johnny Appleseeds of Ginseng: Pharming, Folk Genetics, and Nature Restoration in Appalachia","authors":"Katherine Farley","doi":"10.1111/cuag.70005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cuag.70005","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>American ginseng (<i>Panax quinquefolius</i>) is a medicinal root that is native to eastern North America. Wild ginseng populations appear to be in decline due to destructive land-use policies and harvest rates above the plant's capacity to reproduce. To combat this, many ginseng harvesters in the Appalachia region of the United States advocate for restoring wild ginseng populations through seed planting, but there are vehement disagreements on whether to use commercially grown seeds from outside the region, or to exclusively use locally obtained “native” seeds that can only be procured in limited quantities. I explore how local understandings of “genetics” contribute to harvesters' beliefs about which strategy will likely achieve conservation goals and which approach is harmful or counterproductive. I argued that local understandings of plant genetics build on conceptions of heritability and natural selection that draw from, but are not entirely consistent with, mainstream understandings of genetics in scientific biology. Finally, I argued that differing opinions about genetics and ginseng seed planting are not merely an expression of value-neutral objective science. Embedded in these approaches are beliefs about who is supposed to benefit from conservation and what activities are permissible in “wild” places.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":54150,"journal":{"name":"Culture Agriculture Food and Environment","volume":"47 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145772304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"“We Have Never Seen These Things in Our Entire Lives”: Perceived Impacts of and Responses to Climate Change Among Sidama Agropastoralists Residing Near Hawassa, Ethiopia","authors":"Eden Blackwell,&nbsp;Courtney Helfrecht,&nbsp;Samuel J. Dira","doi":"10.1111/cuag.70004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cuag.70004","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Developing countries are experiencing the effects of climate change and urbanization simultaneously, often without the economic or political capital to address the impacts. Smallholder farmers in these countries are particularly vulnerable, given their limited resources and dependence on rainfed agriculture. On the African continent, Ethiopia is among the countries most impacted by climate change, largely due to drought, in recent years. To examine these intertwined challenges, we explored perceptions of weather change, effects on livelihood and well-being, and resultant coping strategies among Sidama agropastoralists living in Loqqe, a lowland, peri-urban village near Hawassa, Ethiopia. Results from semi-structured group and individual interviews indicate a keen awareness of weather changes, with farmers noting an emerging ecosyndemic. This is due to decreased crop productivity and an inability to save water, compounding negative impacts on physical and mental health, and leading to the modification of traditional practices that were previously protective in times of environmental instability.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":54150,"journal":{"name":"Culture Agriculture Food and Environment","volume":"47 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145779588","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Food and Relatedness From Past to Present in the Arbëreshë Community of Molise. The Evolving Power of Food Gifts as Binding Agents After 1960s Industrialization","authors":"Elisa Pastorelli","doi":"10.1111/cuag.70003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cuag.70003","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article investigates how the changing value of food due to the transition from famine to abundance after industrialization in the 1960s generated a shift in sociality and ways of being together in the Arbëreshë community, who immigrated to Molise during the sixteenth century. The fact that food remains a means of reaffirming and strengthening relationships during key rites of passage, such as marriage and death, can be considered representative of the power of eating—especially commensality and the gift of food—to create relatedness. However, the attraction of notions of “typical” and “local” food leads the community to package and stage “authentic” culinary festivals in an attempt to build touristic relationships. Focusing on why visitors attend such festivals, together with who they are, this article investigates the actors of returning tourism and the existential authenticity they seek from and among themselves. This study concludes by reflecting on the role that anthropological research can play in enabling locals and tourists to perceive a comprehensive vision of their community's sociocultural environment, relationships, history, and tradition through food culture; thus, they can achieve a more authentic sense of self and more satisfying engagement with the people and places around them.</p>","PeriodicalId":54150,"journal":{"name":"Culture Agriculture Food and Environment","volume":"47 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cuag.70003","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145772393","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Developing the Heirloom Gardens Oral History Project","authors":"Hanna Garth,&nbsp;Tessa Desmond,&nbsp;Kimberly Jackson,&nbsp;Gloria Wade Gayles,&nbsp;Holly Smith,&nbsp;Bonnetta Adeeb,&nbsp;E. Fatimah Hassan,&nbsp;Christian Keeve,&nbsp;JahAsia Jacobs,&nbsp;Ayluonne Tereszkiewicz,&nbsp;Justice Madden","doi":"10.1111/cuag.70001","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cuag.70001","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This article outlines the process of developing a collaborative multi-sited oral history project on the history, traditions, and ongoing resilience of Black and Indigenous farm and garden practices in the Southeastern United States and Appalachia. The Heirloom Gardens Oral History Project is a collaboration between the Ujamaa Cooperative Farming Alliance, the Spelman College Food Studies Program, and the Princeton Food Project. Our model used student oral historians that we trained in oral history methods and ethics. Our initial goal was to collect oral history interviews and develop an engaging open access multi-media archive. The project documents seed saving and gardening stories from people who have helped preserve Black and Indigenous foodways, including elders and newer generations of gardeners and small-scale farmers. The stories serve as an important record of heirloom practices with rich cultural traditions and knowledge. Collectively, the archive documents the movement of seeds, practices, and ideas across people and space. This article details our process of conceiving the project, building collaborations, and the results of 2 years of oral history collections in six different field sites. We believe this project can serve as a model for developing similar oral history projects.</p>","PeriodicalId":54150,"journal":{"name":"Culture Agriculture Food and Environment","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cuag.70001","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144767668","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Qingming Festival and Traditional Chinese Cuisine: A Cultural Journey Through Ancestral Rituals","authors":"Feng Mao,&nbsp;Biyu Wu,&nbsp;Qian Luo,&nbsp;Yizhi Sun,&nbsp;Shili Liu,&nbsp;Yexuan Yu","doi":"10.1111/cuag.70000","DOIUrl":"10.1111/cuag.70000","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The Qingming festival (Qingming jie, 清明节), a significant Chinese cultural event, has been widely studied for its agricultural, ancestral, and entertainment aspects. However, a comprehensive analysis of its food customs, their evolution, and their cultural significance across different regions of China remains a notable gap in existing literature. This study addresses this lacuna by employing document analysis to examine the origins, evolution, symbolic meanings, and cultural impact of Qingming festival food customs, with a particular focus on the consumption of eggs, wheat, bird-shaped foods, and green-colored foods. The research reveals three key findings previously underexplored in academic literature: (1) the festival's syncretic nature, incorporating elements from ancient festivals like the cold food festival (Hanshi jie, 寒食节) and the Shangsi festival (Shangsi jie, 上巳节); (2) the profound symbolism in traditional foods such as qingtuan (青团) and Zitui buns (Zitui bing, 子推饼), reflecting concepts of renewal, fertility, and filial piety; and (3) the adaptive capacity of these customs in modern society, maintaining cultural significance while evolving to meet contemporary needs. By establishing novel connections between Qingming food culture, ancestral veneration, and traditional Chinese medicine, this study provides the first comprehensive, cross-regional analysis of the festival's multifaceted role in Chinese culture. This study aims to contribute to our understanding of the Qingming Festival's culinary traditions and their role in preserving and adapting intangible cultural heritage in contemporary Chinese society.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":54150,"journal":{"name":"Culture Agriculture Food and Environment","volume":"47 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.8,"publicationDate":"2025-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144767667","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}