Nathan Wang
Food and Colonialism
When colonialism is taught in schools, the curriculum rarely focuses on the role of food both during the colonial project and in its enduring legacies. Food is unique in that it can be used to trace the physical brutality of colonization and its impact on the human body, and because it is a means through which to chart the evolution of sociocultural norms among colonized populations—past and present. In addition to influencing colonial projects across different geographical regions and historical periods, food practices continue to amalgamate and evolve today. Thus, food presents a specific and relevant mode for learning about colonialism.
This module is designed for anyone interested in learning more about food and its history within the context of colonization. More specifically, I intend this module for foodies, chefs, restaurateurs, culinary students—those passionate about food and especially those who make considerable profit from it.
Structure
After completion of the module, learners should be able to: 1) summarize and explain how food has been utilized as a colonizing tool and the effects of food politics within colonization; 2) explain some of the ways global cuisine has evolved due to colonization; and 3) discuss key ways in which food colonization may still occur today.
This module consists of three sections. Each section explores a different aspect of the relationship between food and colonialism. Learners are encouraged to complete each section in order. There is a short list of additional resources provided for the learner’s continued study if a specific topic especially draws their interest. This list can be found at the end of the Learning Resources section.
Nathan Wang is majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Visual Arts at the University of Chicago.
Learning Resources
Section 1: Historical Background
This section explores some of the ways that food became a tool for economic control and a method for cultural domination. It also evaluates the immediate impact of food as a component of colonial methodology.
“How Food Was Used as a Tool of Colonization” (Video)
This brief video provides a broad overview of the role of food in colonialism: noting how colonizers not only altered the diets and food practices of colonized populations but systematically worked to eliminate their food sources. It ends with a prescient discussion on food appropriation.
“Colonization, Food, and the Practice of Eating” (Article)
This article reveals food colonialism to be a matter of both economic control and cultural domination—food also, inextricably, became linked to other notions of cultural and genetic superiority. It concludes by recognizing that colonialism persists in its legacy, one of which is the altered food practices of colonized subjects.
Section 2: Colonialism’s Impact on Global Food Cuisines
This section elaborates upon the impact of colonialism on global food cuisines, tracing how globalization influenced and reshaped food traditions. The bánh mì in Vietnamese cuisine, for example, utilizes French-style bread. On the opposite side of the colonial coin, chicken tikka masala—interestingly not considered commonplace in “traditional” Indian cuisine—has been enshrined as the UK’s national dish. Through examples like these, modern-day food practices can be understood as an amalgamation of different histories, backgrounds, and traditions.
“Colonization of Cuisine: A Literature Review of Food Availability and Acceptability in Canada and Vietnam” (Scholarly Paper)
Author Hedda Nguyen tracks the role and legacy of French colonialism on Indigenous peoples in Canada and the Vietnamese people in this paper. French colonialists altered both the availability and acceptability of food—and Nguyen notes how this desire for acceptability persists in the food traditions seen today.
“The Man Who Relives Slavery Through Food” (Video)
This video features culinary historian Michael Twitty as he discusses his project of spreading and educating people on southern food traditions—a tradition built upon enslaved Africans. His book, The Cooking Gene, elaborates upon topics in the video. You can find a link below.
Section 3: Ongoing Food Colonialism
This section questions ways in which food colonialism still occurs today. It seeks to define, broadly, how food colonialism might be understood before identifying potential examples. This section connects the concern of food colonialism to the context of appropriation as a means for economic profit, e.g., in the restaurant and packaged foods industry.
“Ugly Delicious: Fried Chicken” (Netflix)
This Eater article recaps an episode of a Netflix show featuring David Chang, “Ugly Delicious.” In particular, the episode on fried chicken evaluates how the popular food item has become a confining epithet. Questions of food and cuisine appropriation are also raised.
“A White Restaurateur Advertised ‘Clean’ Chinese Food. Chinese-Americans Had Something to Say About It.” (Article)
This article examines ways in which racism and colonialism persist in the food industry: particularly in the depiction and perception of foreign cuisines. Incorporating the perspectives and opinions of others within the food industry, the author Sharon Otterman reveals the issue of racist perceptions of foreign cuisines, and their subsequent appropriation, to be systemic.
Additional Sources
“The All-American Colonization of Food” (Editorial)
“Foods of Oppression” (Article)
Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History (Book)
Food in World History (Book)
Food Cultures of the World Encyclopedia (Book)
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South (Book)