Fourteenth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Food always played a significant role in the enactment and transmission of culture. Against the backdrop of international migration being at its all-time high and the global food system blurring cultural boundaries and testing planetary limits, our desires and choices in food consumption are often steered by global trends and societal notions of wellness and ethics. The food we choose to ingest has a profound impact on everything from our bodies’ cellular makeup to our planet’s ecological state. In this speculative co-creation workshop, participants will engage in hands-on hummus making. To inform our recipes, we will delve into the intersection of semiotics and sustainability. By looking at the migration of the dish from the Levant to the West, we will examine how recipes are transformed by various socio-geographic landscapes, focusing on the semiotic shifts they undergo along the way. We will contemplate the shifting definition of locality and authenticity for different consumer groups and frame additional definitions of quality. The outcomes of these inquiries will be made explicit through multiple hummus variations that align with various culinary sense-making perspectives and factors of sustainable nutrition. We will taste our creations to evaluate at which point a legume paste loses its ‘hummusness’, what is found, and what is lost in the translation of food.