Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

5-2022

Abstract

International food systems have become ever-more complex through systems of globalization, industrialization and technologization, and have been significantly influenced by, and entrenched in concepts of international development. One small meal can have countless intersections with international laws, domestic laws, environments and people. A simple salsa recipe, for example, containing merely tomatoes, lime juice, garlic, onions, and cilantro, contains in its history a complex story of power, privilege, poverty and possibility. Where did these ingredients come from? Who grew them? Where are those people from? What rights do they have? Innumerable personal stories are hidden within the seemingly innocuous act of eating salsa.

My paper will contribute to discussions on how models of international agricultural development impact human rights, through an anthropological lens that traces salsa ingredients back to their source. Although often praised as beneficial, and even necessary, my paper will argue that the current model of international agricultural development is counter-productive for concepts implicit in the ethos of development, including human rights, health, and resiliency. By tracing ingredients back to their source: limes from Mexico; tomatoes from California; Onions from Ontario; and Garlic and Cilantro from British Columbia, my paper will discuss how models of international development have worked to dispossess communities from their land, and continue to uphold structures of poverty for those who grow our food. My paper will also discuss possible alternatives to the current model of agricultural development.

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