What a stimulating videoconference we had on Saturday morning! Many thanks to everyone for that probing and far-ranging conversation. I truly felt that, cameras and all, we achieved lift-off together.

There are many significant topics from this session that we will want to return to. But as you post about the readings for this week I would encourage any connections with Saturday’s discussion of local versus global perspectives on food.  Both Berry and Trubek raise points we just considered together. Trubek, especially, speaks to the local-global dialectic. She explores the applicability of the notion of terroir, from the French wine-making tradition, to a variety of other foods around the world. As I mentioned to you earlier, she has studied Anthropology at the graduate level in addition to her current teaching in Food Studies and her work as a professional chef. Her background in cultural analysis is especially helpful in looking at how community and social customs are sometimes left out the reckoning when people write about terroir. I’m thinking here especially of her analysis of l’Affaire Mondavi.