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Chapter Title Ethnicity, Ethnic Identity, and Food Copyright Year 2014 Copyright Holder Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Corresponding Author Family Name Ternikar

Particle Given Name Farha Suffix Division Department of Sociology Organization Sociology, LeMoyne College Address 19 Salt Springs Road #342, Syracuse,

NY, 13214, USA Email [email protected]

1 Ethnicity, Ethnic Identity, and Food

2 Farha Ternikar* 3 Department of Sociology, Sociology, LeMoyne College, Syracuse, NY, USA

4 Synonyms

5 Exotic food; Immigrant food; Immigration

6 Introduction

7 This entry explores ethical issues concerning ethnicity, ethnic identity, and food in the United States. 8 This entry focuses solely on the United States because of its large diversity and immigrant 9 population. However, there are parallel cases in Canada and England where ethnicity is tied to 10 multicultural societies, recent immigration, and racial classification. 11 In the US context, food has been used to maintain both ethnicity and symbolic ethnicity for early 12 and more recent immigrants. However, ethnic food can also be a pathway to both understanding new 13 immigrant groups as well as alienating the other, especially racial and ethnic minorities. Ethical 14 debates surrounding how and why we consume ethnic food expand our study of ethnic food 15 especially in the US context. 16 Ethnicity is largely tied to an understanding of race but has been differentiated as based on culture 17 and ancestral heritage, while race is a constructed category based on perceived physical differences 18 (Gans 1979; Lu and Fine 1995). Ethnic food in the United States historically becomes a significant 19 marker of identity for immigrants, Italian and Jewish, by the 1920s (Diner 2001; Gabaccia 1998). 20 More recently, ethnic food is a marker of community ethnic and religious identity for Latina, 21 African, South Asian, and Middle Eastern immigrants. 22 The study of ethnicity and ethnic food is interdisciplinary and includes important philosophical 23 and sociological theoretical frameworks. Narayan’s work problematizes the ethical aspects of eating 24 ethnic food and particularly the food of the “other.” She explores how consumption of ethnic food 25 can be linked to reducing xenophobia. Appadurai examines how the imposed construction of 26 a national cuisine often linked to postcolonial projects and can lead to gastronomic imperialism. 27 Heldke introduces and problematizes cultural food colonialism as the process of eating food from 28 developing or third-world cultures and how sociohistorical processes like colonialism play a role in 29 how and why we exotify food of the other. These social and philosophical discussions of ethnic food 30 are significant to understanding the ethical implications of ethnic food and ethnicity.

31 Exploring Ethnicity, Ethnic Identity, and Food

32 Key concepts and themes in the discussion of ethnicity, ethnic identity, and food include ethnicity, 33 symbolic ethnicity (Gans 1979), immigrant identity (Diner 2001; Gabaccia 1998), food parochial- 34 ism, and culinary imperialism (Heldke 2003; Narayan 1997). Community, solidarity, and identity

*Email: [email protected]

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35 are all important functions of food (Anderson 2005). Abarca (2004) also looks at ethnicity through 36 the lens of authenticity as a creation. This is an ethical issue as it questions who has power in 37 constructing authenticity or who has claim to authenticity?

38 Ethnicity and Symbolic Ethnicity

39 Ethnicity is largely seen as a social construction based on shared cultural heritage, and race is 40 understood as a social construction based on shared perceived physical traits. This section explores 41 how ethnicity and symbolic ethnicity can help frame our discussion on ethnic food, ethnicity, and 42 ethics. How ethnicity is displayed is one aspect of the ethnic dimension of food. Ethnicity of white 43 ethnic groups is often more palatable to the dominant group. 44 Gans historically defined ethnicity in the United States as symbolic ethnicity pertaining to third- 45 generation immigrants and future generations who have been able to successfully assimilate into the 46 dominant culture including Irish, Italian, and Jewish Americans (Gans 1979). Symbolic ethnicity 47 refers to an optional ethnicity available largely to white ethnic immigrants in multicultural societies. 48 In this case, we focus on the United States because ethnic identities are often understood, created, 49 and maintained through food, cultural events, and communities (Lu and Fine 1995). 50 Isajiw (1993) and Van den Berghe (1984) explore approaches to the social scientific definitions of 51 ethnicity. Isajiw explains that ethnicity is a social construction based on perceived cultural traits that 52 takes place in everyday life (1993, p. 4). Van den Berghe also understands ethnicity as a social 53 concept and (1984) understands food as an expression of ethnicity. “Our cuisine is the symbolic 54 expression of our sociality, first in the intimate domestic sphere, and by extension with the larger 55 group that shares our specific culinary complex: the inventory of food items, the repertoire of 56 recipes, and the rituals of commensalism. Along with language, the food complex becomes a basic 57 badge of ethnicity” (van den Berghe 1984, p. 392). He also claims that food is easier to maintain and 58 share than an ethnic group’s language or religion, so in many ways, food is the key to cultural 59 transmission (Van den Berghe 1984, p. 393). Van den Berghe ultimately argues that the culinary 60 complex is often the easiest way to reinforce ethnic ties and pass on ethnicity (Van den Berghe 1984, 61 p. 393). 62 Lu and Fine (1995) explore the meaning of ethnic food in their exploration of ethnic restaurants 63 and ethnicity and identity. Their research emphasizes how cultural symbols are used to display 64 ethnicity, and ethnicity “depends on a set of consistent actions that permits others to place an 65 individual in an ethnic category” (Lu and Fine 1995, p. 535). Ethnicity is ultimately realized in the 66 United States through festivals, food, and consumption. Fine and Shun Lu emphasize that like 67 ethnicity, authentic ethnic food is a social construction, and “the secret of the acceptance of ethnic 68 food resides in the harmonization and compromise between seemingly contradictory requirements: 69 being authentic and being Americanized, maintain tradition while unconsciously modifying it” 70 (Lu and Fine 1995, p. 547). 71 Herbert Gans may have once referred to this type of identity maintenance as symbolic ethnicity, 72 but further research on Italian immigrants reveals that food for Italian immigrants includes varieties 73 of ethnic cuisine, structure (meal times), and rituals that continue to reinforce family and community 74 ties. Food is a way to maintain much more than symbolic ethnicity for many immigrants in the 75 United States. 76 Memory food is one way that immigrant women recreate a homeland in the American diaspora. 77 Memory food is both a method for remembering one’s ethnic and cultural heritage through cooking 78 with family members and a technique for preserving culinary skills, through the sharing of food

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79 preparation. Memory foods are the dishes that are passed on from one generation to another often by 80 grandmothers and mothers rather than through recipes (Camargo Heck 2003, p. 216). Memory food 81 allows immigrants to maintain and renegotiate food traditions and ethnic identities but also create 82 ethnic solidarity (Camargo Heck 2003, p. 217). Ray also explains that foodways are a way for 83 society to understand how immigrants and ethnic groups construct class, ethnic, gender, and 84 religious identities (Ray 2012, p. 43). “Q1 The importance of food in immigrant culture makes 85 restaurants, grocery stores, and kitchens important sites where ethnicity is practiced and reproduced 86 on a daily basis (Ray 2012, p. 198).

87 Ethnic Identity, Immigrants, and Food

88 Food has been an avenue for American immigrants to maintain ethnic identities within families and 89 communities. Hasia Diner (2001) and Donna R. Gabaccia’s (1998) historical work on food, 90 ethnicity, class, and immigrant American families demonstrates the significance of food in commu- 91 nity and ethnic identity maintenance for Italian, Irish, and Jewish immigrants. Gabaccia’s work 92 highlights how food has been a means of ethnic identity building for Italian immigrants through 93 community and shared meals. Diner adds a class and comparative analysis to Gabaccia’s work as she 94 points out how food was a way of breaking down class divisions historically for Italian, Irish, and 95 Jewish immigrants in the early twentieth century. Vallianatos and Raine (2008) explore how 96 consuming food is linked to constructing immigrant identities for South Asian and Middle East 97 immigrants. Vallianatos and Raine explain that “Food also connects across time and place, and for 98 many migrants, food is an essential component of maintaining connections to home. How and what 99 kinds of food are consumed recall families and friends left behind, and by continuing to consume 100 both everyday and celebratory food migrants preserve these transnational relationships and enact 101 their companionship with those back home” (2008, p. 357). Food is used to maintain a connection to 102 the homeland, and through the consumption and creation of traditional food, immigrants are able to 103 do this (Vallianatos and Raine 2008, p. 368). 104 Studying food is a way to also study ethnicity, culture, community, and identity. Gabaccia 105 emphasizes that studying food is a mechanism for studying multiethnic societies (p. 9). American 106 immigrants maintained immigrant foodways because food helped maintain tradition, social distance 107 from other ethnic groups, and social status (p. 51). “American food” was ultimately created as 108 a social construction in opposition to ethnic food in the late nineteenth century by American 109 “cultural elites” (p. 125). 110 The first wave of acceptance of ethnic food in the United States occurred during the 1960s and 111 1970s largely because of an increase in immigration and counterculture (Belasco 1989; Johnston and 112 Baumann 2010). However, “ethnic food” must be placed in a contemporary sociocultural context. 113 Hippies and counterculture groups often saw ethnic food as an alternative to imperialism and 114 capitalism (Gabaccia 1998, p. 212). “For some counter-cultural Americans, seeking a healthier 115 way to eat returned them to their own ethnic traditions. Vegetarian and healthful versions of ethnic 116 foods developed alongside the traditional ethnic fare offered at food festivals and featured in 117 community cookbooks in the 1970s” (Gabaccia 1998, p. 214). “By the1980s 10 % of all restaurants 118 in the US were ethnic. The majority of these ethnic restaurants were Chinese, Italian and Mexican” 119 (Gabaccia 1998, p. 218). By the 1990s, foodie tastes favored the natural, organic, and exotic which 120 also welcomed ethnic cuisine (Johnston and Baumann 2010). This was also partly because of 121 globalization and the continuing increase of immigration in the United States. But ethnic food 122 also became one understanding of multiculturalism and symbolic ethnicity. Eating ethnic food was

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123 one way that Americans often viewed themselves as multicultural, open, and tolerant. Food can be 124 viewed as a gateway to inclusive cultural practices, perhaps decreasing xenophobia. Abarca’s work 125 examines the ethical dimensions of ethnic food consumption. 126 Abarca’s (2004) research explores and questions how society defines and understands ethnic 127 food. She explores and questions the cultural acceptance of ethnic food into dominant American 128 culture, as well as how ethnic food is perceived in terms of real or imagined authenticity. Who has 129 ownership or access to ethnic and or authentic food is an important ethical and philosophical aspect 130 of studying food and ethnicity. She explains that “Without undermining the positive consequences 131 of ethnic food consumption, an overly enthusiastic focus on these social effects can result in creating 132 a deceiving notion of accepting ethnic minorities into mainstream culture” (Abarca 2004, p. 6). Food 133 is often the one aspect of new immigrant communities that dominant cultures find digestible, but she 134 expresses caution pertaining to this perceived acceptance. Secondly, she calls into question how 135 authentic food is understood. Like ethnicity, authenticity is also a social construction. “Q2 Claims of 136 authenticity in ethnic cookbooks and restaurants demonstrate the ideological complexities embed- 137 ded within the phrase, “authentic ethnic food” (Abarca 2004, p. 10). 138 Johnston and Baumann (2010) explore how ethnic connection is an important aspect of how 139 “foodies” understand authenticity in relation to food. The authors define foodies as those who self- 140 identify as having a strong interest in the “education, identity, exploration, and evaluation” of what 141 they perceive as good food (2010, p. 61). Foodies tend to believe that particular ethnic cuisine should 142 be cooked by specific ethnic groups; sushi should be cooked by Japanese and samosas should be 143 made by Indians. How foodies understand authentic food raises ethical issues about how authentic 144 and ethnic food is defined and who defines these terms. This desire for authentic food often results in 145 reductionist understandings of racial and immigrant groups. Johnston and Bauman emphasize that 146 the ethics in assuming ethnic immigrants or racial minorities can inherently cook the food of their 147 cultural ancestors is problematic and often leads to reinforcing cultural stereotypes.

148 Culinary Imperialism, Gastronomic Imperialism, Food Parochialism, and 149 the Future of Ethnic Food

150 Ethnic food also has ethical and political concerns. Recent research has shed light on issues of power 151 and privilege as they relate to ethnic and exotic foods. Appadurai introduces the term gastronomic 152 imperialism as a type of cultural imperialism in which dominant forces impose culinary concepts 153 and values onto a subordinate society or culture. Appadurai’s work on Indian cuisine and cookbooks 154 reveals one type of gastronomic imperialism with the British-imposed creation of curry as the 155 national cuisine of India. Indian food became the ethnic other as a result of British colonialism. But 156 curry became a fabricated national cuisine as a result of British rule. Appadurai explains, “What we 157 see in these many ethnic and regional cookbooks is the growth of an anthology of naturally 158 segregated images of the ethnic other, a kind of ethnoethnicity, rooted in the details of regional 159 recipes, but creating a set of generalized gastroethnic images of Bengalis, Tamils etc.” (Appadurai 160 1988, p. 15). These generalizations of the gastronomic other erase the specific details of regional 161 ethnic cuisines. 162 In Exotic Appetites, Heldke (2003) introduces the concept of cultural food colonialism. She 163 explains that this refers to cooking and eating ethnic foods from “economically dominated” or third- 164 world cultures (2003, xv). Cultural imperialism refers to imposing dominant cultural and social 165 practices, while cultural food colonialism refers to appropriating these practices (xviii). Food 166 adventurers are often engaged in food colonialism as they see eating as an expedition (xxiii). Heldke

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167 emphasizes that food adventurers come from privileged class and often racial positions, and 168 therefore, the ethics of privilege come to the forefront of her analysis. Ethnic food rather than ethnic 169 peoples is often more welcomed by food adventurers in privileged positions (Johnston and Baumann 170 2010, p. 102; Abarca 2004). 171 Uma Narayan (1997, p. 180) welcomes the eating of other cultures over “food parochialism.” She 172 explains that she grew up in a family and community where strict dietary restrictions associated with 173 caste, class, and religion often reinforced strong boundaries and that eating the food of “others” 174 allows for more openness to other cultures, perhaps allowing for less xenophobia. “Growing up in 175 a context where food was intimately connected to caste status and various regimes of purity, it is food 176 parochialism that tends to strike me as dangerous, while a willingness to eat the food of ‘Others’ 177 seems to indicate at least a growing democracy of the palate. While eating ethnic foods in restaurants 178 might result only in shallow, commodified, and consumerist interaction with an ‘Other’ culinary 179 culture, it seems preferable at least to the complete lack of acquaintance that permits the different 180 foods of ‘Others’ to appear simply as marks of their strangeness and’ OthernessQ3 ” (Narayan 1997, 181 p. 180). 182 Kershen’s research highlights that xenophobic attitudes in society were often reflected in food 183 racism, culinary imperialism, and food colonialism, because food can also be a source of racial 184 stereotyping (Kershen 2002 pp. 2–8). Jan Whitaker’s (2005) work on the Anglo-American home 185 highlights themes of race and food purity in the American context.

186 Summary

187 Ethnicity and ethnic food by nature are social constructions and, therefore, will continue to evolve as 188 the makeup of societies and immigrant populations change. In the US context, food has been used to 189 maintain both ethnicity and symbolic ethnicity for early and more recent immigrants and more 190 recently is an avenue for creating community and passing on one facet of ethnicity to the next 191 generation. Ethnic food can also be a pathway to both understanding new immigrant groups and 192 alienating the other, especially in the case of racial minorities. Heldke, Appadurai, Abarca, and 193 Narayan’s theoretical perspectives are important in understanding the ethics of culinary colonialism 194 and ethnic food.

195 Cross-References

196Q4 ▶ Authenticity and Food 197 ▶ Cultural Imperialism and Colonialism in Cuisine 198 ▶ Food and Place 199 ▶ Globalization and Cuisine 200 ▶ Race, Racial Identity and Eating

201 References

202 Abarca, M. E. (2004). Authentic or not, it’s original. Food and Foodways, 12, 1–25. 203 Anderson, E. (2005). Everyone eats: Understanding food and culture. New York: New York 204 University Press.

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205 Appadurai, A. (1988). How to make a national cuisine: Cookbooks in contemporary India. 206 Comparative Studies in Society and History, 30(1), 3–24. 207 Belasco, W. (1989). Appetite for change: How the counterculture took on the food industry. 208 New York: Pantheon Books. 209 Camargo Heck, M. D. (2003). Adapting and adopting: The migrating recipe. In J. Floyd & L. Forster 210 (Eds.), The recipe reader: Narratives, contexts, traditions (pp. 205–218). Burlington: Ashgate. 211 Diner, H. (2001). Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish Foodways in the age of 212 migration. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 213 Gabaccia, D. R. (1998). We are what we eat: Ethnic foods and the making of Americans. Cambridge, 214 MA: Harvard University Press. 215 Gans, H. J. (1979). Symbolic ethnicity: The future of ethnic groups and cultures in America. Ethnic 216 and Racial Studies, 2(1), 1–20. 217 Heldke, L. M. (2003). Exotic appetites: Ruminations of a food adventurer. New York: Routledge. 218 Isajiw, W. (1993). Definition and dimensions of ethnicity: A theoretical framework. Paper presented 219 at Joint Canada United States conference on the measurement of ethnicity, Ottawa, 2 April 1992. 220 In Statistics Canada and U.S. Bureau of the Census (Ed.), Challenges of measuring an ethnic 221 world: Science, politics and reality: Proceedings of the joint Canada – United states conference 222 on the measurement of ethnicity, 1–3 April 1992 (pp. 402–27). Washington, D.C.: 223 U.S. Government Printing Office. 224 Johnston, J., & Baumann, S. (2010). Foodies: Democracy and distinction in the gourmet foodscape. 225 New York: Routledge. 226 Kershen, A. J. (2002). Introduction: Food in the migrant experience. In A. J. Kershen (Ed.), Food in 227 the migrant experience (pp. 1–13). Burlington: Ashgate. 228 Lu, S., & Fine, G. A. (1995). The presentation of ethnic authenticity: Chinese food as a social 229 accomplishment. The Sociological Quarterly, 36(3), 535–553. 230 Narayan, U. (1997). Dislocating cultures: Identities, traditions, and third world feminism. 231 New York: Routledge. 232Q5 Ray, K. (2012). Introduction. In T. Srinivas & K. Ray (Eds.), Curried cultures: Globalization, food 233 and south Asia. Berkeley/Los Angeles: University of California Press. 234 Vallianatos, H., & Raine, K. (2008). Consuming food and constructing identities among Arabic and 235 south Asian immigrant women. Food, Culture and Society, 11(3), 356–373. 236 Van Den Berghe, P. (1984). Ethnic cuisine: Culture in nature. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 7(3), 237 387–397. 238 Whitaker, J. (2005). Domesticating the restaurant: Marketing the Anglo-American home. 239 In A. V. Avakian & B. Haber (Eds.), From Betty Crocker to feminist food studies: Critical 240 perspectives on women and food (pp. 89–105). Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.

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Author Queries

Query Refs. Details Required

Q1 Please provide closing quotes for the sentence starting “The importance of food in. . .”.

Q2 Please provide closing quotes for the sentence starting “Claims of authenticity in ethnic. . .”.

Q3 Please check if “’ Otherness” should be changed to “‘Otherness’”.

Q4 Entry title “Globalization and Cuisine” mismatches with the TOC, Please check.

Q5 Please update chapter title for Ray (2012).

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