Food as sites of resistance
Solidarity foods
Solid foods
Foods that coalesce
I recently made a batch of maple mead --that is, mead made from fermenting maple syrup instead of honey-- to present at a conference. Mind you, for all its laxness and European flair surrounding alcohol, Montreal has clenched claws when it comes to making/selling alcohol. Trying to serve homebrewed anything can be a bureaucratic nightmare.
Not to be too subversive, but I needed this maple mead to go unnoticed within the confines of an academic conference. A dead giveaway would’ve been having a separate cup. Logistical parameters aside, I decided to change the physical state of my mead and disguise it the form of a gelée.
I decided to transform my food into a solid.
Trying to achieve solid-states can be precarious, like when ‘splitting a gel’ suspension, when gels do not ‘set’ properly, or when entities fail to come together. The magic of bread-baking, for example, occurs when a finicky dough is baked into solid form.
Solids signify a surefootedness, like standing on solid ground. Yet solids can also be limiting: solids are inflexible, impenetrable, and overly structured. When it comes to partial or ephemeral solids, like frozen desserts or the delightful mess that is cream-filled burrata, a textural dimension brings joy that isn’t apparent in its liquid versions.
On a more conceptual level, what brings things together in a way that successfully coalesces? How does this transformation bring about positive change? How do solidity and food intersect? What makes up solidarity foods? How can foods become sites of resistance?
Taking the keyword “solid” in all its attendant meaning, this prompt takes a wide-lens approach to be inclusive of all things solidifying: from literal solid-state foods to the concept of food solidarity. Some potential interpretations to get the juices flowing:
How our food system is built atop a solid base of (exploitative) migrant labor, as evidenced by the recent #adaywithoutimmigrants activism.
Food Not Bombs, a food activism organization, and their epithet: Solidarity not Charity.
The transition from liquid foods to solid ones for infants and the infirm.
The Italian GAS (Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale), which is the Community-Supported Agriculture equivalent, and how the nod to ‘solidale’ pushes back against capitalist hypermarkets.
How else do food and solidity intersect?