Breaking down the personal and professional: an exploration of British food activism through oral history

Lauren Blake University of Sheffield/The British Library/LCIRAH City University London Food Research Collaboration Food Thinkers Seminar 1st June 2016

Oral History collection at the British Library

§  The British Library has a vast and rich collection of national life stories and oral histories held in its sound archives, and food is being increasingly explored as a focus

§  The current collections that hold material relating directly or indirectly to food include: §  Food: from source to salespoint; An oral history of the wine trade; Tesco: an

oral history; Pioneers in charity and social welfare; Millennium memory bank; Leaders in national life; Animal welfare activists

§  Food, in particular the more political side (British food activism), was identified as a gap within oral history and the collections at the BL

§  The oral histories collected are therefore being deposited as a new oral history collection if the British Library’s sound archive

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Oral History and Life Stories

§  Emerged as a discipline during C20th

§  Seen as ‘giving voice’ to the marginalised

§  Fought for respect against orthodox historical research methods considered objective, scientific and delivering the ‘truth’

§  Oral history acknowledges multiple truths that are subjective and seeks to explore how the past is understood and its relationship with the present §  “the present itself is historical” (Bertaux 1983) §  “memory is living history, the remembered past that exists in the present” (Frisch 1990)

§  Takes a ‘whole life’ approach

§  Crosses disciplinary boundaries such as history, human geography, psychology, sociology, anthropology and linguistics

§  Oral history life story interviews are on average between 4 and 20 hours long

Perks & Thomson 2006, Thompson 2000

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British Food Activism

§  Food activism in Britain has deep roots and has intensified post-war

§  Growth and professionalisation of recent British (food) activism

§  Issues addressed by civil society movements seeking to change parts of the food system: §  Agriculture (e.g. organic, smallholder, agroecology,

GMOs), animal welfare, local and seasonal food provision systems, trade, vegetarianism/veganism, nutrition/public health, food safety, food security/famine, food waste

§  How ‘alternative’ these are is contested (see work by Whatmore 2003, Kirwan 2004, Kneafsey 2008, Belasco 2007)

§  Working definition of activism – “create change beyond oneself”

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PhD Research

§  Collaboration of the British Library and Sheffield University

§  Record 15-20 oral history interviews for a new collection on Food Activism to be held at the BL to be the basis of my PhD research and thesis

§  Collected 17 oral history interviews (ranging from 4-16 hours in total length)

§  Elements of ethnography (attending activists’ events and activities, opportunities to spend time with them outside of the interview setting)

§  Interviewees from a range of organisations and movements, covering environmental, health, social and economic issues

§  Also used other material at the BL, including other relevant oral history interviews from other collections as secondary data

Organisations

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Research topics of interest

•  Food and Identity in the context of food activism •  Identities: social class, gender, health, consumer, parent, etc. (‘activist’ the right label?) •  particularities of food compared to other types of activists •  how activists define themselves in relation to food, how food features in their lives •  food activists’ commonalities and differences

•  What oral history contributes to understanding food activism: •  nuances and practicalities of the method •  advantages, disadvantages and limits •  food as a vehicle for exploration in oral history •  memory and narrative of food activists

•  How can British food activism be defined •  national identity, historical context, food activists’ commonalities

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Themes

•  Childhood and early adult life influences •  Social class •  Personal diet, food habits, relationship with food, family •  Crossover of food issues (personally & professionally) •  Image/appearance as activist •  Optimism •  Sense of duty •  Ethnic diversity

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Social Class

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Is food special?

Foodie:apersonwithanardentorrefinedinterestinfoodanddrinkwhoseeksnewfood

experiencesasahobbyratherthansimplyea8ngoutofconvenienceorhunger...

some8mesassociatedwithasnobbisha=tude.

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Disconnected?

INPUTS

Agrichemicals, pharmaceuticals, equipment, seeds

PRIMARY PRODUCTION

Farming, fishing, horticulture, plantations

PROCESSING & MANUFACTURE

Craft / large factories

DISTRIBUTION & LOGISTICS

National / international, import/export

RETAIL

markets, shops, supermarkets

FOODSERVICE

catering, cafés, restaurants, public sector

DOMESTIC FOOD PREPARATION

International Organizations à Policy guidelines, advice, etc

Regional bodies à Regulations, law, subsidies, etc

National governments àLaws, regulations, subsidies, etc

Socio-cultural influences, eg religion, gender, family

Consciousness industries, eg

advertising, media

Public health, hygiene controls, risk management

Energy inputs

Fuels

Civil society organisations

Finance capital

Training & education

Research, development, engineering &

technology

Fig 2.2 The food system, its inputs, outputs and influences source T Lang M Heasman (2015) Food Wars. Abingdon: Routledge 2nd edition

Local governments àLaws, regulations, subsidies, etc

Social impact Waste & biological outflow Energy & material outflow and emissions

Economic drivers eg price, profits,

trade

Public health & nutrition outcomes

Cultural impact

Environmental ‘givens’ eg climate,

water, land, biodiversity

CONSUMPTION

Labour

Skills, livelihoods

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“If you wanna do a professional job then dress professionally… make sure that you sound and come across in a way that is going to have the greatest influence… it’s simply about how you present yourself”

Philip Lymbery, Compassion in World Farming

The Method

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Thank you!

Questions?

Feedback?

Reflections?

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