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 1 st June 2016
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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
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”