Abstract

The Rippling Effects on Crayfish Farming in Three Cultures

Recent anthropological studies on Asian foodways have brought attention to changes in the local dynamics of production, representation, identity construction, post-modern consumerism, etc.; in particular, they have highlighted the globalization of local foodways as well as the localization of foreign foodways in various countries, reminding us that foodways are simultaneously local and global in terms of production, manufacturing, and marketing. Much scholarly attention has been given to the social and cultural construction of foodways; yet, a truly comprehensive view of food cannot neglect the politics of food production. We also should not overlook the global movement of ingredients which travel from region to region and even across oceans from continent to continent. This research project is designed to examine the influences brought by the move of red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) from the Southern United States to Asia, on crayfish farming in China, Japan and the United States. Making use of participant observations and interviews in the field, I will examine individual and community responses toward adaptation, consumption and conservation in relation to crayfish farming/production. Through this holistic approach, I would like to discover how the introduction and cultivation of a new non-local food species has contributed to changes in farming methods, trading network and conservation efforts in contemporary Asia. With the ethnographical approach focusing on the changing mode of production, I aim to understand the rippling effects of crayfish farming on people’s changing life styles, changes in values, and formation of policies and meanings.

(For more information, please contact: sidneycheung@cuhk.edu.hk)

 

淡水小龍蝦養殖業在三種文化間的漣漪效應

人類學最近對於亞州飲食文化的研究使人們對地方性的生產、代表性、身份建構和後現代的消費主義之間的互動的轉變產生了興趣,特別是對不同國家的本土飲食文化的全球化和外來飲食文化的本土化。這些皆提醒了我們,飲食文化無論在生產、製造和銷售方面均同時存在著本土和全球的兩面。雖然不少學術的關注已放於飲食文化在社會和文化方面的建構,但是真正全面的研究是不可以忽略飲食生產中的政治學,以及食材在區與區和洲與洲之間傳送的全球性活動。這項研究的設計是細查淡水小龍蝦(英文名稱:red swamp crayfish;學名:Procambarus clarkii)由美國南部帶到亞洲的活動對於在中國、日本和美國的養殖業的影響。透過田野的參與觀察和訪問,我將會探究個人和團體對於淡水小龍蝦養殖業和生產業的適應、消費和保育。從這全觀的角度,我希望發掘新非本地品種淡水小龍蝦的引進和培殖如何對當代亞洲的養殖方法、貿易網絡和保育策略產生轉變。我會從民族誌學角度對生產模式轉變作重點研究,以理解淡水小龍蝦養殖所帶來的漣漪效應對人們的生活方式和價值觀的變化,以及對政策的制定和意義。

如想獲得更多資料,請聯絡張展鴻教授 sidneycheung@cuhk.edu.hk

Related articles [相關的論文]

  • 2008 從路易斯安那州運來的『南京小龍蝦』身上的食物文化政治。《明報》《世紀人文•關懷•視野》,20/01/2008
  • 2009 The Social Life of American Crayfish in Asia. Presented in the international symposium "Globalizing Food Consumption and the Construction of Social Identity," held in the Institute of Comparative Culture Office, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan, Feb. 21-22.
  • 2009 The Crayfish across the Pacific. Presented in the international conference "Eating Chinese: From Foodstuffs to Cuisine to Cultural Exchange," held in Brown University, Rhode Island, USA, April 23-25.
  • 2009 禍福從天降:南京小龍蝦的環境政治。(Mis)Fortune comes from the Heaven: Nanjing Little Lobster and Politics of Environment. In The Proceedings of the 11th Symposium on Chinese Dietary Culture《第十一屆中國飲食文化學術研討會論文集》Chinese and Northeast Asian Cuisines: Local, National, and Global Foodways. Taiwan: Foundation of Chinese Dietary Culture, 13 pages.

 
 
         
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