EASC has recently launched a new project that will combine Area Studies, the hard Sciences, and Humanities more generally: Cultures of Fermentation (link to youtube video: https://youtu.be/4Hl2ZR3wGyM). The project assumes a holistic approach to the study of food systems, from the social cultures that define how and what we eat, to the microbial cultures that determine the metabolic structures of our digestive system.
Interest in fermentation has risen steadily in the US over the past decade and experienced a boom during the Covid pandemic as sourdough starters and kimchi pots became the lockdown diversion of choice for millions of people across the world. It is regarded by many observers as one of the areas in the food sector with the highest growth potential while simultaneously being one of the most revolutionary fields in health and medical sciences. East Asia, with its long and rich history of fermentation, is a natural source of inspiration and knowledge in this field, and EASC sees it as part of its mission to facilitate the development of these epistemologies for a wider audience.
In contrast to most other studies of fermentation, this project takes its starting point in how humans interact with their nutritional sources and not with the chemical properties of individual food items or microbes. While bioscience researchers have demonstrated the remarkable value of the pre- and probiotic qualities of a wide range of fermented foods, they cannot explain or predict how consumers will interact with those foods. In South Korea, every school child eats the spicy kimchi daily, and Japanese children are taught to eat miso soup with practically every meal – a cultural phenomenon utterly unthinkable in today’s educational and dietary system in the US. Despite the obvious nutritional and health benefits associated with such food cultures, even Korea and Japan are experiencing a decrease in the consumption of traditional fermented foods in favor of highly processed foods, resulting in a rise in diabetes, obesity, and mental problems.
To better understand the cultural food value systems that encourage or prevent the proliferation of fermented foods and associated health benefits, EASC will over the next few years seek new insights into the complexities between society and nutrition, environment and micro-biomes, human cultures and bacterial cultures through historical and sociological studies of East Asian food cultures.
With these issues in mind, EASC staff writer and MA student in East Asian food studies, Adam Noffsinger, will travel to Japan this summer to examine how people interact with their microbial food companions through conversations with producers and consumers and firsthand experience with the products, techniques, and traditions that place Japan at the pinnacle of fermented food culture. Over the following weeks Adam will share his experiences through regular posts to this blog and invites the wider EASC community to follow along as he explores the enchanting world of Japanese fermented food culture.
Looking forward to learning more about this subject.