Chicken for Everyone? A cultural political economy of the popularity of chicken meat in Bolivia.
(2020) In Gastronomica 20(4).- Abstract
- Over the last 50 years, the production and consumption of chicken meat have soared in Bolivia. This paper analyzes the political, economic, and cultural developments that have led to the popularity of chicken meat in this country. It also asks who has benefitted from this success story. The author uses data from one year of multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in Bolivia in order to give an account of the history of industrial chicken meat production in the country. This paper particularly brings out the role that national elites and their political entanglements have played in the development of the poultry sector. Marketing campaigns playing on desires to join Western modernity have fostered a taste for industrial chicken meat. Constant... (More)
- Over the last 50 years, the production and consumption of chicken meat have soared in Bolivia. This paper analyzes the political, economic, and cultural developments that have led to the popularity of chicken meat in this country. It also asks who has benefitted from this success story. The author uses data from one year of multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in Bolivia in order to give an account of the history of industrial chicken meat production in the country. This paper particularly brings out the role that national elites and their political entanglements have played in the development of the poultry sector. Marketing campaigns playing on desires to join Western modernity have fostered a taste for industrial chicken meat. Constant overproduction has kept market prices low, so that chicken has become available for the masses. The supply of cheap chicken meat has also been on the political agenda. This paper concludes that the expansion of industrially produced chicken meat has mostly favored the upper and middle classes, leaving the poorer population with products that are cheap, but of doubtful quality. Under the guise of a “sovereign” supply of cheap meat, an immense business opportunity has been created. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/6176044f-68bc-4803-86d8-f78cdb76baa4
- author
- Kollnig, Sarah LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2020
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Bolivia, chicken meat, cultural political economy, food justice, food sovereignty
- in
- Gastronomica
- volume
- 20
- issue
- 4
- publisher
- University of California Press
- ISSN
- 1529-3262
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 6176044f-68bc-4803-86d8-f78cdb76baa4
- date added to LUP
- 2020-04-02 16:05:13
- date last changed
- 2020-10-22 10:15:11
@article{6176044f-68bc-4803-86d8-f78cdb76baa4,
abstract = {{Over the last 50 years, the production and consumption of chicken meat have soared in Bolivia. This paper analyzes the political, economic, and cultural developments that have led to the popularity of chicken meat in this country. It also asks who has benefitted from this success story. The author uses data from one year of multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork in Bolivia in order to give an account of the history of industrial chicken meat production in the country. This paper particularly brings out the role that national elites and their political entanglements have played in the development of the poultry sector. Marketing campaigns playing on desires to join Western modernity have fostered a taste for industrial chicken meat. Constant overproduction has kept market prices low, so that chicken has become available for the masses. The supply of cheap chicken meat has also been on the political agenda. This paper concludes that the expansion of industrially produced chicken meat has mostly favored the upper and middle classes, leaving the poorer population with products that are cheap, but of doubtful quality. Under the guise of a “sovereign” supply of cheap meat, an immense business opportunity has been created.}},
author = {{Kollnig, Sarah}},
issn = {{1529-3262}},
keywords = {{Bolivia; chicken meat; cultural political economy; food justice; food sovereignty}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{4}},
publisher = {{University of California Press}},
series = {{Gastronomica}},
title = {{Chicken for Everyone? A cultural political economy of the popularity of chicken meat in Bolivia.}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/85633444/GFC2004_10_Kollnig_published_article.pdf}},
volume = {{20}},
year = {{2020}},
}