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From marginalized to miracle: critical bioregionalism, jungle farming and the move to millets in Karnataka, India

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Abstract

Historically marginalized foods, which occupy the social periphery, and often function as a bulwark in times of hunger, are increasingly being rediscovered and revalued as niche commodities. From açaí to quinoa, the move from marginal to miracle is often tied to larger narratives surrounding sustainable development, resilience to climate change, and traditional foodways. This article analyses the recent move towards millet production and consumption in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. Focusing upon one of the grain’s chief proponents, I explore how narratives surrounding millets are grounded in conceptions of cultural authenticity and bioregionalism. Drawing upon human geographer’s analyses of the turn towards the ‘local’ in food activism, I contribute to the development of critical bioregionalism, an emerging theoretical framework that explores how questions of value, identity, political economy, and histories of land use intersect to structure our understandings of marginal foods and their resurgence.

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Notes

  1. While this research focuses on the bioregion of southern Karnataka, I am writing from the bioregion of the central Willamette Valley, Oregon on ancestral lands of Kalapuya and the Confederated Tribes of the Grande Ronde.

  2. I have chosen not to use a pseudonym for Dr. Khadar, as this was his preference, and the details of his work, in addition to his domestic and international standing, would make him readily identifiable.

  3. Due to a lack of textual and archaeological evidence, the eclipse of millet’s hegemony by rice is hard to pinpoint. While there is mention of rice in South Aisan in both Iron Age (1200-300 BCE) and the Neolithic (3000-1200 BCE), it appears to not have been extensively grown in what is now Karnataka prior to the first few centuries BC, and even during this time period it remain unclear how common were consumption or cultivation. What is clear is that by the Early Middle period (starting around CE 1000), rice was both well-established and highly valued in Karnataka, and that millet foodways had begun to be replaced (Morrison 2016).

  4. Polished vs. Unpolished, in: Harijan, 26/1 0/1 934.

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Acknowledgements

The author gratefully acknowledges the patience, and insights of Dr. Khadar in this research, and the insightful comments of three anonymous reviewers and the journal’s editors.

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  1. Global Studies, University of Oregon, 175 Prince Lucien Campbell Hall, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA

    David Meek

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Meek, D. From marginalized to miracle: critical bioregionalism, jungle farming and the move to millets in Karnataka, India. Agric Hum Values 39, 871–883 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-021-10287-x

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