In the Field

Understanding superfoods in context through their cultural origins

As part of the Staples to Superfoods project, I'm conducting ethnographic fieldwork with communities around the world in order to get to know the importance of foods and medicines in their cultures.  I'm also looking at historical and archival material surrounding the uses and meanings of these plants.

Here are some examples of case studies I'm considering:

Freshly harvested cranberries (Photo by Distant Hill on flickr)

Cranberries - Northeastern United States

Terminalia Ferdinandiana (Photo via emptypulchritude on deviantart)

Gubinge / Kakadu Plum - Northern Territory/Western Australia, Australia

Chia seeds and plant, salvia hispanica (Images via Wikimedia Commons)

Chia Seed - Southern Mexico/Northern Guatemala

Maca root, lepidium meyenii (Photo via Wikimedia commons)

Maca - Andean Highlands, Peru

Açaí Palm (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Açaí Berries - Amazon Region, Brazil and Colombia

Coconut palm (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Coconut - Tropical areas around the world, particularly Southeast Asia

Red and Yellow Quinoa, Lake Titicaca (photo by twiga269 ॐ FEMEN on flickr)

Quinoa - Andean Highlands, Peru and Bolivia


Got an idea or would like to participate?  Email me: jessica (dot) loyer (at) adelaide (dot) edu (dot) au