From Abidjan to Jakarta: How Cities Are Reinventing the Way We Eat
“Junk food,” “fast food,” the “McDonaldization” of the world: the most negative perceptions of food are often linked to urban spaces.
Audrey Soula, University of Montpellier; Nicolas Bricas, CIRAD and Olivier Lepiller, CIRAD
Anthony Bourdain and Barack Obama at a canteen in Hanoi, Vietnam (May 23, 2016). Pete Souza/Wikimedia, CC BY-NC-ND
The city would thus be the prime setting for the dietary, nutritional, and epidemiological shift away from “empty calories” and ultra-processed foods. By extension, it would be held responsible for obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, diet-related cancers, and the growing exposure to chemical residues.
As a hub of commercial consumption and the industrialization of the food sector—through its supermarkets, where numerous products imported from international markets compete—the city embodies the “Walmartization” of the world.
Because the West underwent this process before other regions of the world, and because the major corporations in the food system originated there, some people equate this shift with the Westernization of diets. The nutritional composition of diets is certainly changing in the same direction everywhere, albeit at varying speeds: the share of carbohydrates in energy intake is decreasing, that of fats is increasing, and animal proteins are replacing plant proteins, while consumption of industrially processed foods is skyrocketing.
However, eating is not merely about consumption. Thus, while influenced by global trends, people’s eating habits are also shaped by their perceptions, their surroundings, and their local roots.
Socio-anthropological studies that focus on detailed levels of observation examine not only what people eat but also how they organize themselves to do so, what they say about it, and what they think about it. For eating is much more than simply nourishing oneself, even for the most vulnerable populations. It is about taking pleasure, maintaining connections with others, forging relationships with one’s surroundings, and building and shaping individual and collective identities.
City dwellers faced with conflicting instructions
When it comes to food, city dwellers are subject to a multitude of dietary guidelines, between which they constantly navigate and which may even be contradictory.
For example, Mexicans face a paradoxical dilemma. The Ministry of Tourism and the Economy has adopted a strategy to promote Mexican street food, which was designated as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2019.
Obesity prevention campaign by Mexico’s Ministry of Health. Author provided
At the same time, many arguments promote health and nutritional standards that sometimes clash with this cuisine, blaming it for cardiovascular disease and obesity.
It is easy to imagine the concern that the contradiction between these two sets of norms might cause.
But upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that nutritional standards are interpreted differently across social groups, and that individuals navigate this tension between nutrition and cultural heritage depending on their eating situations, within a broader context where Mexican cuisine remains highly popular.
"South-South" channels
It is true that cities in Africa, Latin America, and Asia are seeing the expansion of international supermarket and fast-food chains.
Hanoi’s first supermarket, for example, opened in 1998. Today, the city has dozens of them, including a massive mall with nearly 150 stores operated by the Korean chain AEON, which opened in 2015.
A Hungry Lion sign, a South African fast-food chain, here in Cape Town, South Africa, 2019. Discott/Wikimedia, CC BY
Another example is Hungry Lion, a South African fast-food chain modeled after KFC and founded in 1997, which now operates nearly 200 restaurants in Southern Africa. It is owned by the Shoprite holding company, Africa’s largest food retailer with nearly 3,000 stores, which is also South African. But the evolution of their food systems is far from limited to this industrialization.
The urban grassroots economy is pioneering new culinary trends
The urban grassroots economy remains the dominant force in feeding city populations and is constantly innovating new practices and new cuisines, far removed from the strategies of major economic players.
In Jakarta, Indonesia, the kampungs (literally: “villages”) are poor neighborhoods where the so-called “informal” economy predominates.
These areas are characterized by heavy foot traffic and a constant influx of people—many of whom are recent immigrants from rural areas—as well as by crowded living conditions. Many residents do not cook at home due to a lack of equipment, skills, space, or time.
A particular type of food establishment has sprung up in these neighborhoods: the warung makan, which offer inexpensive, homemade dishes.
A "Jepara buffalo/beef satay warung" in Indonesia. Midori, CC BY-NC-ND
These establishments—a sort of self-service public kitchen where customers bring their own dishes and payment terms are flexible—help preserve eating habits that are seen as traditional and home-style, while also fostering community-based food-related social interactions.
The distinctions between the domestic and commercial spheres, and between public and private spaces, are blurred here, prompting us to reconsider the scale of analysis when it comes to food, which in this context relates less to the home or household than to the residential complex or neighborhood.
The emergence of truly urban cuisines
Casual dining is a melting pot of culinary innovation where various normative imperatives are combined and balanced.
Often originating in the working class, these new urban dishes are also gaining popularity among the middle class and, for some, have become symbols of identity for an entire city—or even a country. This is the case withattiéké-garba in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
A garbage dump in Cocody, YouTube.
This popular dish, which originated in restaurants frequented by young people near universities—known as garbadromes—was initially developed in opposition to hygiene standards perceived as un-African. By eating garba, diners assert an urban, Ivorian, and rebellious identity. This dish consists of low-qualityattiéké (cassava couscous), topped with pieces of fried salted tuna and served “wet”—that is, generously drizzled with frying oil, ideally browned by successive cooking, as a sign of quality!
Despite frequent criticism labeling it Ivorian “junk food”—particularly due to allegations of poor hygiene regarding the dish and the establishments where it is served—garba is recognized as a popular choice in casual dining.
Originally sold by Nigerien immigrants drawn to the vibrancy of the Ivorian capital and popularized by urban student youth, the garba has now become a symbol of Abidjan’s—and indeed Ivorian—identity.
Preparation of babendâ.
In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, it is the bâbenda—originally a rural dish specific to the Mossi ethnic group—that is gradually gaining recognition as a signature dish for the entire city, though through a different journey.
It was a transitional dish, a porridge made from the last remnants of millet combined with the first leafy vegetables of the new rainy season. Improved versions, using ground corn or broken rice instead of millet—thanks to their greater availability in urban areas—are now prepared and eaten by ethnic groups other than just the Mossi.
Some dishes disappear, while others are created
Highlighting the creativity of cities in Africa, Latin America, and Asia—and their ability to innovate in the realm of food—can help counter a perspective that emphasizes these cities’ dependence on international markets and capital, as well as the Westernization of the world.
In reality, these two trends go hand in hand. While it is true that so-called “traditional” dishes are disappearing, new dishes are being invented.
“Obama Combo,” the menu from the popular restaurant where Barack Obama had lunch in Hanoi. O. Lepiller, Photo courtesy of the author
While globalized food cultures and practices are indeed evident in cities across the Global South, this does not simply amount to an erosion of local food traditions.
While globalized products are certainly spreading, they are used differently depending on the city and, within each city, the social class. In India, for example, Maggi instant noodles—associated with a desirable Western modernity—have found their place in middle-class practices by leveraging the marketing persona of “Maggi Mom,” which helped alleviate guilt over saving time—a practice that might otherwise have been seen as a transgression of the role of the nurturing, loving mother.
In 2009, an advertisement for Maggi (Nestlé) vegetable noodles, a “healthy” and nutritious product prepared by the mother.
These processes of local adaptation and reinterpretation of globalized products have been analyzed using the iconic example of pizza.
Systems that coexist
The evolution of food systems linked to urbanization cannot be interpreted simply as a shift from household- and artisanal-scale systems to industrial-scale systems.
These systems coexist and complement one another. They provide resources for addressing the many food-related challenges faced by these cities, which often experience rapid population growth. Often developed under severe constraints, within urban contexts characterized by resourcefulness and fluidity, these resources serve as tools for adapting to difficult and uncertain situations. Rather than relying on solutions imported from outside or driven by technology, we can draw on this wealth of resources to promote practices and standards that foster social and economic justice, peaceful coexistence among diverse cultures, public health, and environmental sustainability.
Quae Publishing, Eating Out in the City, February 2020. CC BY
This article draws on the authors’ work and their recently published collective volume *Manger en ville: Regards socio-anthropologiques d’Afrique, d’Amérique latine et d’Asie* (Eating in the City: Socio-anthropological Perspectives from Africa, Latin America, and Asia), published by Quae, which brings together contributions from researchers across these three continents.
Audrey Soula, Anthropologist, CIRAD, UMR Moisa, University of Montpellier; Nicolas Bricas, Socio-economist, researcher at the University of Montpellier, CIRAD, and holder of the UNESCO Chair in World Food Systems, CIRAD and Olivier Lepiller, Sociologist, Researcher at CIRAD, UMR Moisa, University of Montpellier, CIRAD
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Readthe original article.