ABSTRACT
Discourse on the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal to end hunger focuses on issues of food security, which has led some scientists to argue for soil security as a fundamental prerequisite. Soil security is defined as “the maintenance and improvement of the world's soil resources to produce food, fibre and freshwater, contribute to energy and climate sustainability, and maintain the biodiversity and the overall protection of the ecosystem.”1 While the maintenance of soil ecosystems is at first an obvious goal, the language of both terms—food security and soil security—is inherently defensive, conjuring up militaristic measures to prevent some kind of assault. What is often missing from the soil and food security debate is reflection on the cultural contexts in which food is grown as well as the agency of those who farm, distribute, and finally cook or otherwise prepare the fruits of the earth. As Parto Teherani-Krönner points out, it is largely women who farm and prepare food in many rural communities around the world. Local and geopolitical decision making regarding food production and soil conservation policies need to therefore recognize the relevance of meals and meal culture as well as food and soil. Roxanne Swentzell's work demonstrates how artistic tradition plays a central role in meal culture, from the way food is planted and sown to how and where it is cooked to the vessels that hold it and the rituals surrounding its consumption and enjoyment over generations. I interviewed Roxanne and Parto via a series of e-mails and telephone calls in a kind of virtual round table discussion about the role of meals as they relate to the food and biomass production function of the soil.
