Slow Food and Chinampas
Why would a city like New Orleans be interested in adopting an agricultural system like chinampas in it's freshwater wetlands?
A unique conceptualization of food is a core component in answering the question “Why would a community be willing to try chinampas as a new form of agriculture?” New Orleans has a special place in its heart for deliciously slow cooked food, and farmers, chefs and restauranteurs have adopted the ideals from the Slow Food movement. Slow Food is described as a food-based social movement dedicated to “good (tasty), clean (environmentally sound) and fair (socially just)” food (slowfoodneworleans.com). Chinampas conform to the values within the slow food movement and to the unique cultural identity of New Orleans. Historically chinampas have been shown to grow 146 different plant species, with over 50 of them being domesticated species (Jimenez-Osornio and Gomez-Pompa, 1991). Intercropping was common, and often food crops such as maize, squash, beans, amaranth and chia were grown together with ornamental, medicinal and fodder plants. Vegetation management in chinampas is very flexible and can be adapted to meet local, ecological and economic conditions (Jimenez-Osornio and Gomez-Pompa, 1991). This flexibility would allow for the incorporation crops that would supply the many herbs and vegetables that are required for the classic dishes of New Orleans such as gumbo, crawfish étouffée, jambalaya, and red beans and rice. Okra, bell pepper, celery, onion, garlic, tomatoes, beans, parsley, time, and oregano would surely be found on the chinampas of the bayou. Even the alternative brackish water chinampas (see Wetland Reconstruction), can be useful for harvesting crustaceans such as crawdads and shrimp from the canal areas, even if the beds can not be used for crops. Farms using this method could provide a source of sustainable produce and shellfish to be sold in local farmers markets, road stands and to restaurants, potentially creating a positive economic and social impact consistent with the slow food movement. |
Michelle Packer
Site maintained by Michelle Packer
Contact email: [email protected]
Sustainability and Collapse: Can the Past Inform the Future?
University of Texas, Arlington
2013
Site maintained by Michelle Packer
Contact email: [email protected]
Sustainability and Collapse: Can the Past Inform the Future?
University of Texas, Arlington
2013