International Workshop

Scales of the alimentation: an Asian Perspective
February 18 & 19, 2016
Conference Rooms CNRS, 638-640. 190 Avenue de France, 75013, Paris, France

The international workshop “Scales of the Alimentation: an Asian Perspective” aims at bringing
together the French and international scholars of Asia in order to promote a global approach to Asiaand to bring together different research institutions based in Europe, therefore to develop theexchanges between different international scholars of Asian societies and experts related to the themesof the food.
Today, Asia is experiencing rapid change. It is a territory of high demographic density where almost
60% of the world population is concentrated, a source of great potential for this region but also criticalproblems: demographic transition, rapid urbanization, fast economic development of these countries,
consequences of natural and human disasters. And yet, a growing number of Europeans are interested
in the Asian way of life, and the good Asian gastronomy become part of the enticement of the regional
soft power.
Our objective is to deliver in-depth analysis and innovative methods arising from research in socialand human sciences. We aim to better understand economic, political, institutional, cultural,technological and organizational dynamics of past and present dietary practices in Asia. In particular,
we will focus on how the state of food practices and their knowledge is interwoven with other social
and technological developments, that are the legacies of expanding and shrinking empires and themass industrialization.
At the same time, we aim to show an “European vision of Asia”. Given the region’s rich relationshipwith European political, technological and cultural dominance since the 16th century, Europeancountries share a long and deep history of food with Asian countries. Our presentations will pay
attention to how food regimes and dietary practices became an increasingly global affair, with eachone exploring an appropriate scale of comparison while undertaking a critical assessment of the“Asian specificity”.
This event is organized with the support of the Toshiba International Foundation, Réseau Asie etPacifique (CNRS), GIS Asie and All Nippon Airways. The language of the workshop is English.

Program coordinators:
Françoise Sabban
Sébastien LechevalierKen Daimaru

PROGRAMDay 1 - February 18th 2016, 10:00 a.m.-6:15 p.m.
Venue: EHESS (190 Avenue de France 75013 Paris, conference room 638-640 – 6th floor)

9:45

Registration

10:00 – 10:30

Opening and Welcome Speech: Sébastien Lechevalier (EHESS).
Introductory Remarks by Françoise Sabban (EHESS)

10:30 – 12:15

Panel 1: Processes of the Food Industrialization
Tatsushi Fujihara (University of Kyoto), “Pickles and Science in Modern Japan”
Xin Yuan Zhang (University of Tokyo), “The Role of State-owned Agribusiness in
China’s Economy”
Chair: Theodore C. Bestor (Harvard University)
Discussant: Pierre-Antoine Dessaux (Université François Rabelais)

12:15 – 13:00

Lunch

13:00 – 15 :30

Panel 2: Asian Nutrition in Transition
Bok-rae Kim (Andong National University), “The Developmental Stages of Rice (Bap)
Culture in Korea: From Food Insufficiency towards Trade Dependency”
Ann Veeck (Western Michigan University), “Changes and Challenges to Nanjing’s Food
Marketing Systems: Risk, Individualization, and Stratification”
Kotaro Fukuhara (University of Tokyo, Air Liquide/EHESS Fellow), “Dietary Transition
in Emerging Countries: Consumption Patterns of Edible Oils in East and Southeast Asia”
Chair: Françoise Sabban (EHESS)
Discussant: Katarzyna Cwiertka (Leiden University)

15:30 – 15:45

Cafe

15: 45– 17:30

Panel 3 : Asian Food in Comparative Perspective
Theodore C. Bestor (Harvard University), “What in the World is Washoku?”
Katarzyna Cwiertka (Leiden University), “The Raw, the Cooked and the Wrapped:
Japanese Food Packaging in Action”
Chair: Tatsushi Fujihara (University of Kyoto)
Discussant: Bruno Laurioux (Université de Versailles - Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines)

17:30 – 18:30

General discussion

19:00

Diner2

Day 2 - February 19th 2016, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
Venue: EHESS (190 Avenue de France 75013 Paris, conference room 638-640 – 6th floor)

9 :00 -12 :00

Graduate Student Workshop on the history of food in Asia, coordinated by the GIS
ASIEShiori Nosaka (EHESS), “The circulation of lactic acid bacteria: theories on thefermentation and their application to the industrial field France-Japan (1880-1930)”
Chia-Ling Hsu (Paris 7), “The circulation of Dietary culture: the case of the diffusionof French Gastronomy in Taiwan”
Michaël Bruckert (Université Paris - Sorbonne), “Geography of meat in Tamil Nadu
(India). Significations, spaces and circulations”
Christopher Laurent (University of Montreal), “Makoto umai zeyo, this is truly
delicious: A Genealogy of Taste and Flavor in Kōchi Japan”
Commentators: Theodore C. Bestor (Harvard University), Katarzyna Cwiertka(Leiden University), Bok-rae Kim (Andong National University), Françoise Sabban(EHESS), Ann Veeck (Western Michigan University), Xin Yuan Zhang (Universityof Tokyo)

12:00

Lunch3