Have you ever wondered how we are now able to find all our new quirky foods easily on the shelves in our local supermarkets? Thanks to this book that must have taken hours of research by Fabio Parasecoli, we have some of the answers.

I want to quote directly from the book; “cheese from France, wine from Australia, argan oil from Morocco, wild salmon from the North American Pacific…….. The list of products from all over the world that find their way to the shelves of gourmet stores and, increasingly, to less exclusive supermarkets and grocery stores, is constantly growing….. Delocalised consumption is often considered a sign of refinement and cosmopolitanism. New and exotic superfoods emerge regularly to great fanfare from the media, piquing the curiosity of consumers all over the world: guarana and açai from the Brazilian forests, quinoa from the Andes, and goji berries from China have become more affordable and easy to find.”

If like me, you have decided that acai, goji berries and quinoa are “must have” items in your meals then this book will fascinate you with how foods grown in different areas have become available to us, the consumers.

Fabio Parasecoli has listed all the abbreviations and acronyms which would normally not mean a thing to us, but now thanks to his lists, we can understand where our goods come from e.g.: AOP = American Origin Product. CETA = Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Canada and the European Union. GIAHS = Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems to name just a few that he has included in this hugely comprehensive reference book.

The laws, treaties and administrative measures that govern the movement of all commodities date back to 1867 when the expression “intellectual property” appears in the Constitution of the North German Confederation up to 2015; Geneva Act of the Lisbon Agreement on Appellations of Origin and Geographical Indications.

I know that in future, I will be looking at my food cupboard in a different light. The goods are not going to be “received from whichever supermarket” but will be studied for details of their origin before they get packed onto my kitchen shelves or drinks rack.

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

This is so important! I really like to origins and the methods of tracking. Product labeling is essential and overlooked so often.

This is an extremely well-researched, comprehensive description of indigenous knowledge systems and the complex issues involved in their identification and protection. The author explores these issues in the context of geography, governance, legal frameworks, as well as socioeconomic inequality. Each point of view has been explored in depth, with case studies providing support. However, this could come across as a rather dense academic text to the uninformed or uninitiated. That being said, this would certainly make for an interesting textbook or supplementary reading to a course on the governance and management of agroecosystems and indigenous food crops.

Knowing Where It Comes From invites us to analyze and reflect on the changes and the future of place-based labels. It offers us a wide-angle view of the different tools that have been created to keep food linked to their place of origin and how their ripples affect everyone involved.

What I specially enjoyed about this book is how Parasecoli organized and threaded the concepts and examples making them naturally flow from one chapter to the next. I also liked that it is filled with several case studies from around the world, as it helps the reader build a well-informed opinion, based on how the historical, cultural, political, economical, social and legal aspects interact with each other and how their effects can differ from case to case.

If expository writing is not your cup of tea, this book might not be for you, but if you like books that are well backed-up, approach a subject from different angles and make unbiased comments, I recommend you this book. As a tip, if you haven't heard about place-based labels, familiarizing with the basics would make the book appear less daunting at the beginning. Even if you don't, it doesn't take long to understand and get fully immersed in the subject.

A great book to read about where all comes from........

I was expecting this to be more of a layman's book but it is very technical. It is well done and I'm sure it will be useful to those in the food industry in need of this information.