Presentation short abstract

The paper traces to what extent mundane, localised food perceptions and practices in rural Romania can reflect changing macropolitical structures such as socialist and capitalist forms of governance over time, proposing them as sites of political knowledge and sources of everyday degrowth.

Presentation long abstract

This paper traces to what extent mundane, localised food perceptions and practices in rural Romania can reflect changing macropolitical structures like socialist and capitalist governance over time. The socialist lived experiences and personal memories are rich, overlooked sources of embodied knowledge that could inform a democratic, socially and ecologically just postcapitalist transition. Socialism shaped rural food practices and rituals, while the postcommunist transition erased communal cultural discourse, social networks and alternative economies.

The research asks to what extent food and local rural identities are linked to socialist practices. It aims to resurface untold stories of collectivity and material culture in socialist Romania. Food practices could contribute to autonomy, solidarity and social networks, defying an oppressive political regime.

The methodology centers collaborative cooking and eating, grounding foodmaking and relationality as sites of political knowledge and identity. The research practice is informed by Brady’s (2011) “cooking-as-inquiry” method. This involves cooking interviews with 8 participants aged 59-93 from four subregions in Transylvania, conducted in their kitchens. Personal reflexive observation and action research complement the inquiry.

The paper frames the research findings around three storylines of everyday degrowth: spatial shifts through communal plum-jam making in various village locations, less-compressed perceptions of time through pickling, and ritualistic processes baking bread and making soup. Socialist rural food culture highlights to what extent food practices were spatialised and anchored in reciprocity, seasonal recipes, localised resources and tastes, functioning independently from externally-imposed macrostructures. The acquired results propose lived experiences and food practices as political sources of everyday degrowth.