‘Living bread between the mountains’: an exploration of contemporary foodway changes in the Cederberg mountains of South Africa.

Traditional foodways are under threat due to historical factors like profound racial discrimination, alongside the pressures of a highly capitalised and industrialised food system and environmental degradation. In the northern Cederberg mountains of South Africa, bread-making forms an integral part of the cultural heritage of rural communities and has evolved in response to social, environmental, economic, and epistemic changes. Using semi-structured interviews and the use of participatory workshops to give voice to food-based practical knowledge, we identified the primary drivers for foodway transitions in these remote areas. They included changes in land access, use, and climate, as well as modernisation, economic development, and urbanisation. Through articulating the voices of local foodways custodians, we reveal the indispensable role that food plays in affirming identity, culture, and connections to land. Our findings underscore the importance of local food cultures in enhancing the well-being and health of rural communities, and the way they entwine connections between humans and the more-than-human natural world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]