Paradoxes of the gastronomical mutation of the traditional products
Résumé
Developing specificities of traditional products rests on their space, temporal and cultural anchorage. They are deeply rooted in rural societies of the past centuries in which they had a food function and corresponded to daily uses. To engage a valorization process results in projecting them in an urbanized society whose cultural references have changed a lot. Thus, a “rustic” product taking part of equally social relationships acquire, through a gastronomic mutation, a connotation of “luxury” product reserved for elite. To understand this mutation we will analyze it according three dimensions: (i) A symbolic dimension: processes of standardization raise the question of the lack of differentiation among individuals. The symbolic values of food constitute identity references providing people to be located, compared to their origins, enhancing their memberships. (ii) A technical dimension: contrary to logics of intensification, such products are often based upon the respect of the seasonal variations, the cycles of production mobilizing the local resources (in particular local breeds and varieties), the local knowledge and practices, inducing overcosts. (iii) An economical dimension: the restaurants and the tourism business reinforce the gastronomical mutation towards price premium which make these products much less accessible to their usual users. We will study various situations of traditional products embedded in localized food systems in order to evaluate their gastronomical mutation, how it is expressed according to the three dimensions and to what extend it can result in the exclusion of the local consumers.