November Built Heritage Chat Summary

This month's #builtheritage chat topic was the integration of food and heritage.  Prior to the chat actually starting @lloydalter posted a great link to food posters from the past.  The slide show is well worth a look if you're interested in the evolution of commercialism, food history, or just need a laugh.


The first portion of the chat focused on the question In what ways do you see food/foodways intersecting with preservation? There were a lot of interesting connections made between food and preservation during this portion of the chat, including:

• The idea that everyone needs to eat and drink, and that looking at food trends and changes throughout the past is an interesting way to approach heritage.
•  @stevemouzon suggested that historically market squares and gardens were the focus of towns
• wanderu noted that farms are cultural heritage landscapes, barns, silos, cheese factories often have heritage value. 
• It was also suggested that food is an element of cultural heritage that's often strongly place-based but also has lots of border-crossing potential
• Additionally food and food smells have the power to conjure up personal and family memories

The second question of the chat was How have/could you use food in your programs? Responses included:

•   @jonaskayla: mentioned that @historicplaces has food app that includes recipes from across Canada, some date from as far back as the 18th century
• Designing menus based on period foods or demonstrating period cooking methods was suggested
• @delaneyhf suggested checking out the  Brooklyn Historical Society fall programs as examples of involving food in programming 

The third segment of the chat highlighted the question How do we protect our agricultural heritage when it is in working landscapes? Some of the highlights were:

• There was a general theme that continuing to work the land and keeping it farmed traditionally helps preserve this part of our heritage.
• Reusing agricultural buildings such as barns and silos for other purposes instead of demolishing them.
• Need to recognize agricultural heritage in our urban landscapes - old wells, old houses, old roads.

The chat concluded with a discussion of How does and #preservation intersect, if at all, with sustainability?  Some of the intersections thought of were;

• @delaneyhf noted that "Sustainability is most often achieved through the use / promotion of local resources, be that buildings or food"
• The idea that cultural heritage is about ideas and concepts and goes beyond physical heritage. 
• Overall there was a general feeling that history, preservation, heritage, and food are integral parts of how we should live our lives.

The next #builtheritage chat is on December 7th at 4pm and will deal with holiday promotion in the heritage field.

Photo Credit: United Way of the Lower Mainland 

Update: Today the National Museum of American Heritage Blog featured an interesting  post on "American History told Through Squash."