Main description:

This book takes a surprising look at the hidden world of broccoli, connecting American consumers concerned about their health and diet with Maya farmers concerned about holding onto their land and making a living.

Compelling life stories and rich descriptions from ethnographic fieldwork among supermarket shoppers in Nashville, Tennessee and Maya farmers in highland Guatemala bring the commodity chain of this seemingly mundane product to life. For affluent Americans, broccoli fits into everyday concerns about eating right, being healthy, staying in shape, and valuing natural foods. For Maya farmers, this new export crop provides an opportunity to make a little extra money in difficult, often risky circumstances. Unbeknownst to each other, the American consumer and the Maya farmer are bound together in webs of desire and material production.

Contents:

TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments Map Guatemala Index Introduction Part I: How the Maya Want 1. Something Better 2. Discourses of Development 3. The Limits of Desire Part II: Violence, Victimization, and Resistance 4. Social Suffering in the Post-War Era 5. June 10th, September 11th, and Moral Understandings of Violence 6. Beyond Victimization Conclusions Bibliography Acknowledgments Index