The Darjeeling Distinction: Labor and Justice on Fair-trade Tea Plantations in India (California Studies in Food & Culture) (California Studies in Food and Culture): 47 - Softcover

Besky, Sarah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0520277392 ISBN 13: 9780520277397

Publisher: University of California Press, 2014

Synopsis

Nestled in the Himalayan foothills of Northeast India, Darjeeling is synonymous with some of the finest and most expensive tea in the world. It is also home to a violent movement for regional autonomy that, like the tea industry, dates back to the days of colonial rule.

In this nuanced ethnography, Sarah Besky narrates the lives of tea workers in Darjeeling. She explores how notions of fairness, value, and justice shifted with the rise of fair-trade practices and postcolonial separatist politics in the region.  This is the first book to explore how fair-trade operates in the context of large-scale plantations. 

Readers in a variety of disciplines—anthropology, sociology, geography, environmental studies, and food studies—will gain a critical perspective on how plantation life is changing as Darjeeling struggles to reinvent its signature commodity for twenty-first-century consumers. The Darjeeling Distinction challenges fair-trade policy and practice, exposing how trade initiatives often fail to consider the larger environmental, historical, and sociopolitical forces that shape the lives of the people they intended to support.

About this title

Review:

"This richly detailed ethnography provides unique and important insights into the 21st century plantation economy.; Impressive field work.""--Kristin Plys"International Journal of Comparative Sociology" (04/01/2014)

"Engaging . . . The Darjeeling distinction is an important critique . . . a vital and timely comment on the burgeoning ethical trade."--Saee Haldule"Social Anthropology" (05/25/2015)

"Besky has pushed forward several debates in sociology, anthropology, geography, and economics about the promises and perils of globalization . . . impressive theoretical analysis . . . essential reading."--Jamie K. McCallumt"Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal" (05/01/2015)

"Extensive research . . . intriguing; Besky offers insightful solutions."--Alexandra Hatzakis"Gastronomica" (05/01/2015)

"An excellent example of local ethnography . . . an important contribution."--Daniel Reichman"American Ethnologist" (08/14/2015)

"Provides an important ethnographic contribution to the implications of long-distance trade and the deconstruction of different visions of justice in ethical trade."--Julia Poerting"Mountain Research and Development" (05/01/2015)

"The Darjeeling Distinction is a brilliant and entertaining book. . . . Its accessible and narrative style will surely appeal to a wide audience."--Daniel Münster"Alegra Laboratory" (05/26/2015)

About the Author:

Sarah Besky is Assistant Professor of Anthropology and International and Public Affairs at Brown University.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0520277392
• ISBN 13: 9780520277397
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264