Peace Tables

Building on HFA's successful Community Meals initiative, Peace Tables extends the mission of the Food-Culture-Climate Project by combining conviviality and social connection with opportunities for reflection on the food we consume and the cultures it represents. 

Grounded in the idea that food is a powerful expression of cultural identity, each Peace Table is organized around a selection of dishes that highlight recipes, ingredients, cooking techniques common to a region that encompasses more than one country, reinforcing the idea that food is meant to unite rather than sperate. These events explore how shared culinary traditions can foster dialogue, mutual understanding, and cooperation across cultural, ideological, and political boundaries. Through shared meals, participants are invited to engage with the cultural, historical, and social meanings embedded in what we eat. 

Throughout history, food has often been used to define cultural and religious boundaries between communities with different traditions, rituals, and eating practices. Food, and at times the deliberate imposition of hunger and malnutrition, has been weaponized to wage wars, weaken nations, and marginalize minorities and migrants. 

At the same time, food and the rituals that surround sharing a meal have served as powerful tools for building relationships. Across cultures and over the centuries, meals have brought families and communities together, honored guests, strengthened social bonds, facilitated business and diplomatic exchanges, and even helped secure peace. 

Culinary diplomacy and gastrodiplomacy are fields of study that examine the use of the nonverbal language of food (Constantinou) as an instrument of soft power in the service of cultural diplomacy (Rockower). From state banquets hosted foreign leaders and delegations to government-sponsored campaigns that promote a nation's image through its cuisine, food has long been recognized as a powerful diplomatic tool.  Rather than serving the financial or political interests of one country, however, the non-verbal language of food can also be utilized to foster dialogue across political, ideological, and religious boundaries to overcome rather than emphasize differences. It is this aspect of food that Peace Tables intend to celebrate. 

Section on Contact: Email: Dylan Newbrey dnewbrey [at] umass [dot] edu (dnewbrey[at]umass[dot]edu)