SFA- The Global South: A Very American Journey/ by Sean Hartley, Operations Manager
The folks at the Southern Foodways Alliance have reason to be proud; what we found was a wonderfully introspective and inclusive bunch bound together by the feeling of being “Southern.” This weekend was an acknowledgment that although Southern culture has existed across a dozen states and hundreds of years, it is neither isolated nor static. What is happening today in the South is what America has experienced in waves since the 1700′s- new immigrants spreading through a region and mixing their unique culture with their adopted homeland’s.
Nothing illustrates this phenomenon better than the estimate that 80% of the Gulf shrimp fishermen are Vietnamese transplants. This is a classic American story, of a people leaving their troubled homeland seeking something better. As has happened to so many other newcomers, the Vietnamese immigrants found work at the most difficult and demanding jobs. With Hurricane Katrina and the Gulf oil spill occurring in quick succession, this population has suffered greatly. There is no better time to buy American shrimp. Money stays in the country and puts money in the pockets of those in need.
The stereotypical Southerner now has to include those from Vietnam, Cuba, Mexico, and an increasing number of people from the Caribbean and South America. It is no longer a duality but a plurality that shapes the South. The Southern Foodways Alliance did a fantastic job showcasing the changing South, and SFA is proud to include the newcomers.
Here is a great article from Grist, and another one in Earth Island Journal, on the challenges these Vietnamese fishermen face.
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