Le Grand Mezzé. Collective work. Edited by Édouard de Laubrie

20 × 26 cm 224 pages 120 color illustrations hardback coedition mucem/actes sud may 2021 retail price: 32 €

all rights available except lebanese language

This book accompanies the semi-permanent exhibition at the Mucem in Marseille from 9 December to late 2023. The exhibition presents 550 objects from 35 different museums. event

THE GREAT MEZZÉ

Collective work. Edited by Édouard de Laubrie

What is the Mediterranean diet really? Five fruit and vegetables a day? All cooking in olive oil? Or more? What role did Ancel Keys, an American epidemiologist from the 1950s, play in its success? And the medical figures from Antiquity who long knew about the relationship between food and health. In an age where consumers are increasingly concerned about what they put in their plates, how can the paradoxes of a complex territory - the Mediterranean basin - be reconciled with the need for mass production?

The work looks at the major historical, cultural, economic, ecological and religious issues of food in the Mediterranean, while retracing the history of this eternal crossroads for exchange and influences.

From the production of food’s primary resources, especially wheat, to the point it reaches the plate, how do people actually eat in the Mediterranean? An investigation of several families around the Mediterranean basin offers a glimpse of the way wheat is transformed into couscous, breads and pastas, and the ancestral methods that have been passed down over generations. In parallel, food globalization and migrations since the 19th century have turned dishes like pizza and kebabs into standard international fare. Another aspect of food identity in the Mediterranean is the dictates of the three monotheisms. Here they are studied according to what they have in common (especially the ritual consumption of lamb) as well individual dietary choices such as vegetarianism and veganism. As a key hub in the global process, the Mediterranean has also always been open to a great many culinary influences from beyond: spices from Asia, tomatoes imported by the Conquistadors, and sugar cane among many others. The book also tells the story of the circulation and uses of food since prehistory. Finally the book asks questions of new modes of production and consumption to emerge due to an increased awareness of issues as well as collective approaches to changing food habits.