Heritage entrepreneurship. Agency-driven promotion of the Mediterranean diet in Spain

Abstract

This article explores the role of the agency in the social process that constitutes cultural heritage. By introducing the concept of heritage entrepreneurship to explain the conversion of cultural elements into heritage, we discuss the case of the Mediterranean diet (MD) in Spain. We explore the role of an expert NGO in the recent inclusion of the MD in the UNESCO Representative List of the intangible cultural heritage of Humanity. Empirical evidence is presented for two basic patterns of heritage entrepreneurship, namely the construction and promotion of cultural heritage. First, we show how the community-heritage narrative is constructed in the official nomination file of the MD. Second, we analyse how businesses, governments and researchers constitute a specific heritage entrepreneur. We argue that the promotion of the MD as cultural heritage makes ordinary food different, both qualitatively (healthy and sustainable) and culturally (Mediterranean and traditional). We then look at the specific political, economic and scientific value of such a difference and its uses in Spain.

Keywords:

• intangible cultural heritage
• social anthropology
• entrepreneurship
• UNESCO
• Mediterranean diet

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank both the anonymous reviewers of the journal and Ray Harte for their corrections and discussions improving form, argument and understanding of the final version of the text.