Feeding the Body and Nourishing the Soul

Abstract

This article explores the phenomenon of natural foods in post-Soviet Russia. Although Russian natural foods discourses and practices resonate with Western organics, Slow Foods Movements, and Food Democracy movements regarding health, safety, and small-scale agricultural production, they depart significantly in their attention to nature as the source of uniquely Russian qualities of sociability and spirituality. By drawing attention to both the actual and symbolic landscapes from which natural foods are taken, Russians invoke a model of geographic nationalism. Consequently, discourses about natural foods become reference points for discussions about the physical, social, and spiritual health of Russian society and its citizens.