FOOD SECURITY AND IDENTITY: ICELAND A thesis submitted to Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Gina Marie Butrico August, 2013 Thesis written by Gina Butrico A.A.S., Middlesex County College, 2009 B.A., Kent State University, 2011 M.A., Kent State University, 2013 Approved by ___________________________________, Advisor Dr. David H. Kaplan, Ph.D. ___________________________________, Chair, Department of Geography Dr. Mandy Munro-Stasiuk, Ph.D. ___________________________________, Associate Dean for Graduate Affairs, Raymond A. Craig, Ph.D. College of Arts and Sciences ii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ..........................................................................................................v List of Tables ....................................................................................................... viii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ ix Chapter I. Introduction .................................................................................................1 Food Security in Iceland ..............................................................................3 Food Identity in Iceland ...............................................................................5 Site Selection ...............................................................................................6 Food Geography...........................................................................................7 Chapter Outline ............................................................................................9 Conclusion .................................................................................................11 II. Food Identity and Nationalism in Iceland .................................................12 Food and Identity .......................................................................................13 Food and National Identity ........................................................................16 Food Identity in the Icelandic Sagas ..........................................................18 Banal National Identity in Iceland .............................................................23 Conclusion .................................................................................................30 III. Globalization and the Threat to Food Security .........................................32 History of Food Production .......................................................................33 The Globalization of Food .........................................................................34 Technologies that have Globalized Food ...................................................35 Defining Food Security ..............................................................................42 Reliance on Food Imports ..........................................................................45 Threats of Disruption .................................................................................46 Conclusion .................................................................................................57 IV. From Self-Sufficiency to Import Reliance ................................................59 Phase 1- Self-Sufficiency (9th-14th Century) ..............................................60 Phase 2- External Supply (14th-17th Century) ............................................63 Phase 3- Food Shortages (18th-19th Century) .............................................65 Phase 4- Food Insecurity (20th Century- Present) ......................................68 Iceland as an Import-Reliant Nation ..........................................................72 iii Conclusion .................................................................................................77 V. Geothermal Agriculture in Iceland ...........................................................79 Research Methodology ..............................................................................79 Geothermal Energy ....................................................................................82 Geothermal Agriculture .............................................................................84 Geothermal Agriculture in Iceland ............................................................91 Self-Sufficiency of Icelandic Geothermal Greenhouses Today .................97 The Government and Agriculture ............................................................106 Friðheimar: Snapshot of an Icelandic Greenhouse Farm .........................109 Conclusion ...............................................................................................114 VI. Conclusion ..............................................................................................116 WORKS CITED ..................................................................................................120 APPENDIX A ......................................................................................................128 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Fish drying on wooden poles in the South of Iceland ..................21 Figure 2.2 An assortment of traditional Icelandic foods, or Þorramatur, commonly served during Þorrablót ..............................................23 Figure 2.3 Íslenskir label on domestically grown tomatoes and potatoes. Every label displays the name and logo of the producer, the word “Íslenskir” (which translates to “Icelandic”) the type of produce, and a section of the Icelandic flag ................................................26 Figure 2.4 The banner on the Smjör website, laden with national symbols ..28 Figure 2.5 A plate of harðfiskur served with smjör, a traditional pairing still widely consumed today ................................................................30 Figure 3.1 Average corn yield in the United States between 1866 and 2011, in bushels per acre. .......................................................................40 Figure 3.2 A diagram illustrating the combination of UNICEF’s definition of food security (that a place have food availability, access, and knowledge of use) with the addition of the World Health Organization’s added requirement of safeguards against disruption of food systems ...........................................................44 Figure 3.3 A graph created by the United Nations that illustrates world population growth from 1950 to 2050, with high, low, and medium estimates for the future based on UN 2010 projections and US Census Bureau historical estimates .................................53 Figure 4.1 The original foundation of an Icelandic farmhouse from around the time of settlement ...................................................................62 Figure 4.2 Obesity rates among adults in European countries.......................73 Figure 4.3 Icelandic population, between 1850 and 2013 .............................74 Figure 4.4 Annual expenditure in clothing imports, between 1950 and 1930, in ISK thousand ............................................................................74 Figure 4.5 Annual expenditure in fruit and vegetable imports, between 1850 and 1930, in ISK thousand ...........................................................75 v Figure 4.6 Per capita consumption of industrially processed foods. Data adapted from Public Health Institute of Iceland ...........................77 Figure 5.1 Sites visited during fieldwork conducted between June and July of 2012. The yellow marker is Reykholt, blue is Flúðir, and red is Selfoss ..........................................................................................82 Figure 5.2 A modern day example of an outdoor, directly heated field in southern Iceland. ..........................................................................86 Figure 5.3 An example of a plastic covered greenhouse, located in southern Iceland ..........................................................................................87 Figure 5.4 Various types of heating systems in greenhouses ........................89 Figure 5.5 A greenhouse in Iceland utilizing the natural air movement method of greenhouse heating ......................................................90 Figure 5.6 Global geothermal energy use, by application .............................91 Figure 5.7 Number of greenhouse producers by region ................................92 Figure 5.8 Distribution of greenhouse farms, in total greenhouse space, between 2004-2005, by region .....................................................92 Figure 5.9 A map of Iceland showing cultivation potential...........................94 Figure 5.10 A glass-enclosed greenhouse complex in southern Iceland, accompanied by a visible geothermal steam cloud, indicating the presence of the geothermally heated water upon which this industry depends ...........................................................................94 Figure 5.11 Total number of greenhouse producers from 2001-2008 .............97 Figure 5.12 Total area of greenhouse space (m2) from 2001-2008 .................97 Figure 5.13 Two examples of greenhouses that utilize automatic watering technology ....................................................................................99 Figure 5.14 An example of a computerized system in a geothermal greenhouse in Iceland ......................................................................................99 Figure 5.15 A container of fishmeal produced by