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Food, Justice and the Baha'i Faith

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Food, Justice and the Baha'i Faith FOOD, JUSTICE AND THE BAHA'I FAITH BY PAUL FlELDHOUSE A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY lndividual I nterd isciplinary Program Faculty of Graduate Studies The University Of Manitoba Winnipeg, Manitoba @ Paul Fieldhouse, 2005 THE UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF çÀADUATE STUDIES COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Food, Justice and the Baha'i Faith BY Paul Fieldhouse A ThesislPracticum submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfiltment of the requirement of the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Paul Fieldhouse O 2005 Permission has been granted to the Library of the University of Manitoba to lend or sell copies of this thesis/practicum, to the National Library of Canada to microfilm this thesis and to lend or sell copies of the filmo and to University Microfilms Inc. to publish an abstract of this thesis/practicum. This reproduction or copy of this thesis has been made available by authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research, and may only be reproduced and copied as permitted by copyright laws or with express written authorization from the copyright owner. ABSTRACT Through an examination of the phenomenon of food choice and in particular the relationship between food and justice, this thesis demonstrates the benefits of an inter- disciplinary approach in providing a more nuanced understanding of food. Rejecting a dichotomised view of food as either material or symbol, either culture or nature, either nutritional or social, it develops a concept of liminality that affords new insights into food choice, and argues for a liminal positioning of food between the empirical and ethical realms. Focusing on the Bahá'í faith, it reviews principles and teachings of this new world religion, whose vision of world unity places justice at the centre of its ethical worldview. The thesis tests the claim that food provides a practical way through which Bahá'ís can articulate and achieve their ethical goals, helping them to cross the liminal divide between 'what is' and 'what could be' as they seek to live just lives. Using a dual methodological approach that combines hermeneutic strategies to examine sacred texts, together with qualitative interviews of believers, it examines food issues related to health and healing, hospitality, social development, and spiritual duty. While food does not at first appear to be a prominent issue in the Bahá'í tradition, findings indicate that there is a singular food discourse that evokes spiritual and social themes of simplicity, moderation, commensality and compassion, and which supports the claim that food is integral to, and formative of the Bahá'i concept of justice' ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I would like to sincerely thank my advisory committee: Dr. Dawne McCance; Dr. Sohrab Abizadeh; and Dr. Beverley Watts; who patiently guided me into new areas of scholarship, helped me to arliculate what I was trying to do, and who provided many invaluable suggestions for making it all work. Their commitment to an interdisciplinary approach was what made this possible. I am grateful to the Winnipeg Bahá'í community, especially Dr. Cam Dodds, who cleared the way, and the interview pañicipants who welcomed me into their homes and who freely shared their wisdom. Also, thanks are due to Dr. John Guilfoyle, who first made me aware of the Bahá'í Faith. Balancing work and study, and dividing time between the office and the university was sometimes challenging. Dale Brownlee, of Manitoba Health generously allowed the flexibility I needed to juggle the demands of my job with my academic pursuits, while BAZ was my personal cheering section. I was fortunate to receive a two year Duff Roblin Fellowship Award from the University of Manitoba that suppofted my early research. My friend and colleague Ted Mclachlan kindly lent me his university office for a term, as a place to work in peace, and provided endless rides to and from the campus. I would like to acknowledge my colleagues in the Association for the Study of Food and Society, who are the heart and soul of interdisciplinary food studies. ln responding to my queries, their wide knowledge and rich discussions stimulated many ideas. To them, and the other countless scholars, named and anonymous, on whose work I have drawn, I am indebted. To my wife Corinne, and my daughters, Emma and Veronica, words are not enough to thank you for your boundless patience and suppott over what sometimes seemed like endless years. Your conviction that one day there would be a "Dr. Dad" in the family is what kept me going. 2 CHAPTER ONE THE LIMINALITY OF FOOD ............7 lntroduction.............. .............7 Liminality and Communitas .................11 Understanding Food Choice ...............17 Food as Nutrients............. ...............21 Food as a Cultural System ..............25 Food, Morality and Meanin9........... .................29 An lnterdisciplinary Approach ..........34 Liminality and Food .............35 Food as a liminal substance.............. ..............35 Eating as a LiminalAct. ...................36 Food in Ritual and Ceremony.......... ................38 Food as 8oundary............. ..............40 Liminality as Method in this Thesis..... .............43 Religion and food habits .....43 Significance of the study .....49 Summary ............50 CHAPTER TWO THE BAHÁ'í TRITH ......52 lntroduction .............. ...........52 What is the Bahá'í Faith? ....53 The Beginnings: the Báb .................54 A New Faith: Bahá'u'lláh .................55 Reaching out: 'Abdu'l-Bahá .............56 Guardian of the Faith: Shoghi Effendi .............56 Routinisation of Charisma: The Universal House of Justice ............57 A World Religion... ...........58 The Bahá'í View of the World .............59 Universe is Unified and lnterdependent ..........59 Divine Revelation is Progressive......... ............60 Humans have a Distinguished Status. .............61 Humanity's Primary Purpose ...........62 Religion is the Key to Balancing Material and Spiritual Development .............63 lnstitutions Provide the Structure of Religion... ................63 3 Covenant Maintains Religious Unity........ ........64 Keys to Achieving the Bahá'íVision...... ..............65 The Abandonment of All Forms of Prejudice.............. .....66 Equality of Men and Women ............. ..............66 Elimination of Extremes of Poverty and Wealth..... ..........67 Realisation of Universal Education.......... ........69 Responsibility of Each Person to Search lndependently for the Truth.............70 Recognition that Religion is in Harmony with Reason and Science ........... .....71 Living the Bahá'í Life - Actions not Words ..........73 Communities as concrete expression of values ............755 Bahá'í Law......... ...............777 Specific laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas .................788 Ritual and Ceremony......... .................80 Summary ............81 CHAPTER THREE FOOD, JUSTICE AND BAHÁ'í TIHICS .............................83 lntroduction .............. ...........83 Food in Theories of Justice.............. ...................84 Covenant .........84 Virtue ...............85 Rule of Law......... ............86 Rise of utilitarianism ............ ............88 Collectivism ............ .........90 Neoliberalism.......... .........91 Communitarianism ..........94 Rights ..............96 Virtue revisited... ..............97 Section Summary ............99 A New World Order....... .... 1 00 What are the components of Bahá'íjustice? .................103 How do you live justly? ..109 Summary .......... 1 10 CHAPTER FOUR EMPIRICAL PROCEDURES: ASSUMPTIONS AND RATIONALE FOR A QUALITATIVE DESIGN ...112 lntroduction.............. .........112 What do Bahá'í sacred writings teach about food and food-related behaviour? ......1 1 3 How do contemporary Canadian Bahá'ís operationalise the sacred teachings? 114 What are the ethical goals set out for Bahá'ís by their leaders and how does food allow Bahá'ís to meet their ethical goals?.. ............115 4 Assumptions and rationale for a qualitative design ...........'1 16 Textual methods and issues ............. 1 19 Key issues in using Bahá'í sources ...............119 Bahá'í hermeneutics.......... ............123 lnterpretative stance adopted in this thesis ...125 lnterview methods and issues ...........127 Entry to setting ..............128 Ethical considerations....... ............128 Sample ..........129 Data collection procedures ............129 Data analysis procedures......... ..... 130 Verification Steps ..........131 Anecdotal evidence .......132 Statement of Limitations and Delimitations............ ...........132 Limitations .....132 Delimitations............ ...... 133 Significance ........... ...........134 CHAPTER FIVE: THE BAHÁ'í TOOO DISCOURSE........... ............135 Analytical Framework.............. ..........135 A Preservation of Health ..136 A1 Care of the Self ......... ............... 136 A2 Vegetarianism ..........148 A3 Alcohol avoidance.............. ......157 A4 Food and Hea1in9.............. .......165 B Commensality...... .........173 81 Hospitality and Courtesy ..........174 82 Feasts and celebrations ...........180 C. Social development: Compassion and Stewardship...... ...............192 C1 Alleviation of hunger and suffering........... ................192 C2 Charity .....201 C3 Vegetarianism ..........205 D Spiritual Duties .............213
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