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. The Conceptual Bases of Zapotec Farming and Foodways . In Mexico the term ‘‘campesino’’ literally means ‘‘country person’’ or ‘‘person who works in the fields.’’ I have chosen to use this term rather than ‘‘peasant’’ because many Talean campesinos do not meet any formal definition of ‘‘peasant.’’ The anthropological interest in ‘‘peasants’’ began in the s with the study of ‘‘folk society’’ (Redfield ). Since that time various efforts have been made at defining ‘‘peasants’’ and the communities in which they live (Kroeber ; Wolf , ; Foster ). The term has recently come under fire from anthropologists, particularly Michael Kearney (), who argues that it has outlived its usefulness. . I have chosen the terms ‘‘local science’’ and ‘‘cosmopolitan science’’ to refer to two different approaches to knowledge. Local science is situated in a specific place; it ‘‘is particular, by definition; it can be acquired only by local practice and experience . . . the holder of such knowledge typically has a passionate interest in a particular outcome’’ (Scott :–). As examples, we might think of the farming knowledge of Zapotec campesinos, the hunting knowledge of the Cree, the medical knowledge of Chinese acupuncturists or of orthopedic surgeons who specialize in knees, or the practical knowledge of ship pilots. James Scott (:–) has expressed a similar idea with the term métis: ‘‘practical knowledge that can only come from experience.’’ The emphasis here is on the nature of knowledge as something constructed from practice and experience, as in the case of Chinese medical specialists (Farquhar ) and West African subsistence farmers (Nyerges ). Local knowledge is typically dynamic and flexible enough to use in dealing with a range of unforeseen circumstances and is not usually codified. I use the term ‘‘cosmopolitan science’’ to describe bodies of knowledge which are truly cosmopolitan or international in scope, in the sense that () they draw upon science traditions from many societies around the world (Chinese, Indian, European, Mesoamerican, etc.) and () they are practiced in many different countries, by people from many different cultural and ethnic groups. Notes to Pages – Cosmopolitan science represents a sharp and self-conscious rupture with Western classical scientific traditions (astrology, biblical creationism, Hippocratic medicine, etc.). It includes such fields as modern international biomedicine, nuclear physics, agronomy, molecular cell biology, agroecology, and ethnobotany. Cosmopolitan sciences are often quite precise and powerful because their practitioners radically restrict the field of scientific inquiry to only a few variables. Theories are codified in a set of universal rules or general scientific laws which only change when they are superseded by others. These terms, though not without problems, are much better than the alternatives. ‘‘Western ’’ versus ‘‘non-Western’’ science has, in blunt terms, racist connotations. What is often incorrectly referred to as modern Western science is in fact derived from many science traditions around the world. ‘‘Traditional’’ versus ‘‘modern’’ science is a problematic distinction because ‘‘tradition’’ implies stasis, which is not true in the case of local knowledges. Similarly, ‘‘indigenous’’ knowledge systems are rarely completely indigenous. . In order to draw a distinction between Homo economicus and the subsistence farmer, several terms have been coined that describe the latter forms of culture/agriculture as ‘‘traditional ’’ (Wilken ), ‘‘indigenous’’ (Richards ), ‘‘peasant’’ (Foster ), ‘‘sustainable’’ (Altieri ), or subject to a noncapitalist ‘‘moral economy’’ (Scott ). . See Malinowski () and Netting (). . See also Norman (), Belshaw (), and Toledo (). . See also (), Richards (), Bandyopadhyay and Shiva (), Kidd and Colletta (), Posey (), and Warren (). . These bear some resemblance to anthropological notions of ‘‘world view’’ (Geertz ), ‘‘paradigms’’ (Kuhn ), ‘‘themes’’ (Geertz ; Opler ), or ‘‘cultural patterns’’ (Kroeber ; Benedict ). . It seems likely that hot/cold food classifications, for example, came from the outside (see note below); thus it would clearly be a prescriptive guide. The mantenimiento and reciprocity concepts, however, are probably logical, inevitable deductions that have been made over the course of many centuries. . This process has been documented in other parts of the world where shifts have been made from subsistence food production to cash cropping (Gudeman ; Pratt ). . Among other things, this is likely to depend on international coffee prices, maize and bean subsidies, migration, and other external factors. . The matelacihua appears across Mesoamerica. The term comes from Nahuatl. . There are contrary trends among segments of the U.S. population, as we shall see in the concluding chapter. Specifically, the market for organic foods is growing rapidly in the United States. . There may be other criteria as well. Oranges are a ‘‘hot’’ color, while limes are a ‘‘cool’’ color. . Specifically, most of the soil, water, air, and...