Potreros, cultivos e desigualdad. Cuestionar la relación inversa entre el tamaño y la productividad de fincas en Colombia

The Colombian countryside has long been dominated by grass and inequality. Economic theory (i.e., the inverse relationship between farm size and productivity) holds that the monopolization of land by ranchers is irrational since farming is more productive than ranching and small farms often produce more per area than large ones. Traditional explanations for the predominance of grass and the country’s agrarian structure focus on extra-economic coercion and the status associated with owning land and cattle. By contrast, this study explores the relative profitability of ranching and the limitations of peasant agriculture, which generated contrasting capacities to accumulate. It thus suggests that land markets, and the productive advantages of cattle, offer an alternative explanation.El campo colombiano ha estado dominado históricamente por potreros y marcado por una profunda desigualdad. Dado que la agricultura es más productiva que la ganadería y que las fincas pequeñas suelen producir más por área que las grandes, tanto el predominio del pasto como la estructura agraria parecerían ser irracionales en términos económicos. Las explicaciones tradicionales de esta situación se enfocan en la coerción extraeconómica y en la búsqueda del estatus por medio de la posesión de tierras. Este artículo enfatiza la rentabilidad relativa de la ganadería y las limitaciones de la agricultura campesina, que generaron capacidades muy disímiles de acumulación en estos dos sectores. Así, propone que el mercado de tierras y las ventajas productivas del ganado ofrecen una explicación alternativa al predominio de pasto y ganado.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Environmental Histories of the Pacific and Caribbean Coasts of Colombia

In this comparative environmental history, we examine the divergent trajectories of Colombia’s coastal forests since the mid-19th century. In the Pacific lowlands, natural resource extraction by a black peasantry altered the forested landscape but did not transform it completely. Left by the white, merchant elite in charge of the extractive process, this post-emancipation society maintained their territorial independence and avoided significant internal differentiation. Racial divisions, however, signaled the continuation of disparities that had their origin in slavery and colonialism. In the Caribbean, by contrast, the expansion of cattle ranching better integrated the region into the nation, but at the expense of extensive deforestation and the marginalization of what had been its relatively independent peasantry. By paying attention to the ecological and social basis of landscape appropriation and change, we suggest that environmental history can help us better understand the production of inequality in Latin America

Environmental Histories of the Pacific and Caribbean Coasts of Colombia

In this comparative environmental history, we examine the divergent trajectories of Colombia’s coastal forests since the mid-19th century. In the Pacific lowlands, natural resource extraction by a black peasantry altered the forested landscape but did not transform it completely. Left by the white, merchant elite in charge of the extractive process, this post-emancipation society maintained their territorial independence and avoided significant internal differentiation. Racial divisions, however, signaled the continuation of disparities that had their origin in slavery and colonialism. In the Caribbean, by contrast, the expansion of cattle ranching better integrated the region into the nation, but at the expense of extensive deforestation and the marginalization of what had been its relatively independent peasantry. By paying attention to the ecological and social basis of landscape appropriation and change, we suggest that environmental history can help us better understand the production of inequality in Latin America

Mucha res y poco cerdo: el consumo de la carne en Colombia

Este artículo busca explicar por qué los colombianos han comido más carne de res que de cerdo en comparación con otros latinoamericanos. Comienza examinando el desarrollo de una tradición culinaria que favorece la carne de res. El eje central del argumento, sin embargo, es que la carne de res ha sido, históricamente, bastante más barata que la de cerdo. Esta diferencia de precio está ligada al alto costo del maíz, que suele emplearse para la ceba de cerdos, debido a la baja productividad de la agricultura colombiana. Otros factores que favorecieron a la carne de res incluyen una frontera agraria en retroceso, una población de cerdos pequeña, las ventajas de la ganadería, la monopolización de la tierra, la influencia de la importación de manteca de cerdo y el desarrollo de una industria de aceite vegetal.This article seeks to understand why Colombians, compared to many other Latin Americans, have traditionally eaten so much more beef than pork. The article first points to the development of a culinary tradition that favored beef. The bulk of the argument, though, centers on the fact that, historically, beef has been substantially cheaper than pork. This price difference, in turn, is rooted in the low productivity of Colombian agriculture, which made corn, often used to fatten hogs, expensive. Additional factors that favored beef include a receding agrarian frontier, a small hog population, the various advantages of cattle, a conflict–ridden history of land monopolization, and the influence of lard imports and the subsequent development of a vegetable oil industry.O objetivo deste artigo é explicar o motivo pelo qual os colombianos vêm comendo mais carne de vaca do que de porco em comparação com outros latino-americanos. O texto começa examinando o desenvolvimento de uma tradição culinária que privilegia a carne de vaca. No entanto, o eixo central do argumento é que a carne de vaca tem sido historicamente muito mais econômica do que a de porco. Esta diferença de preço tem relação com o alto custo do milho, que costuma ser empregado para o engorde dos porcos, devido à baixa produtividade da agricultura colombiana. Outros fatores que favoreceram a tradição culinária da carne são: o contexto de uma fronteira agrária em retrocesso, uma baixa população de porcos, a vantagem da pecuária, a monopolização da terra, a influência da importação da banha de porco e o desenvolvimento de uma indústria de óleo vegetal

Los ajiacos colombianos

Ante una invitación a un almuerzo de ajiaco, la gran mayoría de colombianos esperaría una “sopa espesa hecha con diversas clases de papas, pollo, maíz tierno y aromatizada con hojas de guasca” (Real Academia Española, 2001). Algunos harían hincapié en la necesidad de incluir papas criollas, que se deshacen en la cocción, para dar sabor y color al caldo. Otros argüirían que sin la adición de la crema de leche, que enriquece esta espesa preparación dándole una textura más suave, y sin el contra..

Presentación

La comida es una de las pocas cosas absolutamente ineludibles de la vida. Esta no es sólo una verdad biológica incontrovertible. La comida ha sido siempre un pilar fundamental de la cultura humana, y las connotaciones simbólicas y sociales de lo que comemos son tan importantes como las nutricionales. Pero a medida que avanzamos hacia un planeta de ciudades la gran mayoría de nosotros se ha ido desconectando del origen de la comida. Comer se ha vuelto un ritual más o menos automático que nos e..

Africa and the Americas in the Columbian Exchange: an Interview with Judith Carney

Africa and the Americas in the Columbian Exchange: an Interview with Judith CarneyAfrica and the Americas in the Columbian Exchange: an Interview with Judith CarneyAfrica and the Americas in the Columbian Exchange: an Interview with Judith Carne

Mucha res y poco cerdo: el consumo de la carne en Colombia.

This article seeks to understand why Colombians, compared to many other Latin Americans, have traditionally eaten so much more beef than pork. The article first pointstothe development of a culinary tradition thatfavored beef. The bulkof the argument, though, centers on the fact that, historically, beef has been substantially cheaper than pork. This price difference, in turn, is rooted in the low productivity of Colombian agriculture, which made corn, often used to fatten hogs, expensive. Additional factors that favored beef include a receding agrarian frontier, a small hog population, the various advantages of cattle, a conflictridden history of land monopolization, and the influence of lard imports and the subsequent development of a vegetable oil industry