Land of Famished Beings

"In Land of Famished Beings, Sophie Chao explores how the concept of hunger is understood, theorized, and critiqued by Indigenous Marind inhabitants of an emergent plantation frontier in West Papua. Expansion of monocrop farming since 2010 has not only threatened biodiverse forest ecosystems that the Marind rely on, but also altered available food sources, making Marind communities more dependent on processed foods. Working with Marind activists as co-thinkers, Chao shares insights into conceptualizations of hunger as a condition that is necessarily situated and intersubjective, rather than limited to the individual. Offering a grassroots perspective on food insecurity and malnutrition based on long-term fieldwork in West Papua, this book centers the lived experiences and gendered dynamics of thought within Marind communities, while addressing themes of development, capitalism, oppression, and globalization"-- Provided by publisher.