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Modern cultural transformation is a process involving the influence of and relationship among local, regional, national and global factors. Under these conditions, change and resistance to change are often motivated by the relationship between local agency and the larger structural orders that are present in the cultural landscape (Appadurai, 1988; Featherstone, 1990; Sahlins, 1994). In societies undergoing economic and social transformation, each small act of daily life can become a means of expressing cultural identity and identification with local traditions or transformations. Such activities as deciding whether to spend money on bread or noodles rather than eating home-produced rice, choosing to give a child money to purchase ice cream, or deciding whether to gather food or purchase food can be interpreted as a public statement concerning the value of traditional culture or involvement in national and global identity. Consequently, how and whether "global modernity" is reproduced as local diversity is complexly interwoven with personal identity, cultural traditions, religious ideology and the ways in which the state or the international scene has come to be viewed at the regional level.

The question of recent transformations in dietary patterns and intake has continued to be a focus in nutritional and anthropological research (Holmes, 1992; Hush-Ashmore, 1994; Kurth, 1989; Leonard, 1994; Pelto, 1983; Ross, 1996; Whiteford, 1992). These transformations stem from a series of breaks with the past that represent a measure of modernity (Aymard et al., 1996) and cultural identity. These breaks or divergences, however, do not occur in linear or logical sequences. They are often linked to the local, regional, national and global forces that have become part of a contested cultural landscape. The present report focuses on the process of dietary transformation in a village in the northeastern part of Thailand and specifically addresses the ways villagers both maintain traditional food habits and make changes in their diet in the face of culture change.

METHODS

Theoretical Framework

In order to evaluate the process of dietary transformation in a village setting, I used a framework focused on the concept of cuisine (Rozin, 1982) and a modification of a food-selection model described by Belasco (1995). According to food researchers, the unique cuisine in each culture, usually located at the regional level, is a rich complex of human behavior involving a body of fixed recipes possessing ties to the resources of a given region (Rozin , 1982; Mintz, 1996; Revel, 1992). Variation in cuisine depends on three fundamental elements: 1) basic foodstuffs selected for food preparation; 2) manipulative techniques; and 3) seasoning practices. Cuisine is like a language or architecture -- it depends on a socially determined and accepted set of rules (Rozin, 1982). Consequently, I felt that Isan cuisine and culinary practices could be looked at as a text which could be read and interpreted to reveal cultural issues.

The food-selection practices in any culture depend on many factors such as environment, availability, ease of production, custom, palatability, social behavior and religious sanctions. The specific foods selected produce the unique qualities of each cuisine. While cuisine is a cultural system involving rules or prescriptions concerning the act and process of cooking, it also involves individual style or expression of culinary activity. What foods people select and eat are important because there are noticeable differences in taste, odor, appearance, texture and availability. In addition, environmental factors and cost and ease of production interact with cultural expectations.

Eating is a personal act as well as a cultural act. In studying eating behaviors, the focal point becomes the individual food consumer who is embedded in a cultural context. How does a person decide what to eat? Normally, people decide what to eat based on a rough negotiation -- a pushing and tugging-- between the dictates of convenience and identity. Convenience encompasses factors such as price, availability, and ease of preparation. According to Belasco (1995), for the individual these concerns involve such questions as: Can I get it? Can I afford it? Can I make it?

Identity involves a sense of personal individuality and includes such factors as taste preferences, family history and ethnic background. With reference to identity, food choices are often shaped by rituals, symbols and etiquette. Since these factors are rooted in childhood, tradition, and community membership, the culinary dictates of identity are often slow to change and can be seen as representing the tugging of regional or community identity in the face of penetration of the allure of participation in the national or global culture.

Data Collection

This study was conducted in a village in northeastern Thailand in the district of Khon Kaen (Figure 1). The village records indicated that the village consisted of 108 households; however, 105 households were inhabited or maintained during the study period. All 105 households were included in the village survey (Table 1) from which the study sample was drawn using an income-based, stratified, random-sample method. The sample of 64 households consisted of 3 from the high income group, 38 from the middle and 23 from the low income group. Income levels were based on data obtained from the census and an assessment made by the village headman. The study households represented 60 percent of the total households in the village.

Observations were made throughout the study period. The data utilized in the project reported here were obtained through participant observation, food habits questionnaires, twenty-four-hour recall interviews and focus-group discussions. Participant observation focused on food procurement, processing and preparation activities. Women and men were interviewed with a questionnaire that included topics concerning 1) gathering practices and knowledge about wild food and their habitats; 2) use of gathered food; and 3) management practices. The dietary questionnaire, which was conducted with the female head of household, included an extensive section concerning the preparation of food and a twenty-four-hour recall in which the foods eaten in the household during the previous twenty-four hours and the origin of all ingredients in the meals were elicited. The questionnaires were administered during the cool, hot and rainy seasons.

Focus-group interviews were conducted with groups of men and groups of women concerning: 1) attitudes about nondomesticated food; 2) practices for procuring and using non-domesticated and domesticated food items; and 3) cooking and eating practices. The focus-group interview consisted of a discussion among a small group of people (six to twelve people) guided by a facilitator or moderator. Each participant had the opportunity to respond to questions posed by the facilitator or by other group members, to talk freely and to ask questions of other participants.

BACKGROUND

Isan: The Landscape And People

Isan is the largest of the country's four major geographic regions and contains one third of the nation's population. The Northeast is characterized by its own distinctive language and culture, which are most similar to that of neighboring Laos. The region has been inhabited for a long time. Some of the earliest archaeological sites in Asia with evidence of agriculture, pottery and bronze work are located in the Northeast (Higham, 1982; Solheim, 1968). The region is made up of a gently sloping plateau of undulating mini- watersheds and flood plains with a zone of hills and upland areas that ring the area. These hills are most pronounced in the western and southern part of the region and extract moisture from air streams during monsoon periods. Thus, while contributing to the biodiversity of the region, these hills also make the area more susceptible to droughts. Low soil fertility and erratic rainfall explain the relatively low agricultural productivity of the region. Here nature's impact on culture and personal identity has been great.

Today, every aspect of life in Isan, northeastern Thailand, is shaped by the economic and social transformation of Thai society. At the local level, in the markets and villages, the growing influence of the nationalized central Thai image, the increase in development projects, the monetization of the economy and the degradation of the environment are beginning to influence Isan regional lifestyle in a variety of ways.

The Traditional Isan Diet

The semi-arid environment of the Northeast greatly influenced the traditional subsistence system and other adaptations to the habitat. Traditionally, the people in the Northeast adjusted to variability in these habitat factors through the development of a combined subsistence system, in which they complemented reliance on the staple rice and other subsistence crops with a large input from wild food (Moreno-Black, Somnasang & Thamathawan, 1996; Moreno-Black, 1994; Phongphit 1990; Pradipasen, 1986; Somnasang, Moreno-Black & Chusil, 1998; Somnasang, Rathakette & Rathanapanya 1988; Tontisirin, Young-Aree, Chantapiromsuk, Chuncherd, Tontiwattasation, Srianujata, & Sukangpleng, 1986).

The Isan diet is characterized by the dominance of glutinous rice, fish and fish products. The consumption of glutinous rice is a distinctive characteristic of people in the north and northeast. Glutinous or sticky rice is a variety of rice (Oryza sativa) that tends to require a shorter growing season than non-glutinous rice and contains a higher amylopectin starch. This high proportion of amylopectin leads to disintegration of the kernel when it is boiled. Consequently, glutinous rice is usually soaked and then steamed, rather than boiled or placed in water. According to a number of researchers, the early Tai speaking groups adopted the use of glutinous rice when living in China and carried it with them when they migrated southward over several centuries, into Thailand, Laos and Burma.

A wide variety of local wild and semi-domesticated plants and animals embellish the core diet (Moreno-Black, Somnasan & Akanan, 1996; Moreno-Black 1994; Ngamsomsuke, Kamol, Saenchai, Promburom, & Surapon, 1987; Ngarmsak, 1987; Pradipasen, Charoenpong, Temcharoen & Porapakkham, 1985; Somnasang, Rathakette & Rathanapanya, 1988). These important items - collected from forests, upland fields, rice paddies, gardens, house areas, canals, ponds, swamps, rivers, and dam areas - contribute valuable nutrients. Coupled with a variety of cooking methods, they provide important nutrients, add diversity to a potentially monotonous diet and provide food security in times of seasonal and unpredictable scarcity (Moreno-Black, 1994; Moreno- Black & Leimar, 1988; Moreno-Black & Somnasang, 1997; Somnasang, Rathakette & Rathanapanya, 1988).

Northeastern Thai cuisine is distinct from the cuisine of the central, northern and southern regions of Thailand, although overlap exists. The ingestion of meals is often guided by the qualities of taste, smell, and texture, which also guide health-promoting behavior. Flavoring is a critical marker, a defining characteristic of cuisine that imparts identification, a sense of familiarity and a sense of tradition. Isan cuisine is typically distinguishable by its hot, salty flavors, which are primarily imparted from the use of chilies and a heavy infusion from pla ral pla daek. Pla ra is a thick fermented fish sauce, which is made by combining fish with salt, water, rice bran or fried raw rice. The most commonly discussed flavoring principles revolve around the taste combination of salty, sweet, sour, astringent and spicy (hot). Other common flavorings include: garlic, lemon grass, ginger, galangal, several types of basil, small red onions and fish sauce (naam pla).

RESULTS

Contemporary Dietary Choices: Culinary Transformations And Continuities

The Core Dietary Pattern.

At first glance, the contemporary diet in the Northeast still fits the traditional pattern where glutinous rice (Oryza glutinosa) and fish or fish products serve as the core elements in a diet around which other items are added. The predominate dietary pattern that emerged from the twenty-four-hour recall interview was a combination of sticky rice with a fish accompaniment. At the mid-day meal villagers often added papaya salad (som tam), while at other meals they frequently added a vegetable side dish and a dipping sauce (jaew) to the core elements (Table 2).

Another marker of Isan cuisine is the dish som tam/papaya salad. Although papaya salad is eaten elsewhere in the country, such as in the central region, it is made in a very distinctive fashion in each region. In Isan the papaya salad is characteristically made with chilies, pla daek lime and often includes fermented crabs and hog plum fruit. We recorded people consuming som tam at breakfast, lunch or dinner during both the hot and the rainy seasons.

Ingredients

Rice And Noodles. Among the households in the village sample, glutinous rice is still an important mainstay of the diet. Transition from this traditional starch to others is occurring, however, and probably has a complex history. I observed that two main items were seen to occur in the diets, although they are not common and sometimes occur in conjunction with the traditional glutinous rice (Table 2). Only a few people in this village grew ordinary rice, and it was obtained through gifts or exchange if it was not grown in the household. The rice flour noodles (kanome chin) were always purchased, since their production is complex and not done in the village.

Wild Food Dietary Component. As in the past village people still rely heavily on non- domesticated plants and animals. They utilize a wide variety of habitats such as paddy fields, upland areas, forests, ponds, streams, swamps, rivers and other water reservoirs. Commonly utilized items include algae, green plants, fruits, mushrooms, amphibians, crustaceans, fish, birds, reptiles, insects and mammals. Data from the twenty-four-hour recall interviews showed that the villagers utilized 68 different species (37 plant and 31 animal) in their diet during the study period. Most of the fish that were consumed were local species; however, it is becoming increasingly common for villagers to substitute mackerel, either canned or fresh-salted, for fresh, local varieties. Consumption of non-domesticated animals was tied to seasonal availability (Table 3). Village people consumed insects and reptiles more in the hot season while they utilized amphibians and crustaceans most in the rainy season. According to villagers, however, overall consumption of non-domesticated animals was much decreased compared to consumption in former times.

The majority of people in the village reported eating or using wild food at the present time or in the past year. Fifty-five persons (90%) indicated they liked to eat wild food more than cultivated food and food from the market. Only 3 people (5%) reported they did not like wild food, while only 3 people felt that they liked wild food as much as cultivated food. From the villager's perspective, wild food is necessary and is the most important food for everyday life.

Domesticated Animals. A variety of domesticated animal foods were consumed in the village, although with less regularity than fish. Beef, which is traditionally considered a special food, was eaten more often than chicken or pork, and was consumed most in the hot season when there are few agricultural tasks, and religious or family ceremonies and ritual often occur (Table 2). Beef was most commonly obtained as gifts or food exchanges, both of which accompany ceremonies. Beef was purchased from a nearby village that specialized in slaughtering and selling cattle.

Eggs from chickens were most frequently used as food that is given to children, and three families indicated they consumed duck eggs. Pork sausage and fermented sour pork were items that were occasionally consumed, and a few families reported consuming dried squid that was purchased.

Domesticated Fruit And Vegetables. The Isan people incorporate a wide variety of domesticated plants into the diet, and most of the species are indigenous, although some, like tomatoes, watermelon, string bean and asparagus, have been introduced. The most commonly consumed domesticated plants include: papaya (usually unripe in som tam), mango, pak grathin/kaset, bamboo, and eggplant. Fruit and vegetable intake is tied to seasonal availability with the exception of papayas, which in the form of papaya salad was consumed throughout the year. The most commonly consumed fruits include mango (cool and hot seasons) and watermelon (rainy and cool seasons). In addition, ripe tamarind and lime, both important ingredients in som tam and other dishes, were recorded in all seasons. Two families consumed apples, which from the standpoint of Thai dietary repertoire, is the most unusual and non-traditional item. On both occasions, the families purchased the fruit in the Khon Kaen market.

Dairy Foods. Dairy products are not a part of the traditional Thai diet. It is only since WWII that Thailand has developed a dairy industry. Lack of refrigeration, cultural resistance and lactose intolerance have probably all been factors restricting the widespread use of dairy products, although there are very active television campaigns currently that promote the use of milk. Milk consumption in the village was limited, although it was recorded in all three seasons. In addition to the limited milk consumption, Ovaltene and ice cream were also consumed in a number of households (Table 4). Milk consumption was most frequently recorded for children, while Ovaltene, which was usually made with water rather than milk, but contains milk powder as an ingredient, was consumed more often by adults. Ice cream, recorded in the hot and rainy seasons, was found to be consumed mostly by children. All of the dairy products were purchased either at the Khon Kaen market or at one of the small shops in the village.

Sweets And Sugar. Traditionally, honey, coconut products and some fruits such as the palmyra palm fruit (Borassus flabellifer) are the primary sources of sweeteners in the diet, although in the dry climate of the northeast, coconut palms are not abundant. Today, processed white sugar is commonly utilized as an ingredient in some dishes such as mango salad or papaya salad. In addition, a variety of sweets was consumed primarily as snacks and sometimes as a dessert. It was found that some families provided children with sweet snacks such as cookies, sweetened breads, cake and popsicles as well as ice cream (Table 5). Sometimes these types of snacks were provided by family members, but children were also given money and allowed to purchase items of their own choosing at the small shops in the village. In the latter case, adults sometimes inquired later as to what the child had purchased; however, little supervision was provided and frequently the adults did not know what the child had bought.

Sweet items consumed within the family meal or snack context were more often made by a family member or given as a gift by a relative or neighbor. Dessert-type items included sticky rice sweetened with coconut milk, custards, tubers like sweet potatoes or indigenous yams (Dioscorea sp.) served with coconut milk, or luchong Singapore (rice flour snack cooked in coconut milk). However, these types of foods were not common and were recorded being consumed by ten households in the rainy season, seven households in the hot season and only once in the cool season.

Condiments And Flavorings. Although cooking techniques in the village cuisine of Isan remain simple (see below), flavoring is more elaborate. The basic flavoring principles involve contrasting and combining salty, sweet, sour, astringent and spicy (hot) and fragrant (good smelling) commonly adhered to in meal preparation. The most commonly used ingredients in addition to fermented fish sauce (pla ra/pladake) and commercially prepared fish sauce include: garlic, ginger, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, mint, and several different basil varieties. Chili peppers, both fresh and dried, were introduced from South America in the sixteenth century and are used extensively in the village and have become essential to Isan cusine.

Villagers utilized salt and monosodium glutamate (MSG) on a daily basis in almost all of their cooking. Villagers believe that MSG makes their food more "tasty," and consequently, it has become a necessary component of village cooking. It is purchased in small packets from the village shops. Yaanang (Tiliacora triandra Diels) leaves are also utilized in the preparation of traditional dishes such as bamboo-shoot soup. They are essential for the viscous liquid that is extracted from them more than for flavoring. In addition, some households reported utilizing flavorings which are not traditional to Isan cuisine. These included peanut powder, soy sauce, cinnamon bark and bouillon (Table 5).

Fats and oils. The use of fats and oils in cooking was not common in the village. However, bottled vegetable oil was recorded as being used at various times during the year. Pork oil was used much less frequently. Although an oily taste often occurs naturally in frogs, some insects and various animals were considered the most delicious food prepared without oil. Eggs and chicken were the most frequent types of food cooked with oil, and the eggs in particular were most frequently given to children.

Cooking Methods

Although the flavoring combinations in the village cuisine of Isan are quite varied, the cooking techniques remain simple. Village cooking requires a limited array of equipment, usually a mortar and pestle, a pot or two for boiling, a conical woven basket for steaming glutinous rice and a grill. In some households, families use a wok and a few households own electric woks or electric rice steamers.

Cooking is generally accomplished quickly and just prior to eating. Grilling, steaming, and boiling are the primary methods used to transform food. Village people infrequently fry food with oil. They often use manipulative techniques such as cutting, grinding, fermenting and pickling to prepare food prior to cooking or consumption. They eat a number if dishes such as laapl larb and koi raw, and they eat many of the green plants, both domesticated and wild, fresh.

Contemporary Dietary Choices. Food Selection Factors

Nondomesticated Food Component

The villagers gave a variety of reasons why they preferred wild food over cultivated food (Table 5). The most frequent reasons were related to qualities concerning: 1) taste; 2) economics; and 3) ease and safety. The concept of taste is obviously very important and included a number of important components. First, villagers often mentioned the fact that wild food is more delicious and tastes better than cultivated food. They also thought wild food was fresher and tasted more naturally sweet than market food. This is partially because of the inherent qualities of the food and because villagers can gather wild food and consume it soon afterwards. They also consider wild food items to be better because they grow naturally, have more nutrient value, especially vitamin and protein content, and less fat.

The second group of reasons is related to economics. The villagers considered wild food to be good because they did not have to pay money for it; thus, they were able to save money by eating wild food. However, many villagers felt that poor people needed to rely more on wild food, because they did not have as much money to spend on food. They did not look down on individuals who relied on wild food, and they often commented on how they admired people who gathered wild food because they were so industrious and hard-working. Many people also recognized that even rich people utilize wild food as a way to save on spending money for something that is available without monetary cost. Consequently, nondomesticated food is still not stigmatized as "food of poverty".

The last set of reasons for preferring wild food revolved around the concept of ease and safety. Villagers preferred wild food because it was easy to obtain or they did not have to spend time or energy on cultivating it; it is natural and grows by itself. Wild food is also considered safe because they believe it does not contain contaminants from fertilizers or insecticides. It is also considered to be clean, because it comes from the natural environment. It is not mixed with food that can become dirty at the market in town.

Procurement patterns are greatly affected by time factors. Gathering is commonly done in conjunction with other activities such as gardening, agricultural wage labor or tending cattle, as it is done as its own activity. Gathering patterns are to a large extent dependent on both the seasonal availability of the food and seasonal workload of the villagers. In the rainy season when villagers are actively engaged in rice agricultural tasks, they tend to choose to gather food that is close at hand and does not take much time to obtain. Similarly, for those households that are moving into cash-oriented agriculture, such as growing asparagus or cucumbers for the commercial market, the opportunity to gather nondomesticated food is limited. Thus, it was not surprising that in the rainy season, 53% of the women spent an hour or less gathering. On the other hand, in the cool season when agricultural demands are less, 64% of the women spent one to two hours gathering. In the hot season, however, availability factors more than other activities affect the amount of time spent obtaining wild food. The scarcity of nondomesticated food in the hot season results in the village women spending more time in this activity, and 31% spent two or more hours in gathering activities.

The selection of food is influenced not only by time constraints and preference but also by attitudes about the identity of individuals who are known to consume the food. Personal identity and food consumption are linked in powerful ways. The villagers in this study expressed a variety of opinions concerning individuals who consume nondomesticated food. These associations consciously and unconsciously affect the selection of these foods within the village context. When questioned about the issue of whether nondomesticated food is associated with social status, villagers indicated they believed nondomesticated food is essential for the poor. T'hey indicated that the poorer people in the village have to depend on wild food, they have more experience obtaining it and they are very knowledgeable in how and where to procure nondomesticated food. Villagers also expressed the sentiment that the poor also exchange wild food for other food items such as rice. However, villagers also indicated that they did not look down on individuals who gathered wild food. Instead, they were considered industrious and hardworking; and often a degree of admiration was voiced.

Conflicting beliefs were expressed when others in the village indicated they believed rich people consumed more wild food because they had money to buy it, when it was not easy to obtain or when they were too busy to gather it themselves. A few individuals indicated they believed rich people ate more wild food because, unlike the poor people who had to engage in wage labor, wealthy individuals had time to obtain non-domesticated food. In the minds of these individuals, the poor people in the village relied on cheap, prepared foods from the village shops. In the opinion of this group, purchased food was associated with poverty and was considered to be poor quality food.

When asked about how urban people view wild food, villagers were of the opinion that towns-people like non-domesticated food and are often eager to purchase these items for ingredients in specific dishes, or as snacks. Villagers believed that nondomesticated food has a better market value and sells better than domesticated food and that the wild food can obtain a better price. A small number of the interviewees (10 individuals) differed from the rest of the sample by suggesting that towns-people had a poor attitude toward wild food, look down on village people who eat wild food or think that wild food, especially insects and some animals, are not clean and are disgusting. These villagers thought that urban people may look down on villagers who eat this type of food.

Cultivated, Domesticated and Purchased Foods

As indicated previously the majority of villagers reported eating wild foods or using them during the course of the study. Tle villagers also expressed a distinct preference for wild food, and often specifically descibed the negative qualities of cultivated food. Domesticated food, because it comes from agricultural areas that are not considered "natural environment," is believed to be contaminated with fertilizers, insecticides or other chemicals, and thus is not believed to be as safe to eat as wild food. Additionally, a number of villagers believed that domesticated food has less nutritional value and more fat than nondomesticated food. For the few individuals who expressed a preference for cultivated food over wild food, they believed that cultivated food provided more vitamins, minerals and was more delicious. Some individuals also indicated that it is easy to buy food from a store and purchasing food takes less time than gathering. Indeed, it was the time factor which often emerged as a common motivation for selecting certain types of food as well as preparation and procurement practices.

Despite these attitudes, the analysis of the dietary data indicates that the people of Isan regularly consumed domesticated food. They grow a wide variety of plants in house gardens, paddy gardens and gardens in public areas. These items also contribute to the distinctive taste of Isan cuisine and are essential for health, taste and nutritive value. Other than contrasting domesticated food with nondomesticated in the ways mentioned above, little was said concerning what factors influenced choice of these items.

Descriptions of recipes and meals revealed that beef was often consumed as a result of a ceremony in the family, village or nearby village. However, comments such as heating beef laap is ordinary because we can buy it anytime" reflect subtle shifts in availability that accompany the move to a cash-based economy. Selection of items was also influenced by religious activities. For example, making merit by preparing food for monks usually meant making something that was considered to be delicious or special such as a noodle dish. When such food was prepared, usually enough was made to give the monks and feed the family. However, if food for the monks was purchased the quantity was sufficient only for the monks.

Only a few households (n=6) identified domesticated or purchased food as items that made the day a special one in terms of food consumption. The items identified with the concept of "special" were noodles, durian fruit and a cultivated mushroom. It was more common to have the consumption of a nondomesticated food associated with the concept of a special meal, especially crab, freshwater shrimp or lizards. These items are decreasing in availability while beef and domesticated animal products are increasing in availability. For example, as one individual said, " Even having beef laap is ordinary because we can buy meat and make it."

CONCLUSION AND DISCUSSION

Today, every aspect of life in Isan, northeastern Thailand, is shaped by the economic and social transformation of Thai society. At the local level, in the markets and villages, the growing influence of the nationalized central Thai image, the increase in development projects, the monetization of the economy and the degradation of the environment are influencing Isan regional lifestyle in a variety of ways. These influences become noticeable in the context of local diet and foodways. The dietary information obtained in this study documents that the villagers in Isan are not passively experiencing change but are active agents seeking both to maintain their cultural identity as well as to move and negotiate in the rapidly changing social and economic environment in which they live.

Tle results of this study show that among the villagers in northeastern Thailand there is a strong sense of identity. Regional identity, which involves a sense of belonging and pride, as well as in-group and out-group categorization, is strong among the people of Isan. Here nature's impact on culture and personal identity has been great. In Isan, the significance of the retention of traditional food patterns should not be underestimated. Meals and specific dishes continue to take on forms proscribed by culture and determined by the individuals who construct them. Villagers persist in seeking out and procuring nondomesticated food items for a variety of reasons.

In the current situation, the use of wild food is not just a simple matter of availability or ease of procurement, and these items are increasingly becoming difficult to obtain. Procurement of non-domesticated food items is becoming more difficult for a number of reasons. First, as the local economy changes from a subsistence base to a more cash-oriented economy, the local people spend an increased amount of time in wage-earning endeavors, thus decreasing the amount of time in food procurement, especially in gathering activities. Secondly, as deforestation increases, local resources have become increasingly difficult to find and many species are rapidly becoming extinct. Finally, the use of local non-domesticated and semi-domesticated resources as cash generators has become a viable economic strategy for rural woman, but has put an additional strain on the resource base.

Despite these impediments, non-domesticated food remains important and necessary to the people of Isan because it is considered part of the way of life of the people. Taste, texture and smell all contribute to the quality of food. These aspects of Isan cuisine cannot be obtained from other ingredients. In order to preserve the cuisine of Isan, the food of the people, the specific dietary items must be utilized. From the perspective of the villagers, non-domesticated food is as necessary to life as rice is. Poor people eat it as well as the rich; even people who have moved to the nearby towns consume nondomesticated food. It is the substance that connects them to their land and their way of life. If you cannot collect it yourself, you buy it. The process of procurement is no longer as important as the retention of the ingredients.

Nondomesticated food is also the source of sustenance, both literally and metaphorically. The freshwater fish that are obtained in the ponds, rivers and flooded paddy fields form the core of the diet along with rice. When people have enough fish and rice, they have enough food. They eat fish as they are caught and when fish are in abundance they are preserved by making fermented fish sauce, pla ra/pla daek. The fermented fish sauce and chili peppers are added to most Isan dishes and imbue each with the distinctive Northeastern hot, strong and salty taste. Although scorned by some outsiders, to the people of Isan, this flavor is quintessential Isan. Additionally, villagers have definite beliefs about the positive health benefits of nondomesticated food. These beliefs have not been abandoned in the wake of increased contact with the wider national culture through out-migration for work, higher levels of education and increased use of radio and television. Nondomesticated food is healthy food, and many items are used medicinally as well as for food.

It is in the children's diets that we can see increasing addition of cultivated and non- traditional processed food. These items are purchased from the village shops and markets in nearby towns. Parents make choices that favor the inclusion of these items for a variety of reasons. First, they are easy to prepare in a world where time constraints are growing. Eggs, canned fish and pre-prepared sausages are handy as the market place moves into reach. Through the car vendors and village shopkeepers new items become available. Additionally, children not only request sweets like cookies and ice cream, they are also given money and allowed to make purchases that are not monitored by adults. In the current economic reality of the village, many children spend at least a part of the year in the charge of grandparents while their parents leave the village in search of seasonal or permanent employment. The older grandparents tend to be reluctant to supervise these children too closely. These elderly villagers are not only beset with concerns over their own livelihood, but now they find themselves raising grandchildren, often without the benefit of an extended kin network.

The wider Thai society enters village households in a variety of ways. It reaches them through television and radio programs, and it arrives in the food gifts from adult children who have been away earning money in nearby towns. It also comes in the form of news, experiences and gifts of family members who joumey to Singapore and the Middle East for employment. The desire to show the trappings of the cosmopolitan world outside the village exists alongside the longing to maintain a sense of identity. Individuals choose to add new items and retain familiar tastes based on personal circumstances involving time constraints and economic realities, while they also choose as best as possible to cook traditional foods and teach them to their children.

The dietary recall data obtained in this study over a full annual cycle clearly shows that the villagers in this region are retaining much of their traditional food patterns at the same time that shifts in their diet are occurring. They are incorporating more domesticated foods and are adding new items such as non-glutinous rice and some cultivated plants such as asparagus. However, most of these types of dietary shifts are still not dramatic. For other items, such as sugar, oil and some processed snack foods, the shifts are more striking. These transformations are potentially worrisome since they conceivably signal the types of changes that often accompany the economic shifts associated with industrialization, the same shifts which have come to be associated with specific health problems such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. At present, however, under the current social and economic conditions that exist in contemporary Isan, it is clear that both continuity and change characterize the diet of these villagers. The desire to maintain a traditional lifestyle and diet is still strong in the adult population. Change is happening rapidly; however, it is not all embracing. Individuals actively seek to maintain selected aspects of their customary lifestyle. The penetration of national and global society is subtle and individuals actively resist and accommodate to its effects.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This study was part of a larger project focusing on the use of nondomesticated, indigenous plants and animals in the northeastern part of Thailand. The project was supported by grants from The Wenner Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and the Social Science Research Council. I extend my appreciation to the staff of the National Research Council of Thailand for their assistance and willingness to allow this project to continue over an extended period of time. I am especially grateful to the villagers who participated in the project. Their patience, help, information and hospitality were the highlight of my time in the Northeast. I would also like to thank Dr. Prapimpon Rathakette for her assistance. I am likewise indebted to Ms. Pissamai Homchampa. Her assistance was invaluable and her commitment and congeniality were an inspiration to me.

REFERENCES

Table 2. Dietary choices in the contemporary village

Table 3. Number of households in which predominant wild food items in the diet were recorded at least once in the 24 hour recall interview. (n=54 households)

Table 4. Number of households in which predominant nontraditional food and ingredients items were recorded at least once in the 24 hour recall interview.

Table 5. Reasons for preferring wild food over cultivated food*. (n=64 households)

Table 6. Reasons for gathering wild food* (n--63 households)

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