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<p>In this study, I examine the complex intertwining of the relationship between man and nature through the activities of a typical group of farmers dominated by urban-rural farmers, the artisan cheese makers of Hungary. I focus on a specific issue, raw milk cheese making, where humans and microbes work together on a daily basis to produce a sellable product. In this context, I will describe how the complex, hybrid nature of the knowledge required for this process of cheese making is produced, and then review the different narratives of Hungarian cheesemakers about the method. I will then show how this method and the particular perspective it entails affects the daily practice of farming, and how working with invisible microbes transforms the fundamental way these farmers think about the relationship between humans and non-human actors.</p>
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In this study, I examine the complex intertwining of the relationship between man and nature through the activities of a typical group of farmers dominated by urban-rural farmers, the artisan cheese makers of Hungary. I focus on a specific issue, raw milk cheese making, where humans and microbes work together on a daily basis to produce a sellable product. In this context, I will describe how the complex, hybrid nature of the knowledge required for this process of cheese making is produced, and then review the different narratives of Hungarian cheesemakers about the method. I will then show how this method and the particular perspective it entails affects the daily practice of farming, and how working with invisible microbes transforms the fundamental way these farmers think about the relationship between humans and non-human actors.

It is Possible to Work with Them and Develop such a Mutually Good Relationship…”

Department of Ethnography – Cultural Anthropology

Hungarian Studies Yearbook

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Ecological knowledge and the raw milk method among contemporary Hungarian cheesemakers

In this study, I examine the complex intertwining of the relationship between man and nature through the activities of a typical group of farmers dominated by...

It is Possible to Work with Them and Develop such a Mutually Good Relationship…”

Published Online: Nov 02, 2023

Page range: 79 - 102

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/hsy-2023-0006

Keywords
artisan cheesemaking, raw milk cheeses, small scale farmers, microbes, man – nature relationship, ecological knowledge

© 2023 Pál Géza Balogh, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

It is Possible to Work with Them and Develop such a Mutually Good Relationship…”

Published Online: Nov 02, 2023

Page range: 79 - 102

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/hsy-2023-0006

Keywordsartisan cheesemaking, raw milk cheeses, small scale farmers, microbes, man – nature relationship, ecological knowledge

© 2023 Pál Géza Balogh, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
artisan cheesemaking, raw milk cheeses, small scale farmers, microbes, man – nature relationship, ecological knowledge