Conceptualising Food Fermentation as Resource, Belonging, and Relationship in the Social Sciences and Humanities

Fermentation is attracting increasing attention across the social sciences and humanities, yet this body of scholarship approaches the concept using a diverse array of intellectual traditions. Previous reviews have primarily focused on specific fields, and relatively little attention has been paid to how fermentation itself is conceptualised across the broader social science and humanities literature. This review examines English- and French-language scholarship on contemporary food fermentation, and identifies the ways in which fermentation is mobilised as an object of inquiry. By conducting an interpretive review of the literature, three broad conceptualisations are identified. In the first, fermentation is framed as a resource, notably through discussions of health, food security, biodiversity, and traditional knowledge. In the second, fermentation is approached as a marker of identity, contributing to processes of belonging, distinction, terroir, and cultural heritage. In the third, fermentation is conceptualised as a relationship, with an emphasis on coexistence, care, interdependence, and human–microbial entanglements. The review highlights tensions relating to the recognition and validation of traditional knowledge, and contrasting understandings of microbes as either resources or partners. Overall, the findings suggest that fermentation functions as a particularly versatile object of inquiry, enabling different research traditions to address diverse questions related to health, culture, identity, and human–microbial relations.