Divided Spirits – Tequila, Mezcal, and the Politics of Production: California Studies in Food and Culture

"Sarah Bowen's investigation of tequila and mezcal production in contemporary Mexico is masterful. She evocatively lays out the perils and possibilities of 'glocalization' as a strategy for protecting people, food, and drinks with a clear-eyed examination of the consequences of instituting denominations of origin and quality standards for tequila and mezcal. Although growing agave and making tequila and mezcal remain important for Mexicans, Bowen neither romanticizes nor dismisses the contradictions that emerge when agrarian and cultural ideals confront the complex power dynamics of a global political economic system. Divided Spirits reveals the continued need to protect agrarian livelihoods, artisan food and drink, and cultural and biological diversity. Retaining control over whom and what determines quality is Bowen's important and innovative call to arms, and we all should listen. Everyone must be involved in this fight--from small agave farmers in Oaxaca to bureaucrats in Mexico City to urban hipsters drinking smoky mezcal in a bar." --Amy Trubek, University of Vermont