Economizing chemical compounds: The production of qualities in Turkish olive oil

An article by Dr. Brian Silverstein (SoA Professor), “Economizing chemical compounds: The production of qualities in Turkish olive oil” was published in Economy and Society. You can download the paper from this link: https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy3.library.arizona.edu/doi/epdf/10.1080/03085147.2023.2274223.

Abstract: Producers in many sectors, including food, are seeking to convert chemical com-
pounds into value. Turkey is in the midst of a ‘quality turn’ in its olive oil sector,
as producers seek ways to capture value through what I describe here as processes
of qualification. Based on fieldwork with olive oil producers and others in the
sector in Turkey, I show how the qualities of ‘high-quality’ olive oil are made
through labour, technique and technology, remaking the chemistry of the oil.
The work of stabilizing and standardizing the experiences of taste and smell to
align with international norms involves harvesters, producers, laboratories, inter-
national standards, terminologies, infrastructures, equipment, and consumers.
Such oil is relatively unfamiliar in Turkey, however, necessitating the formation
of a market for it through the economization of its qualities.