Richard Wilk is Provost's Professor of Anthropology and Director of Food Studies at Indiana University. His recent books include Home Cooking in the Global Village (Berg, 2006) and Fast Food/Slow Food (2006).

Livia Barbosa is Professor of Anthropology and Research Director at the Center of Advanced Studies of the Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and has written extensively on food trends and habits in Brazil.

1. Introduction, Richard Wilk, Indiana University, USA and Livia Barbosa, Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing, Brazil

2. The National Dish of the 'Motherland': Rice, Beans and African Beginnings Michael W. Twitty, Independent Scholar, Maryland, USA

3. Sustenance in Special Times: Rice and Beans in Post-Soviet Cuba, Anna Cristina Pertierra, University of Queensland, Australia

4. Jamaican Versions of Rice and Peas, B.W. Higman, Australian National University, Australia

5. Rice and Beans in the Eastern Caribbean, Riva Berleant, University of Connecticut, USA

6. Rice with Beans and Beans with Rice, Livia Barbosa, Escola Superior de Propaganda e Marketing, Brazil

7. Beans as Patria, Locus and Domus in Brazilian Cuisine, Carlos Alberto Dória, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil

8. 'Cook-up Rice': Constructing Guyanese Identities with Rice and Beans, Gillian Richards-Greaves, Indiana University, USA

9. All in One Pot: The Place of Rice and Beans in Panama's Regional and National Cuisine, Carla Guerrón Montero, University of Delaware, USA

10. Defending National Foodways: Laying Claim to Tradition in Costa Rica, Theresa Preston-Werner, Northwestern University, USA

11. Independence, Globalization and Rice and Beans, Richard Wilk, Indiana University, USA

12. Rice and Beans, Staple of Even the Most Respectable Mexicans, Mari-Jose Amerlinck, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico

13. Red Beans and Rebuilding: An Iconic Dish, Memory and Culture in New Orleans, David Beriss, University of New Orleans, USA

14. Conclusion, Sidney Mintz, Johns Hopkins University, USA