Zhuoma Gadou

Tibetan pastoralism is under pressure today not only from Chinese state policies but also a globalized industrial food regime that devalues herders’ livestock and threatens local food systems, cultural identity, and pastoralists' ability to stay on their ancestral land. This project centers the experiences and agency of Tibetan pastoralists in relation to two commodity chains: locally produced yak meat and imported beef. This research follows these two commodities as an analytical lens to examine how global industrial beef production affects Tibetan communities, livelihoods, and identities, and how Tibetan pastoralists agentively respond. Through community engagement, this action-oriented project contributes to Food Studies, Economic Geography, and China Studies.