Satisfying Istanbul (Book)

Feeding Istanbul: The Political Economy of Urban Provisioning, authored by Candan Türkkan, is an academic work that examines the political and economic dimensions of urban food supply systems. The original title of the book is Feeding Istanbul: The Political Economy of Urban Provisioning, and the Turkish translation was also done by the author himself.

The book was first published in July 2023 by İletişim Yayınları. Comprising a total of 238 pages, it is presented as the 15th volume of the publisher’s series “Ruhun Gıdası Kitaplar”.

The study centers on Istanbul’s “iaşe” (food provisioning) system, tracing its evolution from centuries of serving as the capital of the Ottoman Empire to its current status as Türkiye’s financial hub, through historical, cultural, and economic lenses. Türkkan proceeds from the central argument that food and provisioning function as a tool for establishing and maintaining power. The book analyzes how this insight transformed over a broad historical period—from the Ottoman era to the Republic of Türkiye—through distinct economic policies and the social and political consequences that ensued.

The work focuses on two main periods, both chronologically and thematically:

1. Historical Analysis (Ottoman Period): Using primary sources on food supply in Ottoman Istanbul alongside scholarship from history, anthropology, and geography, the study elucidates the characteristics and functioning of the provisioning system. It traces the system’s gradual disintegration beginning in the 19th century, offering a detailed historical analysis of the changing food regime.
2. Contemporary Dynamics (Post-1980): The transformations in Türkiye’s economy and everyday life since the 1980s are critically examined. The impact of neoliberal policies, globalization, capital markets, and supply chains on Istanbul’s current food provisioning dynamics is analyzed.

Candan Türkkan holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts. She is currently a faculty member in the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts at Özyeğin University. Her academic research focuses on sustainability, the challenges of Turkish agriculture, food supply chains, global food movements, necroeconomics, the right to life, and alternative food networks in Istanbul.