Biscuit production and consumption as war re-enactment

Abstract

This paper argues that eating biscuits produces a small-scale war re- enactment with each bite. I focus on Anzac biscuits, which are sold at cafes, baked at home, nibbled at morning tea, and are a crucial fundraiser for veterans’ organizations across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The biscuit’s commemorative function starts with the Australia New Zealand Army Corps’ participation in the Gallipoli campaign during World War I. Anzac biscuits connect contemporary eaters with food observed on the battlefield. Thinking Anzac biscuits together with war re-enactment complicates the biscuit’s relations with national belonging, which rely on communitarian Christian frameworks that emphasize liturgy and communion. War re-enactment offers opportunities for slippage, transformation, and the possibility of changing history to change the present. Biscuits, including but not limited to Anzac biscuits, become political actors that counter conventional frameworks and invite new associations. Show more