The opium poppy in Turkey: alternative perspectives on a controversial crop

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The Opium Poppy in Turkey: Alternative Perspectives on a Controversial Crop by Kyle T. Evered Photographs by the author Introduction Featured today in American newspa- per reports and televised news programs, the opium poppy is a symbol not only of heroin addiction in America but also of NATO’s ongoing and intractable campaign in Afghanistan. Although Afghan President Hamid Karzai dramatically declared ‘‘a jihad’’ against the crop in December 2004, revenues derived from its cultivation con- tinue to finance both the insurgency and those corrupt elements within the Afghan state itself – which reportedly include even the president’s own half-brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai (Risen 2008). Depicted in these contexts, many Americans understandably regard the poppy as a ‘‘dangerous’’ crop. Although this article does not seek to confront directly how the opium poppy is implicated either in substance abuse or in the enduring geopolitical conundrum of Afghanistan, it does challenge this singular depiction of the crop as found in the media today by analyzing the very different case of the opium poppy in Turkey. In doing so, it underscores the value of alternative perspectives and approaches in dealing with the challenges both of drugs and drug crops and of associated matters of geopolit- ical insecurity. Examining the opium poppy as culti- vated, processed, marketed, and consumed in Turkey, this article speaks to: 1) how the crop can be controlled; and 2) how it can be viewed alternatively as actually contributing both to sustainable ecologies and to geopolitical security. Because each geographic situation of poppy cultivation is unique, this examination of the crop in Turkey begins with an overview of the poppy in the historical geographies of Anatolia. It then proceeds to outline how opium was implicated in the geopolitics of empires and states and how the Turkish republic adopted regimes of control over the crop during the Cold War era. From these points of departure, the article explores how the opium poppy is culti- vated successfully in Turkey today as a controlled commodity, how this commod- ity contributes to rural livelihoods, and how we might learn from this case as we seek to address sites of ongoing illicit pro- duction, as found within Afghanistan and elsewhere. This study was informed by archival work conducted in collections in the Uni- ted States and in Turkey and several sea- sons of fieldwork carried out in a number of Turkey’s poppy-growing communities. Field research on this topic entailed the collection and analysis of oral histories from now-retired poppy farmers who lived during an earlier era of poppy culti- vation that ended with the early 1970s eradication of the crop and its subsequent reintroduction as a controlled commodity. Additionally, it draws upon ethnographic and questionnaire-based surveys of con- temporary poppy farmers, and participant observation while in the field. The Opium Poppy in Anatolia Though associated commonly with Central, South, Southeast, and East Asia, societies of a wider Mediterranean and European region actually were among the first to cultivate the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum). For broader histories of the opium poppy, see Booth (1998) and Cho- uvy (2010). The plant flourishes in a vari- ety of ecosystems including environments of arid climates and otherwise marginal soils and was hence an obvious choice for the early agriculturalists of Anatolia (Fig- ure 1). The opium poppy not only yielded a narcotic commodity both for local medic- inal purposes and for trade, but was inte- grated into the region’s dietary and material cultures, as well. Thus, millennia prior to the eleventh-century entry of Turkic tribes, the opium poppy occupied an established place in the ecologies and economies of Anatolia. During the long rule of the Ottoman Turks (from ca. 1300 to 1922), the scales of cultivation and the development of the crop’s processing and marketing expanded considerably. Characterizing the place of the poppy in Anatolia throughout the nine- teenth century, one historian later wrote, ‘‘opium touched everyone’’ (Poroy 1981, 196). Indeed, within the cosmopolitan Otto- man Empire, the commodity’s chains of production-to-consumption extended from rural Turkish and other minority farmers to middle men and processors of various ethnicities (especially Armenian, Greek, Jewish, and Turkish), and further to for- eigners eager to purchase the product for export (Schmidt 1998). By the Ottoman per- iod, Turkish opium had an international reputation for its superior quality (i.e., potency). It thus accounted both for most of the opium consumed throughout Europe and for much of the narcotic traded with the Americas, as facilitated by many of New England’s famed clipper ships. A growing number of pharmaceutical applications for opium also contributed to an increased demand for the drug in the West during the nineteenth century. Apart from its unrestricted use since as early as the seventeenth century in the drug lauda- num, the use of Turkish opium only esca- lated during the early- and mid-nineteenth century due to the developments of mor- phine and codeine, respectively. Beyond Europe and America, it was also exported into Persia Iran – despite large volumes of local production – well into the twentieth century, where a large number of consum- ers commonly smoked their opium ‘‘raw’’ (i.e., unprocessed). As the Ottoman Empire entered into stages of economic, institutional, and terri- torial decline (trends that emerged as early as the economic crisis of the seventeenth century), revenues from opium constituted an uncommon constant in the imperial economy. Although not the greatest source of income for the Ottomans, opium was Spring 2011 FOCUS on Geography 1

Transcript of The opium poppy in Turkey: alternative perspectives on a controversial crop

The Opium Poppy in Turkey: AlternativePerspectives on a Controversial Crop

byKyle T. Evered

Photographs by the author

Introduction

Featured today in American newspa-per reports and televised news programs,the opium poppy is a symbol not only ofheroin addiction in America but also ofNATO’s ongoing and intractable campaignin Afghanistan. Although Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai dramatically declared ‘‘ajihad’’ against the crop in December 2004,revenues derived from its cultivation con-tinue to finance both the insurgency andthose corrupt elements within the Afghanstate itself – which reportedly include eventhe president’s own half-brother, AhmedWali Karzai (Risen 2008). Depicted in thesecontexts, many Americans understandablyregard the poppy as a ‘‘dangerous’’ crop.Although this article does not seek toconfront directly how the opium poppy isimplicated either in substance abuse or inthe enduring geopolitical conundrum ofAfghanistan, it does challenge this singulardepiction of the crop as found in the mediatoday by analyzing the very different caseof the opium poppy in Turkey. In doing so,it underscores the value of alternativeperspectives and approaches in dealingwith the challenges both of drugs and drugcrops and of associated matters of geopolit-ical insecurity.

Examining the opium poppy as culti-vated, processed, marketed, and consumedin Turkey, this article speaks to: 1) howthe crop can be controlled; and 2) how itcan be viewed alternatively as actuallycontributing both to sustainable ecologiesand to geopolitical security. Because eachgeographic situation of poppy cultivationis unique, this examination of the crop inTurkey begins with an overview of thepoppy in the historical geographies ofAnatolia. It then proceeds to outline howopium was implicated in the geopolitics ofempires and states and how the Turkishrepublic adopted regimes of control overthe crop during the Cold War era. Fromthese points of departure, the article

explores how the opium poppy is culti-vated successfully in Turkey today as acontrolled commodity, how this commod-ity contributes to rural livelihoods, andhow we might learn from this case as weseek to address sites of ongoing illicit pro-duction, as found within Afghanistan andelsewhere.

This study was informed by archivalwork conducted in collections in the Uni-ted States and in Turkey and several sea-sons of fieldwork carried out in a numberof Turkey’s poppy-growing communities.Field research on this topic entailed thecollection and analysis of oral historiesfrom now-retired poppy farmers wholived during an earlier era of poppy culti-vation that ended with the early 1970seradication of the crop and its subsequentreintroduction as a controlled commodity.Additionally, it draws upon ethnographicand questionnaire-based surveys of con-temporary poppy farmers, and participantobservation while in the field.

The Opium Poppy in Anatolia

Though associated commonly withCentral, South, Southeast, and East Asia,societies of a wider Mediterranean andEuropean region actually were among thefirst to cultivate the opium poppy (Papaversomniferum). For broader histories of theopium poppy, see Booth (1998) and Cho-uvy (2010). The plant flourishes in a vari-ety of ecosystems including environmentsof arid climates and otherwise marginalsoils and was hence an obvious choice forthe early agriculturalists of Anatolia (Fig-ure 1). The opium poppy not only yieldeda narcotic commodity both for local medic-inal purposes and for trade, but was inte-grated into the region’s dietary andmaterial cultures, as well. Thus, millenniaprior to the eleventh-century entry ofTurkic tribes, the opium poppy occupiedan established place in the ecologies andeconomies of Anatolia.

During the long rule of the OttomanTurks (from ca. 1300 to 1922), the scales ofcultivation and the development of thecrop’s processing and marketing expandedconsiderably. Characterizing the place ofthe poppy in Anatolia throughout the nine-teenth century, one historian later wrote,‘‘opium touched everyone’’ (Poroy 1981,196). Indeed, within the cosmopolitan Otto-man Empire, the commodity’s chains ofproduction-to-consumption extended fromrural Turkish and other minority farmersto middle men and processors of variousethnicities (especially Armenian, Greek,Jewish, and Turkish), and further to for-eigners eager to purchase the product forexport (Schmidt 1998). By the Ottoman per-iod, Turkish opium had an internationalreputation for its superior quality (i.e.,potency). It thus accounted both for mostof the opium consumed throughout Europeand for much of the narcotic traded withthe Americas, as facilitated by many ofNew England’s famed clipper ships.

A growing number of pharmaceuticalapplications for opium also contributed toan increased demand for the drug in theWest during the nineteenth century. Apartfrom its unrestricted use since as early asthe seventeenth century in the drug lauda-num, the use of Turkish opium only esca-lated during the early- and mid-nineteenthcentury due to the developments of mor-phine and codeine, respectively. BeyondEurope and America, it was also exportedinto Persia ⁄ Iran – despite large volumes oflocal production – well into the twentiethcentury, where a large number of consum-ers commonly smoked their opium ‘‘raw’’(i.e., unprocessed).

As the Ottoman Empire entered intostages of economic, institutional, and terri-torial decline (trends that emerged as earlyas the economic crisis of the seventeenthcentury), revenues from opium constitutedan uncommon constant in the imperialeconomy. Although not the greatest sourceof income for the Ottomans, opium was

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clearly the highest priced agricultural com-modity by volume. Not surprisingly, Otto-man leaders were disinterested ininternational movements to restrict pro-duction and consumption of narcotics thatbegan to emerge as early as the 1880s.Confronting a fragile economy at the timeof the republic’s 1923 declaration, Turkishleaders also resisted external demands foreradication – until the early 1970s. For theemergent Turkish nation-state, the trade inopium was a rare generator of foreign cap-ital and the sole source of income formany peasant farmers in this predomi-nantly agrarian country.

The Geopolitics of the Opium Poppy

The geopolitics of opium ⁄heroin havebeen implicated not only in the misconductof imperial powers at global scales but alsopolitical affairs observable at nationalscales, too. In American electoral politicsof the late 1960s, Richard M. Nixon soughtto appeal to his ‘‘silent majority’’ as hepursued his second attempt to becomePresident of the United States in 1968.Nixon’s campaign, and later his administra-tion urged America to pursue a ‘‘waron drugs’’ – a metaphor Nixon first

employed in a speech on June 17, 1971. Todemonstrate the effectiveness of Nixon’scommitment to solve the ‘‘drug problem’’ –a ‘‘problem’’ which was framed anddefined by the Nixon administration itself,Turkey was targeted as an initial site forconfrontation. Relying upon dubious fig-ures and assertions as to the Turkish originsof American heroin at the time – a periodwhen increasing amounts were entering theU.S. from Southeast Asia, the administra-tion imposed intense pressures upon Turk-ish leaders to eradicate the crop (Evered2011b, forthcoming; see also Epstein 1990).In these respects, eradication of the opiumpoppy in Turkey might be viewed not onlyas the outcome of a superpower’s dictatesin a Cold War geopolitical context but alsoas a consequence of very unique intra-stategeopolitics as observable from nationalscales within the United States and Turkey.

At the height of the Cold War inMarch 1971, the recently self-installedand overwhelmingly unpopular militarygovernment of Turkey was profoundlydependent upon American military andforeign aid. Fearful of losing this support,the Turkish state moved beyond previousrestrictions on where the poppy cropcould be cultivated and yielded to Nixon

the pledge of universal eradication ofpoppy cultivation and associated sales. Ina statement on June 30, 1971 timed to coin-cide with the Turkey’s decree, Nixonpraised the Turkish military-appointedPresident Nihat Erim as ‘‘our friend andstaunch ally within the North AtlanticTreaty Organization’’ and congratulatedhim for his ‘‘courageous statesmanlikeaction’’ (U.S. Dept. of State 1971). Manyjournalistic sources at the time critiquedthese measures as ultimately ineffectiveboth in stemming America’s consumptionof illicit narcotics and in promoting alter-native opportunities within Turkey (as inEpstein 1974). Moreover, as a consequenceof the ban, there were also profound inter-national shortages in the availability ofpharmaceutical grade opiates – many ofwhich derived previously from Turkey.

Within the Turkish republic, the deci-sion to eradicate poppy production wascondemned almost universally. This criti-cism arose for a number of reasons beyondjust popular concern over the fates ofthousands of poppy farming householdsand their communities. Eradication wasalso unpopular as Turks viewed it as: 1) aninfringement upon national sovereignty; 2)a violation of cultural traditions; and 3) a

Figure 1: A typical poppy field coming into bloom in early May.

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reaffirmation of the absence of democracyin the country. In the short term, delays infarmer compensation aid and undesirable(and simply unprofitable) crop substitutionschemes devised by the Turkish and Ameri-can governments did little to mitigate theunpopular eradication program. In subse-quent general elections, the poppy questionwas a major political issue. When BulentEcevit became the prime minister of a coali-tion government in January 1974 – the firstelected prime minister since the March 1971coup, the Turkish state began to restorerights to farmers to cultivate the opiumpoppy (see Evered 2011b, forthcoming).

Although Ecevit promised a restora-tion of the opium poppy in Anatolia, thereintroduction of the crop was not simplya return to farming practices as theyexisted prior to the ban (Evered 2011a,forthcoming). To assuage Western anxi-eties that Turkey’s poppy fields mightagain contribute to the illicit internationaltrade in heroin, Ecevit pledged thatTurkey’s production would be only for theinternationally legal trade in medicalmorphine. Attendant to this pledge, Tur-key created particular security measuresand institutions and restricted cultivationto particular provinces (Figure 2). The

republic also modified profoundly boththe ecologies of – and the practices for –processing the opium poppy. Within oneyear of the reintroduction of the opiumpoppy, Turkish, international, and evenAmerican authorities conceded that thecontrolled return of the opium poppy wasa success.

Contemporary Ecologies of Opium PoppyCultivation and Harvesting

To be a poppy farmer in Turkey fol-lowing the reintroduction of the cropnecessitated land ownership. Whereas pastgrowers not infrequently rented fromneighbors or even sharecropped, clear titleto fields sown is now an essential prere-quisite to state licensing of a poppyfarmer. Because the state mandates peri-ods of alternate cropping and ⁄or fallow ofsown fields in order to aid in policing andprotecting the soil, regular cultivation ofpoppies also thus necessitates ownershipof multiple fields. As in the past, mostfields sown with poppies today are quitesmall – about one donum in area (roughlya fourth of an acre, as observable in Fig-ure 1), and farmers’ licenses typically limitplanting to just several of such fields per

year. In the pre-eradication period, farmerslimited themselves to this scale of poppycultivation because traditional harvestingmethods were simply too labor intensiveto permit households from planting anymore (Evered 2011a, forthcoming).

Perhaps of greater significance thanmatters of tenure or scales of production,however, this procedure of licensing alsotransformed the small-scale agriculturalistof the past into a contract farmer laboringin the service of the state. As such, today’slicensed poppy growers are required toconform to state mandates concerningsowing, harvesting, and seeds planted,and their earnings are based entirely onstate-established prices for the opiate-con-taining portions of the harvests that aresold to the state. While the conduct ofsome practices entail only minor changesfrom past ones (e.g., as with the actualsowing of the crop), others aspects of pro-duction (e.g., as with harvesting) involvechanges that are quite significant.

Both in pre- and post eradication peri-ods, the planting of the opium poppy inrural Turkey occurs in the late summer(usually early to mid-September). As amatter of policing and controlling the crop,however, the state began to assert controls

Figure 2: Turkey’s Poppy Producing Provinces. Provinces were mapped according to areas sown (by hectare) as of 2005.

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over the seeds that are sown each year, sothat today’s farmers must wait each Sep-tember to receive seeds authorized specifi-cally for that year. Just as the seeds vary incoloration (e.g., ranging from whitish, toyellowish, to brown, and even to gray andblack), so do the colors of the flowers that

result from the different varieties, thatbloom in May. This variation in colorenables policing of fields by Turkishauthorities who monitor cultivated fieldsfrom April through July not only for validlicenses and flower color but also for evi-dence of illicit harvesting.

In the past, harvesting of the opiatescommenced shortly after the poppiesbloomed and as soon as the farmers werecertain that the plants’ seeds matured (Fig-ures 3, 4, and 5). Past harvesting methodsinvolved lancing carefully the plants’ cap-sules. Each ‘‘milking’’ of the plant was fol-lowed by a subsequent day of scraping thedried opiate-rich gum from the capsules.This labor-intensive process consumed theentire labor of most households for one toone and one-half months, and it was quitesimilar to how poppies are harvestedillicitly today in Afghanistan, for eventualproduction of heroin, and legally in India,generally for medical morphine. Followingthe crop’s controlled reintroduction, thestate replaced this traditional manner ofharvesting and associate practices of pro-cessing – which enabled significant seep-age into illicit markets – with an alternatemethod. From the perspective of mostland-owning farmers working today, theyprefer the new method as they save signif-icant amounts of labor and because theycontinue to profit more from controlledpoppies than from any other crops.

While traditional harvesting spannedMay to June and involved dawn-to-dusk‘‘milking’’ and scraping of capsules,today’s method involves waiting until cap-sules are entirely dry, typically by earlyJuly (Figure 6). Once dry, an experienced

Figure 3: The poppy field in late June, shortly after the flowers dropped.

Figure 5: At this time, in late June, theinterior of the capsule and its seeds are stilltoo moist to process.

Figure 4: In late June, the poppy capsuleis still green and is only beginning to dry.

Figure 6: By early July, the capsules are so dry that the seeds rattle inside and most are turningbrown in color. Once dry, the capsules are ready to harvest.

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family can walk through one of theirfields and simply pluck the poppy cap-sules from the dry stalks (Figure 7). Mostfamilies observed work together with littledistinction between duties assumed bymen and women, or young and old (Fig-ures 8 and 9). The harvests that oncespanned one to one and one-half monthsthat enabled traditional (and illicit) pro-cessing now are achieved in one to threehours for what is called the poppy strawmethod of processing – even whenobservers are in the way (Figures 10 and11). The dried capsules are then taken

back to the village for rudimentary pro-cessing (Figure 12).

Given the scales of drug productionin different parts of the world today, thequestion of ‘‘safe’’ poppy productionmay seem insurmountable – especially ifwe rely upon depictions of the poppy inAfghanistan by the mainstream media. Inreality, however, simple observations ofthe poppy through its stages of growthand as a product harvested in this man-ner allow for an appreciation of howtruly policeable the crop can be in a con-text with some measure of state and ⁄or

community inspection. During periodswhen the poppy is blooming or shortlyafter the flowers drop (i.e., when it is‘‘milk’’-able), the capsule is bright green.In an otherwise dry environment, scarsor blemishes on the capsules are immedi-ately apparent to the eye when walkingpast such fields. By the time the capsulesare dry, factory-scale processing (i.e., thepoppy straw method) is required for effi-cient opiate extraction, and the Turkishgovernment controls this stage of produc-tion that follows local processing andsales.

Figure 7: Plucking the dried capsules from the stalks, a family can harvest a single field in lessthan two hours.

Figure 8: In many farming families, both men andwomen participate in harvesting. In this photo,women from two families harvest together.

Figure 9: Home from college, the poppy farmers’ daughter helps withher family’s summer harvest.

Figure 10: Upon harvesting, the field in the foreground was cleared ofall capsules.

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Local Processing and Marketing of theOpium Poppy

Under this practice of harvesting thepoppies for the straw method of process-ing, some initial, local-scale processingoccurs in the farming community andentails simply a smashing and sifting ofthe dried capsules. Traditionally, this wasalso done in order to acquire the seeds.Today, this smashing of the capsulesallows for harvesting both seeds and opi-ates, as the dried, unmilked capsules con-tain the narcotic. While smashing might

still be done manually in some contextsdue to a lack of alternatives, most com-munities have devised their own meansfor handling this and machinery is avail-able, as well. In one of the communitiesvisited for this research, a local trades-man built his own machine for pro-cessing (Figure 13). After emptying theirsacks of dried capsules into themachine’s hopper, the machine crushedthe capsules, fed the remains along ashort conveyor belt (Figure 14), sifted theseeds to a pan that was placed on theground and deposited the capsule

remains to a bag (Figure 15). The crushedcapsules contain the poppies’ opiates,and the bags of crushed capsules col-lected from the harvest are sold to thestate. Based upon the area planted, pre-vailing climatic and other conditions, andother factors, the state expects a particu-lar weight of crushed capsules per field.In cases when frosts destroy or diminisha farmer’s crops, or when other harvest-reducing problems arise (e.g., feral hogsconsuming the crops), the farmer informsthe state to account for anticipated short-comings in volume.

Figure 12: Upon harvesting, the real poppy farmersreturned to their village with bags full of harvestedcapsules.

Figure 11: Upon harvesting, the American geographer and his then eight-year-old son werelucky to fill their caps with capsules in the time experienced farmers filled entire sacks.

Figure 13: Locally fabricated, a small machine aids farmers with thetask of processing their crop. The capsules are fed into the hopper atopthe machine. Figure 14: The machine smashes the dry capsules.

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According to local poppy farmers,they earn at least twice as much from theirfields devoted to poppies compared withany other crops. In fact, these farmersoften state that the earnings from poppiesare between six and ten times as much.These earnings derive from how much thestate pays to them for the crushed cap-sules. Profits also include what growersearn from sales of poppy seeds as a foodcommodity and what they calculate theysave from not having to buy cooking oiland other market products. Both in termsof household incomes and in householdconsumption, the poppy seed has been areliable staple for many Turkish familiesfor generations.

Consuming the Opium Poppy

Perhaps the most notable use of thepoppy seed by local producers involves theproduction of poppy seed oil. Indeed, dur-ing the period of eradication, household

economies suffered not only from the loss ofincome from selling balls of opiate gum butalso from expenses incurred to acquirecooking oil. In addition to the use of thepoppy seed in producing cooking oil, somefarmers also crush the seeds to make an edi-ble paste. Stored in an outer building adja-cent to a barn, one farmer displayed hissmall machine used in the process of pro-ducing poppy seed paste (Figure 16). Thepaste is similar in taste to some varieties oforganic peanut butter found in the West.Local farmers consume it in a manner likepeanut butter, eating it with bread and oftenalongside pekmez, a preserve made fromlocal fruits that tastes a bit likemolasses.

Even without the processing requiredfor producing oil or paste, the poppy seedis also consumed locally in many differentbaked goods. These include many varietiesof hashas ekmegi or hashaslı ekmek (poppyseed bread) and hashaslı corek (poppy seedpastries). Perhaps one of the more commonvarieties of baking with the poppy seed in

local farming communities includes a typeof poppy seed flatbread (hashaslı yufka) thatis thin and cracker-like (Figure 17). In itsefforts to customize its product line to theTurkish palate, the Frito-Lay companyadopted a type of chip in its Doritos a la Tur-ca brand to include a variety produced withpoppy seeds and tomatoes (Figure 18).

Beyond its utility as a money-earningcommodity (both for opiates and seeds)and as a food source, the crop also hasmany alternative local uses. Traditionally,under past methods of harvesting the opi-ates, it was used as a narcotic to suppresspain, but this application is no longer pos-sible given the laws dictating the form ofits harvesting today. According to somelocal histories, poppy leaves were includedcommonly in salads – especially when itfirst bloomed, though this does not seemto be a common use today. The driedstalks of the plants were once utilized inbrick making and as thatch for roofing, inaddition to providing a source of fuel for

Figure 15: Feeding the smashed capsules on a short belt, the machinethen sifts the poppy seeds out (to the lower right in the photo) anddeposits the capsule remains (which contain the opiates from theplant) into a sack on the left. Once smashed and separated from thepoppy seeds, all remains of the poppy capsules are sold to the state forprocessing in its factory in Afyon.

Figure 16: Stored in an outer building adjacent to a barn, one farmer dis-played his small machine used in the process of producing poppy seedpaste.

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local stoves, and its ash was used in mak-ing soaps. In most cases today, the stalksare still utilized in kitchen and householdstoves or otherwise composted back intothe fields.

The Virtues of the Opium Poppy as aCrop

In traditional scholarship on the cul-tural ecologies of rural societies, geogra-phers and anthropologists emphasizedcommonly the ‘‘virtues’’ of local agricul-tural knowledge and traditions. In part,they underscored such virtues due to thesometimes devastating costs of agriculturalmodernization (e.g., loss of ecosystems,local food insecurity created by overem-

phasis on export commodities, erosion ofcultural traditions and sustainability, andlosses of biodiversity, among other prob-lems). In evaluating the ongoing ecologiesof poppy cultivation in rural Turkey, how-ever, we might note that this crop andassociated ecologies are also worthy of dis-cussion in terms of apparent virtues.

Cultivated for millennia in the Medi-terranean region, the crop is both suited toregional ecosystems and economically andenvironmentally sustainable. As poppycultivation does not require abundantamounts of irrigation, and because it caneven thrive in otherwise marginal soils, itdoes not compel local farmers to seek outcostly and ⁄or ecologically unsound inputs.In this respect, much of the poppy produc-

tion found in Anatolia might be said to be‘‘organic.’’

Farming of the poppy might also besaid to complement other crops. Althoughone does not find intercropping in Anato-lia, farmers do cultivate the poppy close tomany other plants. Along the edges ofsome fields, for example, farmers harvestgrapes and grape leaves (Figure 19). Alsogrown in somewhat dry soils are chick-peas, a popular staple in certain parts ofTurkey (Figure 20). These crops, combinedwith the abundant yields of farmers’ ownhousehold gardens assure that manyhouseholds are almost entirely self-suffi-cient for food stuffs (Figure 21).

As an economic crop, the opiumpoppy is a mainstay for many farming

Figure 17: A thin Turkish flatbread prepared with poppy seeds(hashaslı yufka) on a picnic blanket.

Figure 19: Additional crops cultivated close by the poppies includegrapes. In this photo, women gather grape leaves for use in local dishes,such as sarma (grape leaves rolled around minced meats and other fillings).

Figure 18: Even a variety of Frito-Lay’s Doritos a la Turca are madewith hashas (poppy seeds).

Figure 20: Also thriving in the otherwise dry soils near the poppyfields are nohut (chickpeas, also called garbanzo beans) – a Turkishstaple.

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families who reside in those rural commu-nities found in the central southwesternregion of Turkey. As such, numeroushouseholds depend upon it and perhapsonly one or two other commodities fortheir incomes. It is one that is combinedmost commonly with dairy production(Figure 22). It is also sometimes found inassociation with cultivation of sugar beets,anise, or roses, as in the province of Ispar-ta (Figure 23). Moreover, the opiatesderived from the poppies of Turkey consti-tute a critical source for the world’s supplyof pharmaceutical grade morphine.

Local Alternatives and New Approachesto Security and Sustainability

Depicted routinely as a ‘‘dangerous’’crop in Western discourse, the opiumpoppy is linked routinely in the West notonly with heroin addiction but also withterrorism, corruption, and conflict. Viewedalternatively from places where the opiumpoppy has a tradition of controlled pro-duction, the crop might instead beregarded as yielding a foundation for notonly sustainable ecologies but also forlocal-scale geopolitical security. AlthoughAmerica once compelled Turkey to treatthe opium poppy as a hazardous plantthat necessitated eradication, historical les-sons and contemporary examples fromTurkey reveal alternatives that benefit soci-eties locally and globally. After at leastfour decades of America’s ‘‘war ondrugs,’’ turning to geographically-informed solutions that are sensitive tolocal ecologies, peoples, and their tradi-

Figure 21: Poppy farming families also rely heavily upon their own diverse and productivehousehold gardens. In this photo, a local farm girl waves with a harvested eggplant in hand amidmany other crops, including varieties of cucumbers, squash and pumpkin, peppers, and corn.

Figure 22: For many poppy farmers, the milk from their dairy cattle yieldanother major source of income.

Figure 23: In some parts of Turkey’s lakes region, poppy farmersalso grow roses for sale to the state and to companies dealing in roseoil and rose water.

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tions are those that reveal the most likelyprospects for success in confronting ongo-ing problems of illicit narcotics productionand consumption.

Acknowledgments

Funding for the research that contrib-uted to this article derived from theDepartment of Geography at MichiganState University (MSU), MSU’s Center forAdvanced Study of International Devel-opment (CASID) and its Center for Gen-der in Global Context (GenCen), andMSU’s Muslim Studies Program. Aresearch fellowship from the KennanInstitute of the Woodrow Wilson Interna-tional Center for Scholars also supportedarchival and library work in the Wash-ington, D.C. area that informed thisresearch. In addition to financial support,this research would have been impossiblewithout the aid of my field assistants,

Yuksel, Zuhal, and Augie, and the coop-eration and insight yielded by many cur-rent and retired poppy farmers fromrural Turkey. Thanks also to SarahAcMoody of RS&GIS, Michigan StateUniversity, for her assistance in generat-ing a map for this article.

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