Edmond Dounias IRD and CIFOR "Role of Forgotten Indigenous Food in Food Diversification"

Breakout Session 3: Diet Diversifica4on

Role of indigenous [forgo;en] foods (plants and animals) in food diversifica4on:

what don’t we know (domes4ca4on? value chain?)

edmond dounias

[email protected]

•  Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are

Over the past 12,000 years Approx. 7,000 plant species and several thousand animal species have been used for human nutri?on and health

Since early XXth century Global trend towards diet simplifica?on

Today Only 12 plant crops and 14 animal species provide 98% of world’s food needs

What is at stake?

Promote awareness of the importance of food biodiversity, including wild, indigenous and tradi?onal foods, while contribu?ng to global nutri?on security and the conserva?on and sustainable use of food biodiversity

WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE PAST….

Man ist, was Man ißt Brillat-‐Savarin (1755-‐1826) Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who your are!

TAKE HOME MESSAGE Diet diversifica?on is not only a maUer of diversified food resources and diversified nutrient intake It is primarily a maUer of cultural diversity in dietary regimes and food habits Food and nutrient absorp?on form only a (?ny) part of the story The cultural dimension of food is absent of policies and research port-‐folio

LEARNING FROM THE POOR: Before implemen4ng policies and R&D programs aiming at improving the diet of the poor, what can we learn from their diversified dietary regimes?

PHYSIOLOGY HEALTH

TRANSACTIONS

NUTRITION

RESOURCE HARVESTING FOOD

BEHAVIOUR

RESOURCE TEMPORAL AVAILABILITY

RESOURCE SPATIAL AVAILABILITY

FOOD TECHNOLOGY Food

system

BIOCULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF FOOD

RESOURCE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY RESOURCE FOCUSED APPROACH

TOTAL SOCIAL FACT

ANTHROPOLOGY

HUMAN BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY

ECONOMY

PHYSIOLOGY HEALTH

TRANSACTIONS

NUTRITION


BEHAVIOUR



FOOD TECHNOLOGY

Marcel Mauss (1872-‐1950)

Food system

BIOCULTURAL DIMENSIONS OF FOOD

LEAVES FRUITS

HONEY SEEDS/NUTS GEOPHYTES

DIVERSITY OF INDIGENOUS FOOD RESOURCES

RESOURCE FOCUSED APPROACH

MUSHROOMS WILD ANIMALS

FODDER/BROWSE

INSECTS

FUELWOOD FLOWERS

RESOURCE FOCUSED APPROACH

DIVERSITY OF INDIGENOUS FOOD RESOURCES

PHYSIOLOGY HEALTH

TRANSACTIONS

NUTRITION


BEHAVIOUR



FOOD TECHNOLOGY

RESOURCE HARVESTING

Food system

CHILDREN: THE OVERLOOKED PRODUCERS

RESOURCE HARVESTING

Children harvest on their own resources that are immediately edible and that present not risk during harves?ng

harves?ng honey from s?ngless bees

Insects collec?ng

Efficient research protocols yet to be elaborated •  Detailed studies on children’s specific TEK are rare

(Mignot 2003) •  Methodological challenge to work with children in the

tropics (HewleU 2013)

Children’s roles might have greater impact than usually assumed (Balinga et al. in progress) They are not always this high-‐risk group that we admit that they are Household economy and food security Land use and NTFP extrac?on prac?ces Shaping of future gender roles Governance arrangements including rights and access Food security policies do not integrate children and their economic, social and other roles in resource management

RESOURCE HARVESTING

RESOURCE ACCESS AND LAND RIGHTS

Pressure exerted on highly culturally valued resources •  FaUy oil from Baillonella toxisperma seed (for cooking, cosme?c

and medicinal uses) •  High price oil, up to 1,700 CFA/liter (CIFOR 2000) •  Conflict of interests between logging companies and local

communi?es

Ci4zen science ini4a4ves for mapping forest resources (Lewis 2008) •  Hand-‐held computers adapted to non-‐literate forest dwellers •  Mapping of hun?ng grounds, sacred trees, food trees…

Baka pygmies using GPS to map moabi trees

RESOURCE HARVESTING

RESOURCE ACCESS AND LAND RIGHTS

•  Many food resources are neither fully wild nor fully domes4cated Palm trees (sago, acai), honeybees, freshwater fishes, oleoproteaginous seed trees, bushmeat in homegardens/agroforestry systems, termite nests, etc •  Vast spectrum of para/proto/pseudo/semi domes?cated resources

each with very specific access rights and ownership rules The local customary principles for the management of these resources are poorly documented and are hardly generalizable

Paracul?va?on of wild yams by Baka Pygmies

Paracul?va?on: The ‘wild’ resource is ustainably managed, owned, protected, inherited… while maintained in its natural environment (Dounias 2001)

PHYSIOLOGY HEALTH

TRANSACTIONS

NUTRITION


BEHAVIOUR



FOOD TECHNOLOGY


Food system

WEEDS: ‘GOOD’ SAUCES WITH ‘BAD’ VEGETALS


Crop yield maximiza?on vs. op?mized agroecology? a needed shih in agricultural policies and paradigms Ecosystem based management of agriculture…

INSECTS AS FOOD… AND AS INDICATORS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

approx. 600 known edible insect species RESOURCE TEMPORAL

AVAILABILITY

Cooking of Anaphe caterpillars seasonally captured on Bridelia micrantha

Occurrence of imago swarming and Termitomyces mushrooms in Tikar valley, Cameroon (Dounias 2011)

Swarming of winged imagos

Produc?on of Termitomyces mushrooms


INSECTS AS FOOD… AND AS INDICATORS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

100g termites = 613 KCal

PHYSIOLOGY HEALTH

TRANSACTIONS

NUTRITION


BEHAVIOUR



FOOD TECHNOLOGY


Food system


SANITARY FUNCTIONS OF INSECT COLLECTING

Water Prot. Lip. Ca P Fe Energetic value % g g mg mg mg kJ kcal Adriaens, 1953 - 56,6 12,0 - - - - - Santos Oliveira et al., 1976 10,8 20,3 41,7 186 1972 13 2351 562 Ashiru, 1988 9,1 58,2 16,9 210 680 2 - - Malaisse & Parent, 1997 77,4 42,6 20,2 320 70 - 1523 364 Nutri?ve value of weevil larvae (Rhynchophorus phoenicis) (from Dounias 2003)

Two edible parasites of raphia palm trees : dynastes (Prionoryctes monoceros) weevil (Rhynchophorus phoenicis) (from Dounias 2003)


SANITARY FUNCTIONS OF INSECT COLLECTING

Swamps •  Host endemic biodiversity •  Fulfill many ecosystem services •  Palms: mul?purpose plants •  Swamps are however perceived as

insalubrious •  Many projects aim to convert these rich

yet fragile ecosystems into arable lands Impacts of insects harves4ng on ecosystem dynamics are not addressed

Slash field of off-‐season rice in forest swamp

Symbioses between plants and mycorrhizal fungi


MUSHROOMS: COMPLEX MUTUALISTIC INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER PLANTS

Monodominant Gilber?odendron forest

Plant/mycorrhizal fungi symbioses are poorly documented in the tropics (Selosse 2012) What are the consequences of excessive harves4ng of certain food resources on the resilience of their hos4ng ecosystems?

Mushroom nutri4ve value •  Soluble fibers •  B group vitamins •  Protein •  Selenium

•  Many tree species are maintained near habitat because they aUract game

•  6% of total bushmeat biomass are captured near houses

•  Most garden hunters are children

•  Meat of limited interest for markets: domes?c consump?on

•  Great poten?al to mi?gate hun?ng pressure on large mammals

Bushmeat provides 30-‐50% of protein intake for forest communi4es…. but is not sustainably exploited (Nasi et al. 2011)

PEST CONTROL & GARDEN HUNTING

Giant rat Critetomys emini (Cricetomydae)

Cane rat Tryonomys swinderianus

(Tryonomydae)


PHYSIOLOGY HEALTH

TRANSACTIONS

NUTRITION


BEHAVIOUR



FOOD TECHNOLOGY

TRANSACTIONS

Food system

TRANSACTIONS

Market of course, but not only!

Intra and inter cultural rela?onships : -‐  Major drivers of food resource

circula?on and exchange -‐  Best guarantee for cultural integrity

Peanut versus wild yam exchange between a Nzime woman and a Baka man

Interethnic / intercommunity complementari4es are not taken into considera4on in the assessment of indigenous dietary regimes

PHYSIOLOGY HEALTH

TRANSACTIONS

NUTRITION


BEHAVIOUR



FOOD TECHNOLOGY

FOOD TECHNOLOGY Food

system

FOOD TECHNOLOGY

Proteins Lipids Reducing sugar Cellulose Minerals

G. africanum 16.5 5.9 17.5 40.0 7.0

G. bucholzianum 18.2 6.2 16.7 39.5 nc

SHARING RESOURCES, SHARING PROCESSES…

Nutrient content of Gnetum leaves (from Mialundama 2008)

Monthly earnings of a middleman in Gnetum trade approximates 450 000 CFA (Nde Shiembo 1999)

Mbenzele women slicing Gnetum leaves in Congo

Alterna4ve food resource processes yet to be conceived…

HEALTH

Domes?ca?on of cul?vated plants has led to a reduc?on of their thermostable compounds (increased diges?bility of plants) Most wild or pseudo domes4catd food plants (especially those gathered during periods of food shortage) contain compounds that need to be eliminated prior to consump4on Long detoxifica?on processing: -‐  ?me and energy costly -‐  requires exper?se that are decreasingly

transmiUed

TOXIC FOOD RESOURCES

Examples of edible though toxic geophytes: Tacca involucrata (upward) and Gloriosa superba (downward) from I. de Garine 1985 and Dounias 2008)

Alterna4ve food resource processes yet to be conceived…

PHYSIOLOGY HEALTH

TRANSACTIONS

NUTRITION


BEHAVIOUR



FOOD TECHNOLOGY

FOOD BEHAVIOUR Food

system

FOOD BEHAVIOUR

WHO EATS WHAT WHEN WHERE HOW… AND WITH WHOM?

•  From the resource… to the meal •  Food sharing (not only with humans) •  Risks of intoxica?ons increase when social obliga?ons of

sharing food decline •  Food taboos, prohibi?ons, prescrip?ons •  Supercultural food (Jellife 1967 !) •  Fes?ve / Ostenta?ous / Ceremonial / Ritual food… •  Snacks (never quan4fied in food consump4on

surveys!) Up to 30% of food intake (Koppert et al. 1993, Dounias 2007) >50% of children diet during food shortage seasons

No leh hand please!

The Punan of Borneo share meals with their dogs

Muzei children of Logone river tracking frogs (food taboo for adults)

PHYSIOLOGY HEALTH

TRANSACTIONS

NUTRITION


BEHAVIOUR



FOOD TECHNOLOGY

NUTRITION

Food system

•  Higher levels of combined essen?al and non-‐essen?al trace elements in indigenous than in commercial refined salts (Kühnlein 1980)

•  Higher quan?ty of Fe in indigenous salts of plant origins •  Among the Azande of DRC, replacement of indigenous salt by poorly iodized refined salt

has caused drama?c increase in goiter occurrence (Prinz 1993)

Commercially refined salt has replaced many indigenous substances which formerly provided salted flavor and minerals to the diet of na?ve peoples

Lixivia?on process to extract salt from ash plants (Echeverri and Román-‐Jitdutjaaño 2011) NUTRITION

INDIGENOUS SALT PLANTS

Effects of the subs4tu4on of indigenous salts by refined salt are not documented

GEOPHAGY

NUTRITION

•  Intervene in plant detoxifica?on: the mixing of soil adsorbs the toxins and renders the food palatable

•  Indigenous Peruvians and American first

na?ons ate clay with acorn and potatoes. Clay reduced the tannic acid contained in acorn

•  S?ll assimilated as ‘dirt’ food resul?ng from

mental disorder (along with coprophagia, tricophagia, xylophagia, and orthorexia)

Extractable concentra?ons (mgkg-‐1) of selected macro-‐ and micronutrients determined from geophagical materials collected within Africa (from Abrahams 2005)

GEOPHAGY

NUTRITION

How do we deal with cultural prac4ces that interna4onal standards consider as disgus4ng?

PHYSIOLOGY HEALTH

TRANSACTIONS

NUTRITION


BEHAVIOUR



FOOD TECHNOLOGY

PHYSIOLOGY

Food system

PHYSIOLOGY

Quan?ta?ve food consump?on surveys are rare Even rarer are es?mates of energy balance between food intake and ac?vi?es Seasonal fluctua?ons of energe?c balance are ignored

Measurement of energe?c cost of daily ac?vi?es among the Yasa fishermen in coastal Cameroon (P. Pasquet 1985)

Harassing harves?ng of finger millet (Eleusine carocana) during the food shortage season among the Muzei of Northern Cameroon (I. de Garine 1985)

ENERGY BALANCE (INTAKE vs EXPENDITURE)

PHYSIOLOGY

•  Lactase persistence among some human popula?ons

•  Gut microbiota adapted to exclusive liquid consump?on (H. Hanawa in Northern Congo)

•  Gusta?ve sensibility and tolerance to par?cular nutrients (Inuit can detect NaCl in drinkable water in infinitesimal quan??es)

•  Some popula?ons do well with daily caloric intakes below admiUed standard

The variability of human popula4ons to absence vs excessive consump4on of some nutrients or admi;edly toxic secondary compounds is poorly documented

NUTRIENTS: GOOD OR BAD? IT DEPENDS!

Drinkable water from Cissus dinklagei vine

Tolerance of Himalayan honey hunters to the painful s?ngs of the cliff giant honeybees

PHYSIOLOGY HEALTH

TRANSACTIONS

NUTRITION


BEHAVIOUR



FOOD TECHNOLOGY

HEALTH

Food system

HEALTH

Mushrooms •  poorly diges?ble chi?n •  trehalose and mannitol sugars

not correctly degraded •  Synthesis of complex molecules

which cause allergenic and intolerant reac?ons

Fern crosses •  Prolonged cooking needed to

destroy cyanogene?c heterosids •  Contain thiaminase which

destroys vit B1 •  Soluble substances (Ptaquiloside)

that cause gastro-‐œsophagic cancer when in high concentra?on in drinkable water

Molluscs •  Infec?on (bacteria, norovirus and

enterovirus (Hepa??s A)) •  Intoxica?on (Chemicals, heavy

metal, mercure, cadmium, plomb ; biotoxines)

TOXIC FOOD RESOURCES

But are indigenous peoples who eat these food resources regularly affected by these health disorders? No idea…

Poly-‐mul?-‐inter cropping fields Monoculture Homegardens and courtyards Planta?ons Parklands Agroforestry systems Greenhouses Fallows Post agricultural secondary forests Nurseries

DIVERSITY OF AGROECOSYSTEMS

Homegardens and courtyards

Planta?ons

Parklands

Agroforestry systems

Nurseries

Greenhouses

Fallows

Post agricultural secondary forests

Monoculture

Poly-‐mul?-‐inter cropping fields

AGRICULTURE

The inside of the box is complex and tough

enough

Herding

Hun?ng / trapping

Gathering

Fishing

Extrac?vism

Small entrepreneurship / Market

Salaried job

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS: ONLY PART OF AN INTEGRAL LAND USE SYSTEM

AGRICULTURE

We need to consider what is outside the box

YES! indigenous dietary regimes are diversified BUT •  Remain poorly documented

•  Many ques4ons yet unanswered

•  Many lessons to learn from the diets of the poor •  They are anchored to culture thus only locally relevant

•  Local percep4on and local ecological knowledge ma;er

•  But s4ll a large frac4on of the scien4fic community doubt about it…

•  … and decision makers don’t know what to do with them!

LAST SLIDE! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

Edmond Dounias IRD and CIFOR "Role of Forgotten Indigenous Food in Food Diversification"

Technology

Transcript of Edmond Dounias IRD and CIFOR "Role of Forgotten Indigenous Food in Food Diversification"