Science Forum 2013 (www.scienceforum13.org) Breakout Session 3 - DIET DIVERSIFICATION

1. 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
e.dounias@cgiar.org

2. 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….

3. 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?

4. PHYSIOLOGY
HEALTH
TRANSACTIONS
NUTRITION
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
FOOD
BEHAVIOUR
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY Food
system
BIOCULTURAL
DIMENSIONS
OF
FOOD

5. RESOURCE BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGYRESOURCE FOCUSED APPROACH
TOTAL SOCIAL FACT
ANTHROPOLOGY
HUMAN BIOLOGY AND ECOLOGY
ECONOMY
PHYSIOLOGY
HEALTH
TRANSACTIONS
NUTRITION
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
FOOD
BEHAVIOUR
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY
Marcel
Mauss
(1872-­‐1950)
Food
system
BIOCULTURAL
DIMENSIONS
OF
FOOD

6. LEAVES FRUITS
HONEY
SEEDS/NUTS
GEOPHYTES
DIVERSITY
OF
INDIGENOUS
FOOD
RESOURCES
RESOURCE FOCUSED APPROACH

7. MUSHROOMS
WILD ANIMALS
FODDER/BROWSE
INSECTS
FUELWOOD
FLOWERS
RESOURCE FOCUSED APPROACH
DIVERSITY
OF
INDIGENOUS
FOOD
RESOURCES

8. PHYSIOLOGY
HEALTH
TRANSACTIONS
NUTRITION
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
FOOD
BEHAVIOUR
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
Food
system

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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)

12. PHYSIOLOGY
HEALTH
TRANSACTIONS
NUTRITION
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
FOOD
BEHAVIOUR
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
Food
system

13. WEEDS:
‘GOOD’
SAUCES
WITH
‘BAD’
VEGETALS
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
Crop
yield
maximiza?on
vs.
op?mized
agroecology?
a
needed
shih
in
agricultural
policies
and
paradigms
Ecosystem
based
management
of
agriculture…

14. 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

15. Occurrence
of
imago
swarming
and
Termitomyces
mushrooms
in
Tikar
valley,
Cameroon
(Dounias
2011)
Swarming
of
winged
imagos
Produc?on
of
Termitomyces
mushrooms
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
INSECTS
AS
FOOD…
AND
AS
INDICATORS
OF
CLIMATE
CHANGE
100g
termites
=
613
KCal

16. PHYSIOLOGY
HEALTH
TRANSACTIONS
NUTRITION
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
FOOD
BEHAVIOUR
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
Food
system

17. RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
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)

18. RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
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

19. Symbioses
between
plants
and
mycorrhizal
fungi
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
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

20. • 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)
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY

21. PHYSIOLOGY
HEALTH
TRANSACTIONS
NUTRITION
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
FOOD
BEHAVIOUR
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY
TRANSACTIONS
Food
system

22. 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

23. PHYSIOLOGY
HEALTH
TRANSACTIONS
NUTRITION
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
FOOD
BEHAVIOUR
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY Food
system

24. 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…

25. 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…

26. PHYSIOLOGY
HEALTH
TRANSACTIONS
NUTRITION
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
FOOD
BEHAVIOUR
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY
FOOD
BEHAVIOURFood
system

27. 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)

28. PHYSIOLOGY
HEALTH
TRANSACTIONS
NUTRITION
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
FOOD
BEHAVIOUR
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY
NUTRITION
Food
system

29. • 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

30. 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)

31. 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?

32. PHYSIOLOGY
HEALTH
TRANSACTIONS
NUTRITION
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
FOOD
BEHAVIOUR
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY
PHYSIOLOGY
Food
system

33. 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)

34. 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

35. PHYSIOLOGY
HEALTH
TRANSACTIONS
NUTRITION
RESOURCE
HARVESTING
FOOD
BEHAVIOUR
RESOURCE TEMPORAL
AVAILABILITY
RESOURCE SPATIAL
AVAILABILITY
FOOD
TECHNOLOGY
HEALTH
Food
system

36. 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…

37. DIVERSITY
OF
AGROECOSYSTEMS
Homegardens
and
courtyards
Planta?ons
Parklands
Nurseries
Greenhouses
Fallows
Post
agricultural
secondary
forests
Monoculture
Poly-­‐mul?-­‐inter
cropping
fields
AGRICULTURE
The
inside
of
the
box
is
complex
and
tough
enough

38. 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

39. 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