Preserving the Food Culture of Traditional Communities Benefits Entire Populations
The concept of culture refers to the diversity of beliefs and practices that are constructed or shared within a society. This is no different for food systems: when these ideas and practices touch the world of food, it is called food culture.
“Specifically regarding traditional food systems, which are those in which people plant and harvest what they eat, there is increasing evidence of their numerous benefits, which include the diversity of foods consumed and the quality of the diet, with a greater diversity of important nutrients for our health”, says Michelle Jacob, nutritionist and partner at the Sustentarea Extension Center at the Faculty of Public Health at USP.
The transmission of knowledge about biodiversity and culture builds the food systems of indigenous peoples, quilombolas, riverside communities, among others. To do this, it is important to record their knowledge about which foods are edible in nature and how to prepare them. For Michelle, an important step to safeguarding this culture is taking care of these people.
“An example of what can be done is to support the struggle of indigenous peoples for the demarcation of their lands. This is an important path for us to protect this culture and, therefore, knowledge, which has the potential to benefit all of humanity, including non-indigenous people”, says the nutritionist.
Effects for the whole society
The protection and conservation of this knowledge has the potential to break down cultural barriers and benefit society as a whole. Research carried out on the diversity of plants, mushrooms, algae and wild animals benefits both indigenous peoples and the general population, who can learn about little-known foods.
Traditional people have knowledge about the nutritional value of these foods, such as what vitamins and minerals are present in them. The implementation of this knowledge in the population’s daily diet would enrich their diet.
“Once we develop a new medicine or discover a new food from knowledge of biodiversity, this knowledge has the potential to benefit everyone”, says Michelle.
Indigenous medicine, for example, is not discarded today by scientists. This is because some medicines widely used today and sold in pharmacies emerged with the knowledge of traditional people, such as the active ingredients used to treat malaria .