A Journal on Traditional Knowledge, policies and Women as the bearer of wisdom
By: Pallavi Chandra
Tags: Food, Indigenous Knowledge, Women, Agriculture, Policy

“You cannot insert a gene you took from bacteria into a seed and call it life. You haven’t created life, instead you have polluted it.- Vandana Shiva”

Traditional Knowledge and Food Safety policies

My first encounter into traditional knowledge of food and its significance occurred in 2018 that gave me an opportunity to dive deep into Arizona — US Food codes and safety programs in a societal set-up where food consumerism has taken over traditional knowledge, corporations have dominated agriculture and the word “indigenous” for food is missing from consumer markets. The weeks of August and September ended with a complete cycle of learning about the Food Safety Program and why it is so important. What wondered me the most is how the traditional knowledge of handling food shaped the policies and program.

US Food Safety Programs:

According to reports by the CDC, 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die from food-borne diseases each year in the United States (Source: county presentation on Food-borne illnesses).

The Environmental Health Specialist training showcased the role of food inspectors in the prevention of any outbreak. I think in a set-up where restaurants, processed food forms the major sources of food consumption, the required government norms and regulations need to be stringent. However, I found that the county struggles to find a balance between providing a business-friendly environment and providing public health safety by the government rules.

It was an interesting learning for me because I try to compare some of the food safety code with the year-long tradition followed in my home country. Needless to mention, that tradition and culture play a significant role in shaping the lifestyle in India. I can co-relate now that why my mother never enters the kitchen without taking a shower, why she never allows wasting food, why non-vegetarian foods are kept separately from vegetarian foods. In fact, the utensils used for cooking non-vegetarian food items are separate. Although this knowledge has been imparted as part of the year-old tradition scientifically maybe it is aimed at preventing cross-contamination. There are many such traditional norms defined such as eating of non-vegetarian items, fried food, and raw onions during monsoon season is forbidden, use of basil, curry, and neem leaves in both temperature and non-temperature control foods to avoid germs and pests. It is unfortunate that all these practices have been given religious and caste linkages. Honestly, I never paid attention to all these traditional pieces of knowledge of food habits and public health which is developed over thousands of years.

Understanding the contemporary science of microbiology behind these food habits made me more aware of health hazards and food-borne illnesses. Also, it shed some light on the need for understanding traditional knowledge in food handling and food preparation. It is unfortunate to see that a person bearing such great traditional knowledge is considered unskillful in India due to a lack of formal set-up and related job opportunities.

Depleting Indigenous foods — An assessment in Purvanchal (Eastern part of India):

Image Courtesy: Ravi Shanker Sinha. Home Grown Karvan Fruit

Depletion of many indigenous foods has led to forego many traditional knowledge of food along-with it. Among many such cases is the case of the indigenous fruit of Bihar called Karvan. It is also known as Cranberries with the botanical name of Carissa Caranda. This fruit is widely used as pickle or chutney which is considered “grandmother’s recipes”. It is one of the fruits that is found almost in every state of India. It is also one of the great sources of iron and Vitamin C((Diwe, 2019)). However, with the economic development, a shift of food consumer market, migration, and focus on consumer agriculture has led to the depletion of many indigenous crops like cranberries

Takeaway: Food Safety and women empowerment

Women in general and homemakers, in particular, are considered to play a major role in forming a sustainable future by providing food security in terms of minimizing food waste and also by minimizing future health costs. The participation of women in the formal workforce in India is abysmal. Most of the women after marriage opt not to perform non-traditional jobs. I find that educating this traditional knowledge of food safety coupled with a scientific explanation for the same can play a key role in preventing food-borne illnesses. These women can be empowered by including food safety measures and nutrition as part of school courses, online courses where they can share their kitchen knowledge as a teacher, trainee or receive training themselves to hold a food safety inspectors’ job in their area/community.

Indeed, it will be difficult to segregate which traditional knowledge should be included in the food safety code, but I think this will provide a set-up for these women to pick-up a job that is not non-traditional but also is nowhere close to the perspective of a traditional job.

References:

Diwe, R. (2019, September 26). Karavanda: A natural sugar stabiliser, protects liver. Retrieved December 14, 2020, from https://www.thehitavada.com/Encyc/2019/9/26/Karavanda-A-natural-sugar-stabiliser-protects-liver.html

P.S.: Will like to extend sincere thanks to Dr. Leslie Hine for her encouragement. Thanks to Ravi Shanker Sinha for his insights on growing indigenous crops and sharing the pictures.