Bronwen Powell

Improving diets with wild and cultivated biodiversity from across the landscape

This paper examines the literature on how biodiversity contributes to improved and diversified diets in developing countries. We assess the current state of evidence on how wild and cultivated biodiversity in all forms is related to healthy diets and nutrition, and examine how economic factors, knowledge and social norms interact with availability of biodiversity to influence both production and consumption choices. The paper identifies areas where evidence is lacking and ways to build synergies between nutrition-sensitive approaches and efforts to ensure sustainability of food systems and the natural environment.

Forest cover, use and dietary intake in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

SUMMARY Food insecurity and malnutrition in local populations both result from and drive deforestation. This paper examines the relationships between diet of local people and measures of forest cover and use in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania. Data on dietary diversity and intake were collected for 270 children and their mothers. Area of tree cover within the vicinity of each household was examined in relation to forest use and diet. Individuals using foods from forest and other non-farm land had higher dietary diversity, consumed more animal source foods and had more nutrient dense diets. They also had more tree cover in a close proximity to the home, suggesting a relationship between tree cover and forest food use. Households reporting trips to the forest had lower area of tree cover within close proximity, suggesting that land close to the home with tree cover such as agroforest and fallow is important for obtaining subsistence products. Although historically there has been little motivation for local people to participate in forest conservation in the East Usambaras, the maintenance of tree cover in the landscape around the home, especially on agricultural and village land, may be important in ensuring continued access to the health benefits potentially available in wild and forest foods.

Wild Foods from Farm and Forest in the East Usambara Mountains, Tanzania

This study explored the role of wild foods in the diets of children and mothers in the East Usambara Mountains (N = 274 dyads). We identified 92 wild food species. Although dietary diversity (most measures) was not different between seasons, wild foods accounted for a greater percentage of items consumed in the wet (food insecure) season. Many wild foods were obtained on farm; wild foods obtained from the forest accounted for less than 3% of food items consumed. Wild foods were used by virtually all informants but contributed only 2% of total energy in the diet. However, they contributed large percentages of vitamin A (RAE) (31%), vitamin C (20%), and iron (19.19%). Agricultural factors (e.g., hours spent in farm) were associated with greater wild food use. These findings suggest participation in agriculture may be important for the maintenance of wild food use, and that wild foods can play an important role in the nutritional resilience of local people.

Wild leafy vegetable use and knowledge across multiple sites in Morocco: a case study for transmission of local knowledge?

BackgroundThere are few publications on the use and diversity of wild leafy vegetables (WLVs) in Morocco. In order to address this gap, we conducted ethnobotanical field work in Taounate, Azilal and El House regions.MethodsEthnobotanical collections, free listing, qualitative interviews and a 7 day food frequency questionnaire.ResultsMore than 30 species in 23 genera of WLV were identified. Of these 4 had not previously recorded as WLVs used in Morocco in the literature. WLVs were used by 84% of households surveyed in Taounate (N = 61, in March 2005), and were used up to 4 times a week. Qualitative data revealed both positive and negative perceptions of WLVs and detailed knowledge about preparation among women. The greatest diversity of WLV knowledge and use was in the Rif Mountains (Taounate). There was significant variation in nomenclature and salience of WLVs, not only between regions, but also between villages in the same region. Within the same region (or even village) different local names were used for a given species or genus, and different species were identified by the same local name (including species from different botanical families). Data showed greater overlap in knowledge among villages using the same market.ConclusionWe believe the results suggest that markets are important sites for WLV knowledge transmission.

Women and Cannabis. Medicine, Science, and Sociology

This English version of La historia de un bastardo: maíz y capitalismo by Mexican anthropologist Arturo Warman, which is not a literal translation, was adapted by Nancy L. Westrate for readers in the United States. Changes have been made to accommodate linguistic, and cultural differences, as well as to update some of the material. The first chapter puts corn into context among an array of important crop plants endemic to the Americas. The second chapter describes characteristics of the corn plant, its rich genetic diversity and wide geographic adaptability. In the third chapter, “A Bastard’s Tale,” the author examines the controversy of how and where corn was first domesticated, and sets the stage for the capitalism theme, which, superimposed on the scientific debate, is the ideological component running through the book. The basis for the ideology comes from belief by Europeans during the colonial period in “. . . an inherent inferiority of American nature and American civilization as compared to the Old World.” Chapters 4-9 chronicle the rapid, post-Columbian adoption of corn as a staple food and its spread into China, Africa, and Europe. Chapter 10 includes the fascinating story about the rise of pellagra with the adoption of corn as a staple food of European peasants. As seen in chapters 11 and 12, corn gained dominance as an agricultural crop plant due to its high yield, and by the 20th century, had become the most valuable commodity crop in the United States. Hybrid seed corn, with vastly improved yields, began to be sold in the 1930’s leading to the growth of the hybrid corn seed industry with its concomitant institutions, technological innovations, and industrialized agriculture. Today the world grain trade is dominated by a handful of multinational corporations. The final three chapters underscore increasing market inequalities between rich and poor countries. In the closing chapters, Warman raises thought-provoking, alarming questions about food dependence, political coercion, and economic power in the hands of a few multinational companies. Although he originally intended to write a history of corn in Mexico, his research and interests culminated in a broader global, social, and economic history with sparse attention to the Mexican roots of maize. I cannot help but wonder if the Mexican sequel he plans to write will link corn’s destiny as a global commodity grain today with its equally compelling role in prehistoric economies as an exchange commodity in long distance trading networks connecting the peoples of Mexico with cultures as far away as North and South America.