This week I started on the formatting of my literature review along with starting my collection of resources. To find most of my sources I looked through the bibliography on Sarah Dyers website. Looking through these sources reignited my passion for public health and research. I felt burnt out on researching and taking notes last quarter, but this has gone away. The first few papers I read focused more on the public health parts of this project. In upcoming weeks Ill have more research on the anatomy and background of Gilos
Culturally appropriate vegetables and economic development
- As populations grow more diverse the demand for ethno-cultural vegetables (ECV) rises
- ECV are those vegetables consumed by a group that shares a similar cultural heritage. ”
- This demand for ECV is see throughout different immigrant communities. Growing ECV is beneficial for not just one group but many other communities
- As these vegetables are imported, they lose a lot of their Nutrional value (another benefit of growing ECVs closer to immigrant populations)
- This market is a specialized niche market that requires a clear understanding of the cultural and socio-economic characteristics of the stakeholders in order for farmers to benefit from it
- “Disparity in income makes price a very important factor in decision making and any policy that will support the purchase of ECV should prescribe policies that will reduce the cost of production of these vegetables. ”
- Grow ECVs locally to preserve their nutritional value and their health benefits. Gilo are crazy heathy but can lose these benefits when shipped from overseas
Eggplants present and future
- Scarlet eggplant (gilos) is mostly cultivated in Asia and Africa but can be grown in many places across the world
- Some African countries use Gillos as remedy for fevers dizziness convulsions and hypertension. Other varieties grown in Africa have been used to prevent malaria, increase lactation, and stimulate appetite
Determinates of food security
(these notes are mostly quotes from the paper I read)
- Since food is linked to cultural identity, for many moving to a new country having their cultural is a critical part of establishing life in a new place
- ” To improve food security for people with lived refugee backgrounds, governments and organizations should collaborate with the cultural communities with lived experiences of accessing cultural foods, appreciate their strengths, and recognize the value of social and cultural capital.”
- “Especially for refugees there can be a lot of stress when moving to a new country so having foods, they are familiar with be in easy access is important”
- “Eating habits are driven by food availability, cultural and religious practices, societal norms, individual experiences, and taste preferences, and as such, food is intrinsically linked to identity and the maintenance of culture”
- “Food Security (FS) exists when “all people at all times have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” “
- “Food insecurity (FI) is when one or more of the conditions of FS is absent. This suggests that FI exists when cultural foods are not available, cannot be accessed, or are unable to be utilized.”
- “Providing ECV fights food insecurity and supports food security in refugee and immigrant populations “
- To find cultural foods, people adapted to their new environment using social media and mobile phone apps to locate those foods [44, 45]. People travelled long distances, went to multiple stores, markets, community gardens, grew food in backyards, fished and foraged to obtain the variety of food they desired
- Even if supermarkets stocked cultural foods, some would be hesitant to shop there with language and cultural barriers presenting many issues
- Want for familiar foods can also come from a place of mistrust of unfamiliar food safety
- Mistrust in legal systems also plays into this
- Community knowledge is key to locating and sharing ECV and other cultural foods
- Availability was improved through shared horticultural knowledge and exchanging seeds of cultural foods [43]. which also created new stable and sustainable foodways.
- Cultural stigma against sharing that you are facing food insecurity.