The diversity of food on our plates is the biological diversity of our crops. If biodiversity disappears, the food wealth on our plates will also be lost. To save biodiversity, the diversity of what we farm and eat needs to be protected, says eminent ecologist Sunita Narain.
Sharing her thoughts on food, the selection of crops for farming and the way they are farmed, Ms. Narain said that celebrating the food culture of a country was all about celebrating its biodiversity.
She provided audience food for thought while releasing the book, First Food: Culture of Taste , brought out by New Delhi-based advocacy agency, Centre for Science and Environment, at Kochi-Muziris Biennale on Wednesday. The book compiles ‘nearly 50 recipes that use local produce.’ “The ingredients to cook these might be available only for a short time, but their taste tends to linger for long,” noted the writers.
On the politics of food, the activist said that while one billion people across the world were malnourished, billions were facing the issue of obesity. India was faced with the double burden, of malnourishment and obesity, she said.
Later, she moderated a panel discussion on the book. Those who spoke included John Kurien of the Azim Premji University, Bengaluru; environmentalist M.K. Prasad, chef Ramu Butler; S. Usha, executive director of Thanal; and V. Balakrishnan of the Community Agrobiodiversity Centre, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Wayanad.
