In the business of taste

Food-nutrition-nature, this is the connection that will celebrate the joy of living, writes Aruna Chandaraju

A healthy ecosystem and rich biodiversity are absolute essentials for human life on earth. In recent decades, however, we have seen a serious deterioration in both of these and thus, climate change and the environmental crisis have become burning issues around the world. Every human being in every age group and strata of society is being impacted by the climate crisis. Addressing this issue has now become a global priority. Many factors have caused this problem and accordingly, the solution also lies in a multi-pronged approach.

One major factor is food. Biodiversity is what ensures a wide range of plants and animals on the earth. There is a very close link between weakening biodiversity, the climate crisis and food-growth/consumption patterns around the world. They are deeply interconnected. The food we put on our plate determines the wealth of biodiversity we will have as a nation and even planet. Conversely, the biodiversity of our country influences the kind of meals we will eat and its nutritional value and hence our health. There is indeed a deep link between agricultural patterns and cooking habits on one hand and the climate and environment on the other and we need to realise and act on it. The first influences the second, and vice-versa.

Today, sadly, especially in urban India, we are running after glamorous or exotic foods, often imported, which increase the carbon footprint. Instead, we must encourage the use of moras leaf, gongura, starfruit, lentil gahat (horsegram), mahua flowers, moringa, anagone soppu, bamboo shoots, tinni rice, ber fruit, amrakh fruit, khirni, gond, karisalankanni weed, gaithi tuber, etc., which are rich in nutrients and also help sustain the livelihood of many communities.

Every human on the planet is impacted by the changes and crisis in the climate and biodiversity. Everyone of us has a stake in this. Hence every one of us has a responsibility to contribute our bit by adopting healthy lifestyles including healthy food choices. Many individuals and institutions around the world have been working assiduously to combat the crisis and build awareness.

One of these, the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), has been attempting to educate the public about the dangers posed by climate change and more importantly, the multifarious methods by which we can effectively combat these problems. For the past several decades in various ways through its periodicals, seminars, activism, and their Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute, one important initiative of CSE has been the publication of three books in the First Food series in which Business of Taste is the latest one, released a couple of months ago.

Is Business of Taste a book of recipes? Yes, especially including recipes by famous chefs. Is it about well-researched and expert insights into the cuisine and its links with the global climate crisis? Yes again. Thus, the beauty and value of Business of Taste is that it combines both elements ie., essays and easy-to-cook recipes to make for a book which is both richly informative and actionable.

Unlike so many books on the subject, this has great practical value. It has as much use for the scientist and researchers as the home-makers who cook for their families or those in charge of designing menus at institutions.

Well-known environmentalist and Director-General, CSE, Sunita Narain puts it eloquently when she says that we all need to know how food diversity is linked to diversity in the biological world.

“Our food journey should not be about first eating unhealthy and then going out in search of detoxification measures and non-toxic foods which are often ‘exotic’ and ‘in-fashion’. It is imperative that we value the biodiversity that grows in the wild, farms, forests, lakes and oceans. Every region in India and the world is diverse in its food habits; has its own recipes and cooks with different ingredients and eats differently. If biodiversity disappears we will lose the food wealth on our plates. Food will become impersonal — a sterile package designed for universal size and taste. The knowledge of this diversity is disappearing because we are losing the repositories of that knowledge — our grandmothers and mothers who managed our food and brought us a part of the cuisines that were local and nutritious. We need to
take control of our food once again. Food-nutrition-nature, this is the connection that will celebrate the joy of living,” adds Sunita.