Winning the Race with Traditional Foods

Notes to broadcasters

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With increasing trade from northern to southern countries, people in our communities have access to more processed, packaged, and ‘fast’ foods. These foods are convenient and quick to prepare, and some people feel that eating these foods gives them status. But in fact, many of these foods are so unhealthy that we call them ‘junk’ foods. As people eat more junk foods (processed and fast foods such as soda pop, sweets, potato chips, pizza, frozen dinners) they tend to eat less traditional or local foods, and they are more likely to become overweight and susceptible to diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Unfortunately, the traditional foods that can provide nutritious diets are being abandoned in favour of these processed foods. Traditional foods (also known as indigenous or local foods) add a variety of important nutrients to the diet. From a farmer’s point of view, they are practical because they are often well adapted to the local soils and climate. Also, it’s important to realize that by eating local foods we encourage and support farmers in our own communities.

You can contribute to the health of your community by producing broadcasts that discourage people from eating too much processed foods full of fat and sugar. Through your programming, help people to understand that local foods – a variety of vegetables, grains, fruits, legumes, meat, fish, eggs, and so on – are not poor people’s food, but a good and cheap source of essential nutrients. Traditional foods are rich!