#68 — Going Bananas, Women Owning Land, Soy Sauce Jalebis & More
Hello,
The humblest of all fruits, the banana, is something we take for granted. It’s perhaps the ubiquity of it being everywhere: the corner shop, the gourmet market, to some it’s art and to some the same is protest.
But one thing is unmistakable. When we think banana, we think Cavendish — the variety that’s the most common.
And the ubiquity of the Cavendish banana is its biggest threat as it faces the risk of being wiped out.
The ever approachable banana is also the easiest point for us to start with to understand our food system better, the perils of simplified agriculture, and the merits of biodiversity.
Over the next couple of weeks, join us as we deep dive and explore the world of bananas and biodiversity aka Edible Goes Bananas.
Enjoy this issue that was put together by Takshama who joins Edible Issues part-time as our very first community manager. Do give her a warm welcome 😄
Stay Safe,
Anusha, Elizabeth, and, Takshama
Inga Spence / Alamy
Why Is There Just One Top Banana
Atlas Obscura
Did we hear ice-cream bananas? Are we screaming? Explore the diversity of bananas beyond the dominant yellow variety of the Cavendish and the complexities of the banana trade with Alex Mayyasi
The Ghost Crop of Goa
Orion Magazine
Braganza reminisces about rice dishes he ate as a young boy that have faded away over the years. “Kanji, or rice gruel, was a morning treat — we ate it with coconut or pickle,” he says. “Bhakris made from rice. Sweets like godshe, which is a dessert made from rice, jaggery, and lentils, a delicacy. But they would taste different. Indigenous Goan rice has tastes and textures of its own. We are now so used to milled, polished rice, many cannot tell the difference.” —
Sharanya Deepak
Mapping Sustainable Agriculture: The Trials and Tribulations of India’s Nutrition Journey
September 30, 2021, at 5:00 PM.
Tackling complex challenges such as malnutrition require comprehensive approaches that consider the intersections of evidence with the diversity of policy and action communities. Dr. Menon will highlight instances where evidence, policy, and actions have come together well and instances where the disconnects are deep.
Attend Here.
Policy Spotlight
Can’t find Almond Milk in the Milk section?
Almond Milk Won’t Be Milk Anymore
Check out the directive that puts plant-based and soft beverages in the same category.
Getting Over The Hump
The Case of The Disappearing Camel
Dwindling camel population? Solution, the next superfood: Camel Milk.
Policy & India🌿
👩🌾Why Men Want Women To Own Land
And the catch behind it.
Scroll.in
🌽 Transformative adaptation: Ways to improve India’s long-term food security
Mongabay India
💸A MULTI-BILLION-DOLLAR OPPORTUNITY: Repurposing agricultural support to transform food systems
Read FAO Report
🌾India Denying Subsidized Food Grains to Millions of Its Poor
India’s PDS | Al Jazeera
What are the unintended consequences of our solutions and innovations? How may we minimize negative outcomes by shifting our thinking? Find the Masterclass delivered by Thought For Food, Dr. Prabhu Pingali, and Cecilia MoSze Tham here.
HIRING📢
Taj Wellington Mews Chennai
Asia’s first all-women-managed hotel is looking for women Commies in the Indian, Continental, and Pantry Kitchen. Email your CV to shefali.saxena@tajhotels.com
Indigenous Innovations
👩🏽💻 To Bring Traditional Food Back, Odisha’s Adivasi Communities Turn to Tech
Science The Wire
🌏 ‘It could feed the world’: amaranth, a health trend 8,000 years old that survived colonization
The Guardian
🏞️India’s first food park for tribals set to start in Bastar
Times of India
🐅Union minister launches 7 indigenous Manipuri food items as part of Make in India
Hindustan Times
🌏 Food for Climate Change
Climate change is real, and it’s here. But how is one of the problems also shaping up to be the solution?
Read how food is helping mitigate climate change.
Kerala’s traditional home gardens offer a natural way to mitigate climate change.
In the southern state of Kerala, a study on the biodiversity of 75 home gardens, revealed that their biodiversity was comparable with natural forested regions in the area. These gardens thus have the potential to sequester carbon.
(Image: KV Dayal at his home garden in Kerala. | Syed Siyaz Mirza/ Mongabay India)
Dietary shift to potatoes could cut staple crop emissions in China by 25%
From Rice to Potatoes: China’s Crops & Climate Change.
(Image: Harvesting potatoes in the Red Fields of Kunming Dongchuan Red Land, China. Credit: Danita Delimont / Alamy Stock Photo.)
Waste to Watts: India generates green energy from food leftovers
What is waste? Now, it’s energy 💡
How India’s food systems must respond to the climate crisis
The challenge to make India’s agriculture nutrition-sensitive, environment friendly, and sustainable.
As independent creators, a lot of our time, love, and effort goes into making Edible Issues come to life. If you like our work, support us by buying us a coffee! Or a bisi bisi dose 🤤 Just click on the image to find more!
Food and Culture
Jalebi with a Dash of Soy, Please.
Japanese giant wants soy sauce to be the ‘ketchup of India’ |The Jakarta Post
(In this picture taken on July 16, 2021 a chef prepares a samosa filling with mincemeat with Kikkoman Soy Sauce at the Ishaara restaurant in Mumbai. (AFP/Indranil Mukherjee))
A Melange of Many, Dina Macki takes us on a visual journey of Omani food while narrating the influences of South Asia, East Africa, South-East Arabia, and Western Europe on its culinary history.
Omani food is a reflection of our rich, layered history | gal-dem
Illustration by Aude Nasr / photography courtesy of Dina Mack
Explore Ashutosh Bharadwaj’s joyful writing on Rohu in Assam & Jalebi in Bastar.
Ancient Manuscripts and Assault Rifles: On the Trail of Rohu and Jalebi | Oneating
Artwork Courtesy — Saronik Bosu
Join Chef Sadaf Hussain as he takes you through the highs and lows of the Indian restaurant kitchen.
Discovered this via the internets and like what you read? Join our newsletter!Subscribe
