Ethnic food knowledge of highland pastoral communities in the Himalayas and prospects for its sustainability

Highland barley grain and soil surveys reveal the widespread deficiency of dietary selenium intake of Tibetan adults living along Yalung Zangpo River

Objective

In order to assess selenium (Se) flux through the soil-plant-human chain in Tibet plateau and explore the reason why local Tibetan adult residents from large scale agricultural production areas in Tibet lacked daily Se intake.

Methods

A total of 210 intact highland barley plants and their corresponding cultivated topsoil samples were collected in fields of 14 agricultural counties along Yalung Zangpo River and quantitative dietary data were collected from a cross-sectional survey using a cultural-specific food frequency questionnaire that contained all local Tibetan foods in 2020.

Results

The mean value of The estimated daily Se dietary intake by each participant was 17.1 ± 1.9 μg/day/adult, the Se concentration in topsoil and highland barley grain were 0.128 ± 0.015 mg/kg and 0.017 ± 0.003 mg/kg, respectively. Although highland barley was the first contributor of dietary Se in local adult residents (34.2%), the dietary Se intake provided by highland barley only about 10% of the EAR value (50 μg/day/adult) currently. A significantly positive relationship was determined between soil total Se content (STSe), available Se content (SASe) and highland barley grain Se content (GSe). The amount of Se in food system depends on a number of soil properties (TOC, pH, clay content, Fe/Mn/Al oxides), climate variables (MAP, MAT) and terrain factor (altitude).

Conclusion

To sum up, it can be inferred that the insufficient dietary Se intake of Tibetan adult population living along Yalung Zangbo River is mainly caused by the low Se content in highland barley grain, which was result from the low Se content in cultivated soil. In order to enable adult participants in the present study to achieve recommended dietary Se-intake levels, agronomic fortification with selenised fertilizers applied to highland barley could be a great solution. It is necessary to combine the influencing factors, and comprehensively consider the spatial variation of local soil properties, climatic and topographic conditions, and planting systems.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Tribal Communities and Sustainability of Nature and Natural Resources in Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve in India

Traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) continues to erode as a result of globalization and the homogenization of diverse cultures, yet it has helped to conserve natural resources and preserve nature for centuries. Biosphere reserves have been established in regions where both cultural and natural resource assortments are deemed rich. The present study was carried out in the Pachmarhi Biosphere Reserve (PBR) of India with the major objective of investigating the TEK of local communities with respect to the sustainability of nature and natural resources. Through both a questionnaire and interviews with tribal groups in PBR, a total of 128 plant species were documented, of which the highest number of species (52%) was used for food, followed by medicine (40%), cultural practices (13%), and construction of houses (11%). Apart from the collection of plants from the adjacent forests for their sustenance, the tribal groups engaged in various other activities including farming practices, maintenance of home gardens, soil and water conservation, and continuance of sacred groves. The nature and natural resource-based livelihood and conservation activities of tribal groups involve specific cultural practices and customary norms. This study reveals that the traditional knowledge of tribal communities offers unique ideas for developing and contributing to more effective sustainable management practices and nature conservation. It has a great potential to strengthen the agriculture and health sectors, as the tribal communities have accumulated a fair amount of knowledge in such sectors.

Scouting for Food Heritage for Achieving Sustainable Development: The Methodological Approach of the Atlas of the Ark of Taste

Over the last two decades, scholars and organizations across the world have carried out research projects and promoted dissemination tools aimed at promoting food and food-related elements embedded in local and traditional foodways. In this regard, the documentation of food and biocultural heritage has been seen as the starting point of processes directed toward their safeguarding and promotion. Drawing from this premise, the paper presents an original methodological approach, designed within the framework of the Ark of Taste project, to map, inventory, and document food and food-related resources to produce a comprehensive dissemination tool for the promotion of local food and biocultural heritage. To this end, the paper discusses the case study of the Atlas of the Ark of Taste in Tanzania, looking at the approach used, and the challenges faced, in undertaking field and desk activities aimed at inventorying Tanzanian food products and in the creating of the gastronomic atlas of this country. Drawing from this experience, the paper highlights the potentially crucial role that food and gastronomic inventories may have in achieving UN Sustainable Development Goals from a grassroots perspective. Acknowledging the limitations and possible unintended effects of these initiatives on the protection of food and biocultural resources, the authors recognize the promising role that these tools could have in fostering the achievement of environmental (SDGs 13, 14, 15) and social sustainability (SDGs 1, 2, 3, 10) objectives.

Diversity of beneficial microorganisms and their functionalities in community-specific ethnic fermented foods of the Eastern Himalayas

The Eastern Himalayan regions of India, Nepal and Bhutan have more than 200 varieties of unsurpassed ethnic fermented foods and alcoholic beverages, which are lesser known outside the world. However, these ethnic foods are region- and community-specific, unique and some are exotic and rare, which include fermented vegetables, bamboo shoots, soybeans, cereals, milk (cow and yak), meats, fishes, and cereal-based alcoholic beverages and drinks. Ethnic communities living in the Eastern Himalayas have invented the indigenous knowledge of utilization of unseen microorganisms present in and around the environment for preservation and fermentation of perishable plant or animal substrates to obtain organoleptically desirable and culturally acceptable ethnic fermented food and alcoholic beverages. Some ethnic fermented products and traditionally prepared dry starters for production of alcoholic beverages of North Eastern states of India and Nepal were scientifically studied and reported till date, and however, limited publications are available on microbiological and nutritional aspects of ethnic fermented foods of Bhutan except on few products. Most of the beneficial microorganisms isolated from some ethnic fermented foods of the EH are listed in microbial food cultures (MFC) safe inventory. This study is aimed to review the updates on the beneficial importance of abundant microbiota and health-promoting benefits and functionalities of some ethnic fermented foods of the Eastern Himalayan regions of North East India, Nepal and Bhutan.