The local food movement seems to be sweeping the United States; the prevalence of farmer’s markets and the consumption of local produce is on the rise. Shopping locally is much more “in style” than frequent trips to Wal-Mart and other enormous food chains where food is imported from all over the globe and tracing the origin of your meal is near impossible. However, consuming organic, locally produced food is primarily available to those of the upper and middle class. Organic meat and produce continue to be much more expensive and much more difficult to find than hormone-filled, chemically manipulated food at your average chain grocery store or fast food joint. Various studies have indicated the severe lack of even basic grocery stores in the US’s poorest neighborhoods, where fast food restaurants overpower the number of markets or grocery stores selling food for preparation. Cheap, unhealthy, mass-produced food is often available in poverty-stricken areas of our nation’s cities, where local residents are hard-pressed to find a store selling even the most basic food items.
Considering the food consumption patterns and nutritional deficiencies between the US and Peru is quite interesting, and the influences are quite different. While local food consumption is a “hip” middle/upper class trend for many living in the US, local consumption is the only option for many of the poorest residents living in rural communities in Peru. While it is tempting to glamorize the simple, back-to-basics consumption of local products, there are many complicated issues in the production and consumption of Peruvian food products. One may assume that because a community produces a high quantity of healthy agricultural products, such as quinoa, they also consume these products in their families. However, this is simply not the case. Quinoa offers enormous nutritional benefits- not only is it a complex carbohydrate, but it also offers protein and other vitamins and minerals in its natural composition. Previously, Peruvian families consumed quinoa as a key part of their diet, but as the popularity of quinoa has grown in other parts of the world, the prices have risen and communities are exporting the entirety of their quinoa crop without local consumption. This pattern holds true for many other locally produced goods. For example, the department of Cajamarca is famous for their milk and dairy production. One would assume that the mass availability of milk would ensure infants and children are nourished with local milk. However, in speaking with volunteers living in this region, I’ve found that families tend to sell their milk directly to the large enterprise, Gloria, without saving even enough milk to provide for their small children. Here in Poroto we produce an enormous supply of fruit and a substantial quantity of vegetables, but the average family consumes very little of these crops. It appears to be a combination of lacking education, custom, and opportunity for profit that limits the consumption of healthy local products.
Availability of quality nutritional food is also a key factor in malnutrition and poor nutrition habits among Peruvian children and families. Many of the communities in which Peace Corps volunteers live are isolated from capital cities or areas where fruits and vegetables are produced. For example, yesterday I traveled to my most isolated Caserio, Huayabito, to do an educational session about nutrition and cook with a group of the local women. We talked extensively about the role of food in child development and the need to eat a balanced diet. However, simple availability often hinders the consumption of a healthy diet. This particular caserio is located over 2 ½ hours walking from Poroto. It is extremely dry and produces minimal produce. Water is available only a few days a week, so families save water in empty soda bottles and buckets. You don’t realize the vitality of water until you spend a day without it. Washing your hands, cleaning out animal insides, bathing, giving water to livestock, watering crops, drinking, etc... all is much more complicated without the availability of running water. This compounds the problem of lacking fruits and vegetables, because without water it is difficult to grow produce. If this important element of your diet is simply not available, it is hard to change behavior and habit to consume more fruits and vegetables.
So where does this leave us in the quest for the consumption of healthy, local food? It’s a toss-up. Most Americans have access to clean, running water and a relatively wide selection of food. However, although the US has the luxury of a convenient food, the majority of the meat is mass-produced and loaded with harmful preservatives or hormones. The local and organic food market is still primarily available only to small sub-sections of US citizens. However, here in Peru many isolated communities simply do not have access to the components of a healthy diet and even fruits and vegetables consumed locally are loaded with harmful pesticides. I think the main difference between American and Peruvian food consumption is the knowledge of where our food comes from. Few Americans consider the entire process of food preparation, while most Peruvians living in small, rural communities have no other option to confront the sources of their diet on a daily basis. To illustrate this point I’ll compare my experiences of consuming a chicken in Peru and in the United States.
What I ate yesterday for lunch-
Like I said, yesterday I was visiting the caserio of Huayabito to give a nutrition session and cook with the community members. Meat is a luxury for most of the households in Huayabito, but Mariela insisted on killing a chicken for our visit. I’d never seen the entire process of killing and preparing a chicken, so today was a learning experience. Initially Yesenia, the 5 year old daughter, protested at the thought of killing the chicken she had named “PioPio” but quickly resigned to the fact that PioPio would be lunch. Without much hesitation she brought her mom a large, sharp knife and helped secure PioPio against the ground. Mariela asked Lindsey to hold the bucket for the blood as she slit its neck. Blood squirted into the bucket as the chicken continued to jolt around for several moments before going limp. Mariela reminded Lindsey to continue stirring the blood because it would serve as an iron-filled snack later on, when cooked and prepared with onions. When PioPio was good and dead we took him inside and began to pluck out his feathers. I was trying not to be squeamish, especially when the 5 and 7 year old daughters were ripping out feathers without a second thought. Finally the hen was completely naked and it was time to cut its nails which was Cecelia, the 5 year old daughter’s job. Next, we slit the hen down its back, cracking through its vertebrae and revealing all the internal organs. Mariela dumped water over the organs, removing the intestines and excess fat lining the inside of the animal but saving the stomach, heart, liver etc. to eat with lunch. There’s no running water in Huayabito, so each step of the process was complicated by bringing water from nearby bottles and buckets. Finally each part of the hen, including the head and feet, were cut up and ready to cook. When asked her favorite part of the hen, Yesenia happily replied “la cabeza!” (the head) and her mom informed me that she especially enjoyed sucking out the eyeballs.
In the US-
Go to the grocery store, select your choice of pre-packaged, pre-cut chicken and drive home to prepare it, or even better… drive through McDonalds and place your order. Also, if you asked a 7 year old American girl her favorite part of a chicken, she would probably say the fingers.
