Investing in African Heritage Foods

Tapping into the nutritional value of African heritage foods could play a key role in solving the nutrition security crisis, according to a webinar presented by IFT’s African, African-American, and Black Resource Group (AAABRG).

The webinar, titled “Heritage Foods, Health, and Nutrition in the African Diaspora: Insights for the Science of Food Community,” discussed how to place Africa and African heritage foods at the center of the nutrition conversation. The presenter, Tambra Raye Stevenson, is the cofounder of Women Advancing Nutrition, Dietetics and Agriculture (WANDA), an organization that is working to build a movement to empower women and girls of African descent in their role as “food sheroes.”

In her presentation, Stevenson discussed her work studying and teaching the African heritage diet around the United States. Specifically, she said that she believes in building on the “ancestral legacy” of Black women in the food sector and the critical role women play in the food system.

“I've made it my personal mission … to connect to women and researchers on the [African] continent and understand not only the agricultural roots of indigenous foods, but to be able to taste and see the possibility of what these foods can mean for a growing hungry diaspora,” she explained.

Stevenson said that compared with a Western diet, the African diet has a higher fiber content and lower fat content. These types of diets, high in cereal grasses and leafy greens, are associated with reduced inflammation and a reduced risk of certain cancers. She said that certain African heritage foods, such as baobab, millet, fonio, and hibiscus, should be studied more to assess their health impacts.

“These have been new foods trending here in the states, but we can do more research and investments,” she said. “And as we build momentum and infrastructure and mobilization of those across all sectors … we have opportunity to open up new markets … as we're applying research, to see the opportunities in the food technology space.”

Stevenson further said that it is important to bring experts from the African diaspora to the table to integrate these heritage foods into research and the market. Specifically, she noted that the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National Institutes of Health create five-year research agendas to highlight certain indigenous foods, such as Latin foods, Inuit foods, and Mediterranean diets. Stevenson said she believes that if these agencies include African heritage foods in their agendas, this will create an opportunity in the market to develop new products featuring these ingredients.

The presentation concluded with a call to “reclaim the future” by investing in African food systems. Stevenson shared WANDA’s Food Bill of Rights as a framework for food policy councils, not only in the United States but on the African continent as well. She said that a stable, nutritious food system can help connect communities and reclaim the culture that has been appropriated.

“Food is our community,” she said. “It is our source of power. It’s part of our identity and how we connect and why when we see a plate of jollof, it may put a smile on our face. And when we think about our food being our medicine, it speaks to our spirit and in remembrance of our ancestors.”ft