“Today we eat very few things. In Brazil and in the world, our food is based on few conventional species. This is very negative from a nutritional point of view. If we manage to make new foods reach people’s tables, we will have a diversification of nutrients and food options”, tells BBC News Brazil the ethnobiologist from Pernambuco PatrÃcia Medeiros, who has just received an important international scientific award in Paris for her research aimed at popularizing the consumption of wild plants to diversify the diet of Brazilians.
She was one of 15 winners, selected by a jury of experts from several countries, to receive the International Rising Talents award, given to young women scientists by the L’Oréal Foundation in partnership with UNESCO (United Nations Educational Organization, the Science and Culture). Medeiros received 15 thousand euros (about R$ 84 thousand) to invest in his studies.
Medeiros, who has a doctorate from UFRPE (Federal Rural University of Pernambuco) and teaches Agroecology and Forestry at UFAL (Federal University of Alagoas), studies the relationships between people and plants. She became interested in unconventional food plants (the so-called PANCs) motivated by the desire to work with extractive communities and help them increase their income.
Unconventional plants are those that are not known in urban centers. Many of them are sold at local fairs, like in the interior of Alagoas, she says, but they don’t even reach the capital.
His research is based on a tripod that takes into account ecological (sustainable management of wild plants and fruits), social and nutritional aspects.
The objective is to break down barriers that limit the consumption of foods that are little known in urban centers or are underused, such as araçá, jenipapo, taioba, cambuÃ, ouricori and pink pepper, among others.
First, it identifies, with local communities, which species have the potential to become more popular. Afterwards, it carries out ecological and consumer studies to find out which wild plants are the most accepted, which is the target audience (profile of potential buyers), which are the best strategies, including marketing, to present these products and for them to reach the urban centers.
She usually, for example, makes associations to understand how people choose what they are going to eat, whether it is by name, appearance or smell.
Medeiros’ objective is to help small farmers to identify, publicize and commercialize wild plants and fruits.
“The popularization of these plants will increase the income of communities”, says the scientist, adding that at the same time this allows diversifying nutrients and food options, something she says is fundamental.
“Studies show that conventional foods have deficiencies in certain micronutrients, such as iron and calcium, minerals that we need in our diet. Research also indicates that wild plants have many micronutrients. So it would be a way to diversify and not replace traditional products.” , says the young scientist, 35 years old.
Araçás, for example, have high levels of vitamin C. Genipapo, on the other hand, is highly energetic and has an interesting amount of certain micronutrients, such as iron and calcium. In addition, there is ongoing research that indicates that genipap would have functional properties and help to prevent some diseases.
“Each one of these plants has a different nutritional profile. If we manage to increase the diet with several of them, we can have a wide spectrum in food”, says Medeiros.
According to her, Brazil still makes little use of its food potential. This is due to the population’s fear of consuming what is unconventional. It’s called “food neophobia”, the fear of eating new things.
His work also includes strategies to overcome food neophobia that can discourage the consumption of wild plants and wild fruit species.
“It is necessary to diversify so as not to overload certain food chains. This is the key point”, he highlights.
Climate changes
Medeiros’ research was awarded, according to the L’Oréal Foundation, because in addition to including new products in food, they promote biodiversity and food security, as these plants are better adapted to their environments, and also reduce the need for pesticides and of fertilizers due to the fact that they are born in nature.
The scientist from Pernambuco, who carries out her research in restinga areas of the Brazilian coast, says that it is still necessary to diversify the diet due to climate change.
According to her, it is not known what will happen in the coming decades and which are the foods from conventional agriculture that would be threatened and what are the possible alternatives.
“The more diverse our food options are, the more likely we are to have elements to rely on in the uncertain future. There are species that are more resistant to high temperatures and, above all, to the absence of rain.”
She says that studies indicate that in the next 30 or 50 years the spacing between rains may increase, which will cause problems, especially for family farming, which often relies on rainwater as the main source of irrigation.
family farming
For the scientist, who has among her students settled rural workers benefiting from the agrarian reform, family farming, which includes extractive workers, “is essential for the provision of quality food.”
She says that there are prejudices in Brazil regarding the Landless Movement, but it is they, she argues, that produce quality food and that “are at the forefront”, representing “the key to the transition to a more sustainable agriculture”.
Medeiros says that the Brazilian government favors agribusiness much more and should have more actions aimed at family farmers, who, in his view, play an important role in food production in Brazil.
The scientist from Pernambuco, who had won the national edition of the L’Oréal Foundation award and, because of that, was able to compete for the international award, managed to advance in her work thanks to the financial support of “Rising Talents”. ). “It gave me the possibility to do my research in the best possible way,” she says.
“I don’t know many happy researchers in Brazil. We don’t have funding. Scientists are not managing to do their research”, she laments, adding that investments in the area have dropped considerably in recent years.
“There are many researchers who need input, material, reagents, which are at a standstill. The situation is very serious. We need to urgently press what we want for the country,” he says.
“A country that does not have quality science or education will not have a global role in the future. For this role to exist, it is necessary to have very well educated citizens and a strong and active science”, adds Medeiros.
Amid the general difficulties of scientific research in Brazil, women scientists are even more affected and face several challenges, she says.
According to Medeiros, they suffer disadvantages such as the fact that they occupy less important positions in academic institutions and, due to lack of support, they have less time to dedicate to work when they become mothers, which was not their case.
“Some give up on continuing their research and end up just teaching. A change in society and institutions is needed”, he says.
“The world needs science and science needs women,” says the L’Oréal Foundation, which supports and empowers women in three areas: scientific research, inclusive beauty and climate change.
– This text was originally published in https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/brasil-61959610
