{"id":8815,"date":"2021-05-10T15:16:37","date_gmt":"2021-05-10T23:16:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=8815"},"modified":"2021-06-01T13:42:30","modified_gmt":"2021-06-01T21:42:30","slug":"tell-me-what-you-eat-and-i-will-tell-you-who-you-are","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/food-security\/tell-me-what-you-eat-and-i-will-tell-you-who-you-are\/?lang=en","title":{"rendered":"Tell Me, What You Eat, And I Will Tell You Who You Are"},"content":{"rendered":"

By IMAP<\/b><\/p>\n

When Europeans invaded Mesoamerican lands the richness of the environment was destined to over exploitation of its natural resources.\u00a0 They introduced monoagriculture, eliminating\u00a0 ancestral farming wisdom and its practices of crop diversification which had insured food security for native peoples.\u00a0 Convincing farmers of monoagricultural methods caused food scarcity and the loss of important heirloom seeds, including Amaranthus Cruentus or amaranth.\u00a0 Lifestyles for many have been changing due to this imposition of\u00a0 European thought, and today,\u00a0 the result is that, for having adapted to the colonial system imposed upon them, indigenous peoples do not have sufficient economic resources.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Over the years the conventional food production approach presented to us has generated negative attitudes regarding survival.\u00a0 Many believe, \u00abif we don’t have money, we can’t eat\u00bb or \u00abif we don’t have a harvest this year, we won’t have an income and so won’t be able to eat\u00bb.\u00a0 In the end, these narrow ideas are founded in the reality invasion created for us.<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, these realities have left a contextual impression on the people who farm the land and on all of humanity.\u00a0 Governments’ interests regarding foodstuffs are to make money and facilitate the free market for countries in the northern hemisphere.\u00a0 And these interests are not at all concerned about the health of their own inhabitants, nor are they worried if their populace is experiencing hunger because of a lack of land to grow food.\u00a0 Nor are governments’ interests concerned about illnesses due to foods grown from seeds manufacturered by companies like Monsanto–seeds which are destroying the lives of many.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then, with the onset of CoVid-19 and the pandemic, rates of chronic, incurable disease and malnutrition indices have increased among the Guatemalan population.\u00a0 And if that were not enough, Guatemala’s National Institute for Statistics confirmed that, during the last year, there has been a rapid rise in the cost of what is considered the basic food basket needed for survival:\u00a0 In March of 2020 the cost of the minimum necessary for survival was Q. 3,570 <\/span>(approximately $ 476).\u00a0 A month later in April that figure had increased to Q3,615 (approx.\u00a0<\/span>$ 482).\u00a0 In November 2020 it was at Q 3,599 ( approx. $ 480).\u00a0 This situation has, for the most part and as suspected, affected the most vulnerable in the country–rural people and most significantly, the indigenous population who live in poverty or extreme poverty, and for whom every penny matters.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Given this situation, the Mesoamerican Institute for Permaculture (IMAP) is sharing ancient wisdom and knowledge about permacultures based in food production of native, heirloom foodstuffs.\u00a0 One of these is amaranth, which according to IMAP studies done in 2017 in cooperation with an expert nutritionist, showed that amaranth contains nutritive qualities.\u00a0 Its seeds as well as the leaves are high in protein, calcium, and vitamin C.\u00a0 The seed has amino acid components valued at 75 on a scale of 0 to 75.\u00a0 And the leaf contains 33% protein it is dried form.\u00a0 Additionally, digestibility is rated at 80% comparable to beef and eggs, i.e. the majority of what is required by the human body.<\/span><\/p>\n

It provides 70% of the energy in the required diet and according to the FAO (<\/span>UN Organization for<\/span> Foodstuffs and Agriculture) a one to one ratio of rice and amaranth achieves recommended necessary protein.\u00a0 Not only is the seed highly nutritious, the tender leaves can also be eaten as a vegetable.\u00a0 And they contain more iron than spinach which is recommended for people with certain levels of anemia.\u00a0 The amaranth leaf also contains folic acid which is indispensable for babies and mothers during pregnancy and lactation.<\/span><\/p>\n

If we think about cooking as an art form, we can use our imaginations to produce and consume a variety of food derived from amaranth.\u00a0 The seeds can be eaten like rice.\u00a0 Also, amaranth can be consumed as cereal or ground into flour for preparation of dishes.\u00a0 Additionally, toasted and ground, it can be made into the traditional Guatemalan drink <\/span>atol.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Through IMAP we have trained 10,000 producers in the area of permaculture by addressing food production and good health practices.\u00a0 We’ve focused with them on amaranth as a very nutritious foodstuff which can contribute to lowering rates of chronic malnutrition in the country.\u00a0 We are sure that if we empower local communities with this ancient knowledge it will be possible to improve nutrition and other conditions that are affecting us.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By IMAP When Europeans invaded Mesoamerican lands the richness of the environment was destined to over exploitation of its natural resources.\u00a0 They introduced monoagriculture, eliminating\u00a0 ancestral farming wisdom and its practices of crop diversification which had insured food security for native peoples.\u00a0 Convincing farmers of monoagricultural methods caused food scarcity and the loss of important […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":8808,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[413,453,429],"tags":[3063,3065,3066,3064,3062,3060,3061],"class_list":["post-8815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-security","category-frontpage-en","category-health","tag-amaranth-leaf","tag-amaranth-nutrients","tag-amaranth-seeds","tag-imap-and-amaranth","tag-nutritional-qualities-of-amaranth","tag-tell-me","tag-what-you-eat-and-i-will-tell-you-who-you-are"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/dsc0011-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1702&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7ljt7-2ib","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10145,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/a-community-tourism-trip-with-a-focus-on-permaculture\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":0},"title":"A community tourism trip with a focus on permaculture","author":"EntreMundos","date":"28 septiembre, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By ENTRE MUNDOS team In San Lucas Tolim\u00e1n, on the shore of Lake Atitlan, is the Mesoamerican Institute of Permaculture IMAP (by its name in spanish), a community organization composed of 40 active members, founded in 2000 by a group of Mayan Cakchiqueles. The organization is oriented to self-sustainable development\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abAlternative Economy\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Alternative Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/alternative-economy\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20220401_101811-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20220401_101811-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20220401_101811-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C541&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20220401_101811-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C541&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/20220401_101811-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C541&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6500,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/challenges-facing-todays-local-production-imap-mesoamerican-institute-for-permaculture\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":1},"title":"Challenges facing Today’s Local Production","author":"EntreMundos","date":"29 abril, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a contribution of IMAP: -Mesoamerican Institute for Permaculture in Guatemala During these last weeks, news outlets and social media have been filled with worrisome information, and often, it's been discouraging. And so, rumors and false news have been spread which contribute to making the current situation worse. Questions\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abEconomy\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/economy\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hands-seeds.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hands-seeds.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hands-seeds.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hands-seeds.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/hands-seeds.jpg?fit=1200%2C798&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2433,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/environment\/forests\/cantels-answer\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":2},"title":"Cantel’s answer","author":"EntreMundos","date":"16 enero, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Cover photo: Cantel at sunrise. Photo: Richard Brown By Esteban Sacalxot, Secretary of the Youth Organization Forging Foundations in cantel, and President of the Permanent Council for Life Defense in Cantel. What is climate change? For many of us these are new words in our vocabulary. For others, they\u2019re fashionable\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abClimate Change\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Climate Change","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/environment\/climate-change\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/img_6947.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/img_6947.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/img_6947.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/img_6947.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/img_6947.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11213,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/frontpage-en\/successful-tourism-projects\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":3},"title":"Successful tourism projects","author":"EntreMundos","date":"7 septiembre, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"TRANSLATED BY EMMA PORTER In previous editions, we took a tour of different corners of Guatemala through a series of reports about six community tourism projects. Nonetheless, these places continue to increase their offerings with innovations, improved infrastructure and services to provide better care. For this reason, starting with this\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCommunity Tourism\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Community Tourism","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/community-tourism\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/foto-5.jpg?fit=768%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/foto-5.jpg?fit=768%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/foto-5.jpg?fit=768%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/foto-5.jpg?fit=768%2C1024&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10028,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/frontpage-en\/strengthening-community-tourism-projects\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":4},"title":"Strengthening community tourism projects","author":"EntreMundos","date":"16 julio, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Lourdes Aguilar Community-based tourism is a local development strategy in which communities, through their organization, play a central role in the development and management of their resources. Through community tourism, it is possible to contemplate landscapes, conserve biodiversity, learn about different cultures and improve the economic development of the communities\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCommunity Tourism\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Community Tourism","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/community-tourism\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/fotos-articulo-1-2-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/fotos-articulo-1-2-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C541&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/fotos-articulo-1-2-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C541&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/fotos-articulo-1-2-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C541&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/fotos-articulo-1-2-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C541&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7889,"url":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/culture\/chronicles-of-the-city-of-cimera-part-one\/?lang=en","url_meta":{"origin":8815,"position":5},"title":"Chronicles of the city of Cimera (Part One)","author":"EntreMundos","date":"21 octubre, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"By Mario R. Loarca Pineda This part is set in the second half of 2009. It coincides with the second year of the government led by Alvaro Colom, who promoted some reforms such as the renewal of national or departmental radio stations led by TGW, la voz de Guatemala. At\u2026","rel":"","context":"En \u00abCulture\u00bb","block_context":{"text":"Culture","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/category\/culture\/?lang=en"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/20160708_163345-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/20160708_163345-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/20160708_163345-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/20160708_163345-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/20160708_163345-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8815"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8815\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8856,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8815\/revisions\/8856"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}